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Actor Dennis Hopper was the kind of artist myths are made from. He was an incredibly talented performer with a larger-than-life personality that frequently got him into trouble. His reckless behavior and intense drug abuse could make him incredibly difficult to work with, and he even tried to get Marlon Brando to fist-fight him after a misunderstanding before the filming of "Apocalypse Now," leading to the two being separated on set at all times. In the mid-1970s, however, he behaved so badly while filming a movie in Australia that he was not only declared dead on his feet and banned from driving a car in the state of Victoria ever again, but he was also kicked right on out of the country.

That movie was "Mad Dog Morgan," a disturbing 1976 outback Western based on the true life misdeeds of bushranger and outlaw Dan Morgan (whom Hopper played in the film). The Ozploitation,...

Joe Dante's 1981 werewolf flick "The Howling" boasts one of the most impressive werewolf transformation scenes in the genre's history. A vicious serial killer named Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo) confront's the film's protagonist, Karen (Dee Wallace), an investigative reporter recovering from a previous attack at a woods-bound therapy camp. Lit through the slits in Venetian blinds, Quist's face extends and mutates, his mouth ripping into a terrifying wolf grin, his eyes bulging. Karen witnesses the entire transformation and is, naturally, terrified. Quist was already known for his penchant for murder, but learning that he is a werewolf makes him that much more monstrous. The effects were provided by the amazing Rob Bottin.

"The Howling," while a corker of a monster movie, is also a clever satire of then-modern therapy. A certain kind of "touchy-feely" language had come into vogue in the late '70s and early '80s, and...

Grant Page, the larger-than-life Australian stunt performer famous for his jaw-dropping work in films including Mad Max, The Man From Hong Kong and Mad Dog Morgan, has died. He was 85.

Page died Thursday when the car he was driving near his home in Kendall on the coast of New South Wales hit a tree, his son Leroy Page told Daily Mail Australia.

Page worked with director Brian Trenchard-Smith on more than a dozen projects, including The Stuntmen (1973), King Fu Killers (1974), The Man From Hong Kong (1973) — where Page fights martial arts expert Jimmy Wang Yu in scenes using knives, cleavers and meat hooks — Deathcheaters (1976), Stunt Rock (1978) and Hospitals Don’t Burn Down! (1978).

And for the documentary Dangerfreaks (1987), Trenchard-Smith filmed Page standing on a ledge outside the perimeter fence on the observation deck of the Empire State Building in New York.

Page “successfully tampered with the laws of physics and probability,” Trenchard-Smith...

Australian Westerns, aka Kangaroo Westerns, have produced some of the most memorable entries in the genre. Films like Mad Max and The Proposition showcase the unique blend of harshness, romance, and picturesque landscapes that define Australian Westerns. True History of the Kelly Gang, with its star-studded cast and great retelling of Ned Kelly's life, deserved better than its quiet box office failure.

While American Western movies make up the most famous entries in the genre, a number of Australian Westerns give them a run for their money. The Western is often viewed as a quintessentially American genre. This is partially because images of cowboys, the untamed frontier, and the lawless West have their roots in romanticized, inaccurate versions of American history. Another reason is that many of the best Western movies ever made came from Hollywood. During both the genre’s glory days and its revisionist revival, the Western was a Hollywood staple.

Legendary Indigenous actor David Dalaithngu, known for his roles in Walkabout, Storm Boy, and Ten Canoes, has died aged 68.

His death comes after he attended the premiere of documentary My Name Is Gulpilil at the Adelaide Festival earlier this year, defying a terminal lung cancer prognosis from 2017 that had only given him six months to live.

The news was confirmed on Monday night by South Australian Premier Steven Marshall, who described the trailblazing actor as a “once-in-a-generation artist”.

“It is with deep sadness that I share the passing of an iconic, once-in-a-generation artist who shaped the history of Australian film and Aboriginal representation on screen – David Dalaithngu Am,” he wrote in a statement.

“My thoughts are with his family, and his dear friend and carer Mary Hood.”

A Mandhalpuyngu man from the Arafura Swamp region in Arnhem Land, Dalaithngu was just 16 when he starred in his breakout role in Nicolas Roeg’s 1971 film Walkabout,...

The actor starred in films including ‘Walkabout’, ‘Crocodile Dundee’ and ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’

David Gulpilil, one of Australia’s most recognisable actors both locally and abroad, has died at the age of 68.

In a statement issued today, the premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall, described him as an “iconic, once-in-a-generation artist who shaped the history of Australian film and Aboriginal representation on screen”.

Gulpilil was first cast in Walkabout (1971), directed by Nicolas Roeg, and has been a feature of Australian cinema for the past 50 years, including roles in two local films that are among the highest-grossing releases ever in Australia: Crocodile Dundee...

“Subvert normality. Punk is not sexual, it’s just aggression. Destroy. Kill All Hippies. I’m not talking at you, I’m talking to you. Anarchy. Disco sucks. I don’t wanna hear about you, I wanna hear from you. This is Gorgeous. Does anybody outthere read me? Disco sucks, kill all hippies. Pretty vacant, eh? Subvert normality. Signing off. This is Gorgeous. Signing off.”

“Thumbs Up! Bitter, unforgettable. An unsung treasure.” – Roger Ebert

Shocking. Controversial. Unforgettable. – Dennis Hopper’s brilliant punk rock masterpiece of adolescent rebellion is ready for a new, long overdue close-up!

A kind of spiritual sequel (and cautionary counterpoint) to Hopper’s own Easy Rider, Out Of The Blue chronicles the idealism of the sixties decline into the hazy nihilism of the 1980’s. Here’s a new trailer for the restoration:

Don Barnes (Dennis Hopper) is a truck driver in prison for drunkenly smashing his rig into a school bus.

"The natural landscape is a common setting and often a frightening place - one that functions by its own logic and is hostile to outsiders." Dive into this brief history of the Australian New Wave era of cinema thanks to a new video essay on YouTube. This was commissioned by Little White Lies and written / edited by filmmaker Will Webb (who has been making many video essays in addition to this one). Here's the intro: "How a government funding scheme gave rise to a cinematic revolution in 1970s Australia, featuring now iconic films such as Wake in Fright, Walkabout and Mad Max." It all kicked off in the early 1970s and lasted through the 80s, with other Australian classics like The Man From Hong Kong, Gallipoli, Mad Dog Morgan, Razorback, and Crocodile Dundee. Webb's essay covers the first few films and various themes of the era, including how the films...

"I'm an actor, I'm a dancer, I'm a singer and also, a painter. This film is about me. This is my story of my story." Abcg Film has released a trailer for My Name is Gulpilil, a feature film about the extraordinary life of Indigenous actor, dancer, artist, and screen legend, David Gulpilil. You definitely know who he is! The only actor to appear in both of the two highest grossing Australian films of all time, Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Australia (2008), Gulpilil is known throughout the world for his unforgettable performances - from his breakthrough in Walkabout (1971) to films including Storm Boy (1976), Mad Dog Morgan (1976), Peter Weir's The Last Wave (1977), The Tracker (2002), Rabbit Proof Fence (2002), The Proposition (2005) and his Cannes Best Actor award winning role in Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country (2013). Integral to the telling of so many legendary screen stories, Gulpilil, now nearing the end of his life, generously shares...

Integral to the telling of so many legendary screen stories, David Gulpilil, now nearing the end of his life, generously shares his own story in My Name is Gulpilil.

The actor, dancer, singer and painter takes audiences on the journey that is his most extraordinary, culture-clashing life.

From his breakthrough performance in 1971’s Walkabout to today, Gulpilil is known for performances across films such as Storm Boy, Mad Dog Morgan, Crocodile Dundee, The Last Wave, The Tracker, Rabbit Proof Fence, Australia, Charlie’s Country, and Goldstone.

Early in 2017 Gulpilil was diagnosed with lung cancer. His doctors estimated six months, but David being David, was always likely to defy the odds.

Directed by Molly Reynolds, and produced by Gulpilil, Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr and Reynolds, My Name is Gulpilil marks the culmination of a 20 year creative collaboration.

A Vertigo Production, My Name is Gulpilil was commissioned by the Adelaide Film Festival...

Hugh Keays-Byrne has passed away. He was 73-years old. The English-Australian actor played Toecutter in the 1979's Mad Max, then reunited with George Miller for 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road, where he played the villainous "Immortan Joe." The Man From Hong Kong director Brian Trenchard-Smith revealed that the Keays-Byrne died Wednesday in the hospital. No other information has been given as to the cause of death. Keays-Byrne is one of three actors to play two separate and characters in the Mad Max franchise, the others being Bruce Spence (Gyro Captain in Mad Max 2 and Jedediah in Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome) and Max Fairchild (Benno in Mad Max and Broken Victim in Mad Max 2).

In addition to his work with George Miller, Hugh Keays-Byrne also was known for portraying the back-stabbing Grunchlk on the series Farscape and the following miniseries. He was also an accomplished stage actor. Between 1968 and...

Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played two iconic villains in the “Mad Max” franchise, has died, his representative confirmed to Variety on Wednesday. He was 73.

Keays-Byrne played the antagonist Toecutter in the 1979 original “Mad Max” film by director George Miller, and he was brought back for the 2015 movie “Mad Max: Fury Road” to play the evil villain Immortan Joe.

Brian Trenchard-Smith, who directed Keays-Byrne in the 1975 film “The Man From Hong Kong,” shared on Facebook that he had died in a hospital on Tuesday.

“Hugh had a generous heart, offering a helping hand to people in need, or a place to stay to a homeless teenager. He cared about social justice and preserving the environment long before these issues became fashionable. His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity. We will miss his example and his friendship,” Trenchard-Smith wrote.

As Toecutter, the leader of a biker gang, Keays-Byrne...

Hugh Keays-Byrne, most known for appearing as Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road and Toecutter in the original 1979 Mad Max film, has died. He was 73.

Reps for the actor said he died peacefully on Tuesday morning. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who collaborated with Keays-Byrn on The Dragon Flies, paid tribute and confirmed the death on Wednesday.

“Hugh had a generous heart, offering a helping hand to people in need, or a place to stay to a homeless teenager. He cared about social justice and preserving the environment long before these issues became fashionable. His life was governed by his sense of the oneness of humanity. We will miss his example and his friendship. Vale, Hugh,” Trenchard-Smith wrote in his Facebook post, which can be viewed below.

Born in 1947 in Kashmir, India, Keays-Bryne kicked off his acting career in Australia, where he earned his first credits in the 19687 TV series Bellbird,...

Australian actor Hugh Keays-Byrne, who played two different villains in the “Mad Max” franchise, died on Tuesday morning, according to his representative. Keays-Byrne was 73.

Keays-Byrne played Toecutter in 1979’s “Mad Max” and then 36 years later played Immortan Joe in 2015’s “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Keays-Byrne as born in 1947 in Kashmir, India. He moved to Britain as a boy, trained as a theater actor and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1968. He booked small parts in 1974’s “Stone,” 1976’s “Mad Dog Morgan” and “The Trespassers.”

Keays-Byrne booked his first leading role in 1978’s TV film “The Death Train” before booking his breakout role as the villainous Toecutter opposite a young Mel Gibson in 1979’s apocalyptic sci-fi film “Mad Max,” which became a cult hit and spawned a franchise.

Hugh Keays-Byrne continued to work in smaller parts on television, and is known for his performance as Mr. Stubb in the 1998 mini-tv series “Moby Dick” (1998) and “Farscape.

Jeremy Thomas Collection will include archive material from Ben Wheatley's High Rise, starring Tom Hiddleston Producder Jeremy Thomas has donated his personal collection to the BFI National Archive.

The BFI say the "significant donation from his working archive" spans his career from his first film Mad Dog Morgan, directed by Philippe Mora in 1976, through to Ben Wheatley's High Rise in 2015.

Consisting of both moving image and paper-based material, the donation includes rare 35mm prints, scripts, production material and international posters from films including Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing (1978), Nagisa Ôshima’s Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (1983), Bernardo Bertolucci’s Oscar-winner The Last Emperor (1987), David Cronenberg’s Crash (1996), Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast (2000) and David Mackenzie’s Young Adam (2003).

The archive will continue to receive ongoing donations from the producer and, once fully catalogued, the paper-based portion will be collectively known as The Jeremy Thomas Collection. The donation from Thomas, who...

Collection includes items from his first to most recent films.

Jeremy Thomas, one of Britain’s most prominent independent producers and founder of Recorded Picture Company, has donated a significant portion of his personal collection of films and materials to the BFI National Archive.

The archive’s content spans Thomas’ entire career as a producer and executive producer from his first film, Phillipe Mora’s Mad Dog Morgan (1976) to High Rise (2015), directed by Ben Wheatley.

The contents of the donation consist of 35mm prints, production material and international posters from some of his most prominent works, including the Oscar-winning The Last Emperor...

Jenny Woods.

Jenny Woods, who died on July 31, aged 75, was one of the behind-the-scenes people who played a role in the establishment of the Australian film industry in the 1970s and 80s, unknown outside the industry but valued and admired within it.

As general manager of the New South Wales Film Corporation from 1977 to 1987, Jenny supported the development and production of iconic films like My Brilliant Career and Newsfront. An extremely capable manager with strong creative skills, she was a key player in identifying scripts and talent and in assisting them into production.

She was a risk taker too, supporting less obvious projects such as The Night The Prowler from a Patrick White story directed by Jim Sharman, and Ray Lawrence’s award winning Bliss, an adaptation of the Peter Carey novel.

The Nswfc was set up under the Wran government to assist in the development of the industry. Its chairman was Paul Riomfalvy,...

Jenny Woods.

Friends and former colleagues are paying tribute to Jenny Woods, a long-time executive at Film Finances Australasia, as a consummate professional and champion of Australian films and documentaries.

Woods, who died on July 31, aged 75, retired last year after more than five decades in the screen industry, the last 25 years as the documentary representative at Film Finances.

A former general manager of the New South Wales Film Corp., she joined the completion bond company in 1993 at the invitation of then head Sue Milliken and supervised the delivery of more than 400 documentaries.

“In all my years as a distributor we had one film, a feature documentary, which went seriously astray and the investors left responsibility to me to bring in the completion guarantor,” Ronin Films MD Andrew Pike tells If.

“The guarantor was represented by Jenny and she was fabulous – she guided me through the whole difficult process with humour...

Little Johnny, Robbie and Blue in ‘Robbie Hood.’

Sbs will mark Naidoc Week 2019 (July 7-14) with a raft of programming that celebrates the success and shares the unique stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, starting July 5.

Ludo Studio’s Robbie Hood, a short-form comedy series from writer-director Dylan River, will premiere on Sbs On Demand on July 5 and on Sbs Viceland on July 9.

The six episodes follow precocious 13-year-old Robbie (Pedrea Jackson) and his friends Georgia Blue (Jordan Johnson) and little Johnny (Levi Thomas) as they skirt the law to right the wrongs they see going down in their Alice Springs home town.

Also screening on the free streaming platform that week will be Indigenous-themed classic movies including Bruce Beresford’s The Fringe Dwellers, John Honey’s Manganinnie, Steve Jodrell’s Tudawali and Philippe Mora’s Mad Dog Morgan.

The new free-to-air movie channel Sbs World Movies will...

Set to film in Japan and Australia, The Shinjuku Five is written and co-directed, alongside Jasmine Jakupi, by Addison Heath (Mondo Yakuza, The Viper’s Hex) and stars Yoji Yamada, Saya Minami, Cris Cochrane, Tim Jason Wicks and Mondo Yakuza star Kenji Shimada. The soundtrack comes from Queensland based The Screaming Meanies, who have provided scores for The Perfect Nonsense, Mondo Yakuza and Stuart Simpson’s kung-fu short Dragon Force.

After debuting the poster last Summer, the Black Forest Films team have announced a brand new, and very exciting, cast member has joined the The Shinjuku Five cast… the lgendary Aussie actor Roger Ward. Yes, the same Roger Ward who appeared in classic Ozploitation movies such as Mad Max, The Man From Hong Kong, Stone, and Mad Dog Morgan!

No news on what Ward’s role is as yet but the addition of such a distinguished performer only goes to...

It’s 1930s America as seen in the movies, through music, and the evasions of newsreels. Franklin Delano Roosevelt preaches prosperity while James Cagney slugs out the decade as a smart-tongued everyman — in a dozen different roles. Director Philippe Mora investigates what was then a new kind of revisionist info-tainment formula: applying old film footage to new purposes.

Brother Can You Spare a Dime

DVD

The Sprocket Vault

1975 / B&W / 1:33 flat full frame / 106 min. / Street Date ?, 2017 / available through The Sprocket Vault / 14.99 (also available in Blu-ray)

Film Editor: Jeremy Thomas

Research by Michael Barlow, Jennifer E. Ryan, Susan Winslow

Produced by Sanford Lieberson, David Puttnam

Directed by Philippe Mora

Years before he was briefly sidetracked into sequels for The Howling, Philippe Mora was an accomplished artist and documentary filmmaker. Backed by producers Sanford Lieberson and David Puttnam, his 1974 documentary Swastika pulled a controversial switch on the usual historical fare about...

Red deserts, sweaty brows, scalding sand and swimsuits. Nowhere does summer quite like Australia – and nowhere is it captured better than on film. But how well do you know your classics?

They’re A Weird Mob

Puberty Blues

Age of Consent

The Daughter

These Final Hours

On the Beach

Blackrock

All Men Are Liars

The Overlanders

The Sundowners

The Back of Beyond

Mutiny on the Bounty

Welcome to Woop Woop

Priscilla: Queen of the Desert

Muriel’s Wedding

Red Dog

Road Games

Fair Game

Long Weekend

Dead Calm

The Killing of Angel Street

Newsfront

Heatwave

The Year of Living Dangerously

Wake in Fright

Sunday Too Far Away

The Water Diviner

The Man From Snowy River

The Man From Snowy River

The Water Diviner

Australia

The Silver Brumby

Goldstone

Dead Heart

Babe: Pig in the City

Mystery Road

Bungala Boys

Bra Boys

The Coolangatta Gold

The Four Minute Mile

Crocodile Dundee...

Grant Page accepts the Screen Nsw Award from George Miller..

Screen Nsw has gifted its inaugural annual award to legendary stuntman Grant Page, who has coordinated stunts for the likes of Mel Gibson and Jackie Chan.

Page was presented the $10,000 award, designed to .honour an individual to whom both screen audiences and the industry owe a significant debt., by George Miller. The director first worked with Page on the original Mad Max, as well as Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.

.Working, under fierce and extraordinary circumstances, on the first Mad Max,.I came to know the calibre of Grant Page. A masterful and innovative stuntman, he has a deep and elegant intelligence. He taught me a lot about filmmaking but even more about life. Inspirations which have sustained me ever since. Grant is heroic in every sense of the word,. said Miller.

Courtney Gibson, CEO of Screen Nsw, said: .When the director yells .action. on set,...

Arrow Video has now given horror fans several big reasons to look forward to November, as they will keep the scary spirits alive post-Halloween with Us / UK Blu-ray releases of The Initiation and The Driller Killer, a Us Blu-ray / DVD release of C.H.U.D., and a UK Blu-ray / DVD release of Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf.

From Arrow Video’s official Facebook page: “New Us Title Announcement: C.H.U.D Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD

The ultimate underground movie experience

North American Blu-ray pre-order link should be live soon!

They’Re Not Staying Down There, Anymore!

From the subterranean depths it crawls! Finally making its long-awaited debut on Blu-ray, director Douglas Cheek’s cult ‘80s favorite C.H.U.D. is the ultimate underground movie experience.

In downtown Manhattan, a police captain’s hunt for his missing wife leads to the discovery of a series of mysterious disappearances in the area.

Wednesday January 27, 2016 was International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the date the United Nations has chosen to commemorate victims of the Holocaust during World War II. Six million Jews were murdered by Germany's Nazi regime, along with 5 million non-Jews who were also murdered. The anniversary, marked each year since 2005, falls on the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp in Poland by the Russian army in 1945. One million people died there.

Film director, Philippe Mora and music legend Eric Clapton have joined forces to co-produce a very personal film – "Three Days in Auschwitz" – which details life and death in the Auschwitz concentration camp.

The official synopsis describes the film as follows:

As a Jew, born the year after the end of World War II, Philippe Mora was a second-generation holocaust survivor who lost eight members of his family at Auschwitz. Unaware for many years about the role his father played in the French Resistance and how his mother had evaded certain death at Auschwitz by one day, Philippe Mora takes us on a personal journey that many holocaust survivors have had to walk to try to come to terms with the scale of inhumanity that the Nazis showed towards the Jews. From Melbourne to Paris and London, Mora traces the people who lived through the horrors of concentration camps and discovers how his own life was very nearly extinct before he was even born.

"Three Days in Auschwitz" is the story of how Mora was eventually driven to visit Auschwitz itself after decades of avoiding this death camp. His message is that while it remains a chapter in our history that must never be forgotten – it should also be remembered that monsters did not carry out Hitler’s instructions for the Final Solution of the Jewish Question, they were ordinary human beings. ‘To ignore this fact’, states Mora, ‘is to allow the next Hitler to arise and commit genocide.’ As well as being a co-producer, Mora’s heartfelt film boasts a score which has been specially composed and performed by Eric Clapton.

The haunting sound of Clapton’s guitar accompanying the train trucks ferrying thousands of Jews into their death on the rail tracks of Auschwitz is unforgettable, according to Mora, who has a long-standing friendship with Clapton that goes back to their days as flatmates around the Kings Road in Chelsea when Mora was a young artist and Clapton about to hit the big time in music. As well as Clapton’s soundtrack, Mora who has directed many films including Communion, Howling II and III, Mad Dog Morgan, has showcased some of his paintings that were inspired by the memories of holocaust survivors and his feelings about the Nazis. ‘Are you a Jew?’ Hitler asks Mickey Mouse in one of Mora’s paintings.

"Three Days in Auschwitz" will be released on DVD and digital by Screenbound Pictures on 9 May 2016, along with special public screenings.

Hail Caesar!

"Hail, Caesar!," the Coen brother's latest feature, will open the 66th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival next year on February 11th - six days after its U.S. premiere. The story follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer (Josh Brolin) who gets a call that star Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) disappeared from the shooting of the studio's latest sand-and-sandles epic. [Source: THR]

Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino has revealed he's planning a special screening event featuring 1970s Australian westerns "The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith" and "Mad Dog Morgan" during his visit to Australia next month to promote "The Hateful Eight" release. [Source: Smh]

Just Cause 3

Avalanche Studios has posted an update on the Steam page for the just released video game "Just Cause 3", the update apologising for the various bugs that have impacted primarily the game's frame-rate and server log-in issues. A patch is reportedly coming soon...

Quentin Tarantino is set host a live Q and A in Sydney before screening his two favourite Australian "Western-ish" films.

The newly established People.s Republic of Movies, will hold an exclusive one-night-only double bill of Australian cinema plus a live Q&A hosted by Oscar Award-winning writer/director, Tarantino, at The Star, Sydney on January 15.

Tarantino, who is in Australia promoting The Hateful Eight, will host the evening the evening which pays homage to Australian cinema.

Tarantino has chosen to show The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978) and the wild Dennis Hopper outlaw classic, Mad Dog Morgan (1976).

The films will be screened in 35mm format, sourced from the National Film and Sound Archive.

Tarantino will be joined by award winning director Fred Schepisi (The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Six Degrees of Separation) and globally acclaimed writer Thomas Keneally (Schindler.s List) plus a few surprises.

P.R.O.M founder and curator,...

Philippe Mora has made so many films, from historical to hysterical. The first time I heard of him was with his film “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” in 1975, which he wrote and directed. Produced by Sandy Lieberman and David Puttnam and edited by Jeremy Thomas, it was already his eighth film. His life story and his family’s life stories are so incredible that they are hard to believe, but you know they are true. Even his great aunt Charlotte Morawski, one of the few women ever to attend university at the time, wrote a dissertation in 1915 in Breslau, Germany on Nietzsche and his relationship with a Jewish woman named Rees. This dissertation was recently brought to Philippe by the widow of the director Sam Fuller…(!)

Philippe is one of the most consistently eclectic directors of the '70s and ‘80s. His work has ranged from the controversial Nazi documentary “Swastika" — banned in Israel and Germany for its use of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun's home movies — to the outlaw biopic "Mad Dog Morgan " starring Dennis Hopper, to superhero spoof "The Return of Captain Invincible" featuring Alan Arkin.

And now, ‘Three Days in Auschwitz -The Film” is a couple days from finishing the campaign on Indiegogo. He says, " We are looking great on the Indiedgogo Flexible Funding option. We are deeply grateful to all who have funded. Those who have not please have a look at this, and if you can, please kick us up a notch!"

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/three-days-in-auschwitz-a-film

Philippe explains the origin of this film:

"My mother Mirka Mora was scheduled to be transported from Paris to Auschwitz via Pithiviers in 1942. She escaped by one day. Many in my family did not escape. I've spent decades wondering why did this catastrophe happen? There are still no definitive answers. In the light of all current knowledge this film asks why once more. This current examination started in Poland in 2010.

The barbaric events in Paris last week underline that violent depravity is still with us. The medieval notions that fuelled Auschwitz are sadly and dangerously still present. Please be kind enough to continue to support the completion of this artistic but factual film, by spreading the link amongst contacts you feel may be sympathetic, and/or interested in the history of racism and bigotry. To those of you who have already contributed, again my heartfelt thanks. Rest assured the film will be completed."

To support the film visit Here...

The Oldenburg International Film Festival, an indie fest billed as “Germany's Sundance” will honor Australian cult director Philippe Mora this year with a retrospective of his life's work. One of the most consistently eclectic of the 70s and 80s, Mora's work has ranged form controversial Nazi documentary Swastika – banned in Israel and Germany for its use of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun's home movies – to outlaw-biopic Mad Dog Morgan starring Dennis Hopper to superhero spoof The Return of Captain Invincible featuring Alan Arkin. Mora will attend the 21st Oldenburg festival and will receive the fest's German Independence

read more...

Australia... it's a vast, beautiful, welcoming country. It's also full to bursting with things that can kill you, if the big screen is to be believed. Inspired by Mia Wasikowska's plucky 1,700-mile trek across the Outback in Tracks, we flag up the traps and tropes she should watch out for.

(Un)Natural Phenomena

Exotic wildlife proliferates Down Under, most of it deceptively lethal. Witness the baby stolen by a dingo in horrifying Meryl Streep-starrer A Cry In The Dark (1988). The same – real – tragedy loosely inspired Razorback, a mullet-tastic 1984 horror about a giant marauding pig, directed by Highlander's Russell Mulcahy (mooted tagline: 'There Can Only Be Oink'). The less said about the ballet-dancing were-roos of The Marsupials: The Howling III (1987), the better.

Much more convincing is the giant CG crocodile munching Radha Mitchell's boat tour group (ex-Neighbours actors constitute an Outback peril all of their own) in 2007's Rogue,...

Philippe Mora, the Australian-u.S. Producer of incredibly Jewish stories which are based on his own family is now showing his film Absolutely Modern on Amazon Instant Video and we think you should tune in. If Sandy Lieberson of Film London says that " Philippe Mora never ceases to surprise, challenge and amuse. He is a one man film industry and satire is his weapon. ” then it’s worth the look.

Philippe is best known in the film world for Brother Can You Spare a Dime (which was produced by Sanford Lieberson and David Puttnam and edited by Jeremy Thomas!) It was a great film, a nostalgic look back at the Great Depression with contemporary archival footage and film clips picturing James Cagney as an American Everyman that Dimension might still have for U.S. Other films he is known for —Mad Dog Morgan (1976),Howling III (1987) and Communion(1989) are just a few on a long, long list of films. Check him out on IMDb or IMDbPro now.

Here are some links to this smart, well reviewed comedy about muses, modernism and the role of sexuality in art as told by the famed art critic Lord Steinway when a football player, 29, confronts Steinway as his long lost son,.

Movie link: Amazon Instant Video

I hope all my film friends don’t ask me to do this, because I am not an advertising agency, but in the case of Philippe (we go back a long way!) I am happy to do this and besides it is a great opportunity to see how modern media can sell using modern technology. Dyi as its best!

And on another note, a documentary film titled Man Made Mora about him is being directed and produced by Alan Goldman and edited by Alex Soler for Blue Plate Productions.

The film is a feature documentary about Artist and Filmmaker Philippe Mora as he takes us on a unique journey into film, art and history, which reveals a tragic family past, but his family's survival and work represents a celebration of life, creativity and art.

Mr. Mora's parents were survivors of the Holocaust and moved to Melbourne, Australia from Paris when he was three years old. In 2010, he was attending a retrospective of his work at the New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw. As you probably aware Wroclaw was formerly part of Germany and was known as Breslau prior to the end of World War Two. Before he left for the festival his mother Mirka told him that she remembered his father telling her that his grandfather Max had gotten married there. The archivist said that she would help but needed a couple of days to see what she could find.

Upon his return Philippe was amazed to learn that the archivist had found a lot more than just the marriage certificate. She had unearthed a plethora of Third Reich documents revealing the fate of his great uncle Fritz Morawski, a wealthy businessman and landowner, who had all of his assets and possessions stolen by the Nazis and then, along with his family, he perished in Auschwitz. Mora recently passed the papers over to a lawyer who specializes in these types of claims who stated “this kind of extensive documentation—250 plus items—is extremely unusual because the Nazis destroyed such records.” By searching through the documents Mora has determined that eight of his relatives were murdered at Auschwitz.

Philippe is fascinated by the “banality of evil”, a theme flowing through all of his art and films. Although Mora has made four films about the scourge of Nazism, it is too simplistic to categorize him as a filmmaker obsessed with everything to do with the Third Reich. Mora is constantly turning over the rocks of history searching for answers to his questions. Philippe has examined subjects such as Marilyn Monroe’s mysterious death believing that “many important historical artifacts are just hiding in plain sight.” Why the continual search for answers? Is it because he recently discovered that the Nazis murdered eight of his relatives in Auschwitz, or because his father was an important member of the French resistance? Whatever the reasons, he has a desire to continue to question the past through his art, in an attempt to better understand how history has shaped our current day life. In Man Made Mora we will see Philippe tackle that past directly.

We will document Philippe’s journey back to Poland and Germany to find out what happened to his family and their possessions. The journey will serve as a physical and metaphorical means of structuring the film and will result in an intimate portrayal of the man. The audience will get an account of what happened to his family and witness Philippe sharing his own thoughts about their tragic past.

The Hollywood star is in Australia to film her second movie as director. But what sort of welcome should she expect?

Angelina Jolie arrived in Sydney last Friday to direct the second world war film Unbroken. The movie, about Olympic track star Louie Zamperini, who survived shark attacks and internment in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp, is Jolie's second directorial feature. Her first, In the Land of Blood and Honey, wasn't seen by many. Paparazzi shots of her trip to Australia are likely to be seen by more people.

And the sharks are also likely to be circling. Many movie stars have dipped their toes into Australian waters only to have them nearly snapped off as the result of diva-like behaviour, anti-Aussie comments or simple bad manners.

Jolie's high-wattage star presence will attract the usual tabloid twittering and paparazzi hullaballoo, especially after a relative drought of big productions in Australia. (Her...

Australian archive says 1996 pop art-inspired version of Shakespeare was first movie created specifically for the internet

A one-hour, pop art-inspired version of William Shakespeare's Richard III by the Australian director Philippe Mora, has been hailed by Australia's National Film and Sound Archive (Nfsa) as the first movie ever created specifically for the internet – uploaded and shared online in 1996.

The master tape and a sheaf of documents in which senior Apple executives discuss the film, sent at the time by post from the company's Cupertino, California headquarters, were found in Mora's private collection in Los Angeles and given to the Nfsa in Canberra in May.

Mora's film, featuring 20 actors, mostly friends who worked for free, was shot on Betacam with Walter Bal, operator on Francois Truffaut's Day for Night. The cost of the experiment – Us$50,000 – was met by Peter Sterling, a New Zealand mining expert and internet entrepreneur.

Nfsa...

It's almost two years since the passing of one of cinema's true wild men, Dennis Hopper. The actor, writer and director was a maverick titan of cinema, a man who starred in some of the most pictures of American cinema, from "Rebel Without A Cause" to "Blue Velvet," while also writing and directing a film that arguably changed the movies forever, "Easy Rider," while maintaining a personal life that was decidedly colorful (for full details, read Peter Biskind's modern classic "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls."

The actor was born 76 years ago today, and to pay tribute, we're republishing our look at the actor's ten greatest roles, which we originally ran shortly after his passing. Everyone has a favorite Hopper role, but some of his best performances came away from the beaten track: hopefully you'll find a little of both below. And let us know your own favorite turn from the actor in the comments section.

Australian actor known for his roles in Strictly Ballroom and Muriel's Wedding

For many Australians, the screen persona of the character actor Bill Hunter, who has died of cancer aged 71, was the archetypal "ocker", an uncultivated Australian working man who enjoys beer, "barbies", Aussie rules football and V8 supercars. According to Phillip Noyce, who directed the oft-bearded actor in three movies and a TV miniseries: "Bill was the absolute essence of the Anglo-Irish Australian male of the 20th century. Seemingly gruff and impenetrable, he could convey the tenderness beneath the exterior."

He was seen and appreciated by millions in three of Australia's biggest hit films – Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom (1992), Pj Hogan's Muriel's Wedding (1994) and Stephan Elliott's The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) – all revealing Hunter at the peak of his powers.

He was born in Melbourne, but was brought up in rural Victoria, in Australia's south-east.

Red Hill

Directed by Patrick Hughes

Written by Patrick Hughes

2010, Australia

Considering the similar historical trajectory to the United States I’ve always wondered why Australian film-makers didn’t produce more Westerns. The obvious answer of course is that as a genre the Western is not in vogue as it once was but the miniscule volume of braves that have stampeded down under over the years contain a modest list of intriguing, intelligent and gripping films – from the brutal The Proposition (2005) to the angry The Chant Of Jimmy Blacksmith (1978) or the cultish Mad Dog Morgan (1976) you’d think that some enterprising antipodean producers would be anxious to exploit their countries history for the chtonic dollar. Similarly potent themes are ripe for exploration whether they are framed by Monument Valley or Ayers Rock, from the settlers uncertain relationship with the indigenous people, the birth of a new civilisation amidst a savage and inhospitable wilderness,...

Philippe Mora's Mad Dog Morgan is not a generic cat and mouse game between a criminal and policemen. It's one of those rare biopic that can almost be watched like a documentary.

In the 1850s, Daniel Morgan (Dennis Hopper), an Irish immigrant, comes in the Australian state of Victoria during the gold rush. Because he's unlucky, Morgan will be poor and lose hope. In order to survive, he commits armed robberies, but will end up in prison. He initially has a penalty of 12 years, but will be on parole after six years because of his good behaviour. Once he's out, Daniel will become a bushranger in the outback. With the help of Billy (David Gulpilil), an Aboriginal who teaches how to survive and defend himself in the wild, he steals from rich landowners and passersby. Of course, the states of Victoria and New South Wales will devote a lot...

Quickly establishing itself as one of the premiere events for genre cinema in Canada is the edgy Temps 0 program at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinema and this year is no exception. Though the official press conference isn't until tomorrow morning we've got an early look at the lineup and it's a good one. Voila!

The Last Circus (Alex de la Iglesia)

La Casa Muda (The Silent House) (Gustavo Hernandez) North-American Premiere

Chatroom (Hideo Nakata) North-American Premiere

Colorful (Keiichi Hara) North American Premiere

Confessions (Tetsuya Nakashima)

David Wants to Fly (David Sieveking)

Doman Seman (Go Shibata) Canadian Premiere

Enter the Void (Gaspar Noé) Director will be present

Headless Family (Kote Aramboy) International Premiere

Hisss (Jennifer Chambers Lynch) Canadian Premiere

The Intruder  (Thanadol Nualsuth, Thammanoon Sakulboonthanom) North American Premiere

Kaboom (Gregg Araki)

Mad Dog Morgan (Philippe Mora) In 35mm with director present

Monsters (Gareth Edwards)

Outrage (Takeshi Kitano)

Raavanan (Tamil Version) (Mani Ratnam...

Dennis Hopper. One of the greats in cinema history. A consistent rebel in Hollywood, he pushed envelopes as often as he ripped them up and pissed on the scraps. And even when you could tell he was doing a film just for a paycheck, he did the most with that role and made us as film fans all the happier. I’m looking at you, “Waterworld”. So here at the Criterion Cast, I’ve decided to do a top 10 of my favorite Dennis Hopper roles in film. It also doesn’t hurt that he is in the Criterion Collection, in the TV series “Fishing With John”. Check it out if you haven’t already.

10. “Speed” (1994) – As villainous bomb expert Howard Payne, he more or less steals the movie from Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. But that’s like stealing candy from two rocks. I enjoy this film though, considering the...

Just a day after the death of former child star Gary Coleman, legendary veteran actor Dennis Hopper has died at the age of 74 following a battle with prostate cancer which he was first diagnosed with last year reports The BBC.

The actor first came to notice with a small role in "Rebel Without a Cause" and went on to memorable roles in such films as "Easy Rider," "Apocalypse Now," "Blue Velvet," "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," "Cool Hand Luke," "Hang 'Em High," "True Grit," "Mad Dog Morgan," "Reborn," "The Osterman Weekend," "Hoosiers," "Super Mario Bros.," "True Romance," "Speed," "Waterworld," "Basquiat," "EDtv," "Knockaround Guys," "Land of the Dead" and TV shows like "24," "Gunsmoke," "E-Ring," and "Crash".

Hopper died Saturday morning surrounded by friends and family at his home in Venice, California.

Actor had so many diverse roles -- from 'Rebel Without a Cause' to 'Easy Rider' to 'Blue Velvet' -- that none is truly definitive.

By Adam Rosenberg with Jem Aswad

Dennis Hopper

Photo: Evan Agostini/ImageDirect

In Hollywood history, a mere handful of stars have had careers that reached the peaks, the depths, the diversity and the longevity of Dennis Hopper's. The legendary — and legendarily rebellious — actor died of prostate cancer early Saturday (May 29) at the age of 74.

Indeed, Hopper's signature roles were so different from each other — and so widely separated by years over his nearly six-decade-long career — that it's difficult to choose one as definitive. Some might single out the teen who appeared with James Dean in 1955's "Rebel Without A Cause." Others recall the nitrous-oxide-huffing psychopath Frank Booth, villain of David Lynch's classic 1986 thriller, "Blue Velvet." Hopper played another memorable villain (who meets a memorable end) in 1994's "Speed.

Actor had so many diverse roles -- from 'Rebel Without a Cause' to 'Easy Rider' to 'Blue Velvet' -- that none is truly definitive.

By Adam Rosenberg with Jem Aswad

Dennis Hopper

Photo: Evan Agostini/ImageDirect

In Hollywood history, a mere handful of stars have had careers that reached the peaks, the depths, the diversity and the longevity of Dennis Hopper's. The legendary — and legendarily rebellious — actor died of prostate cancer early Saturday (May 29) at the age of 74.

Indeed, Hopper's signature roles were so different from each other — and so widely separated by years over his nearly six-decade-long career — that it's difficult to choose one as definitive. Some might single out the teen who appeared with James Dean in 1955's "Rebel Without A Cause." Others recall the nitrous-oxide-huffing psychopath Frank Booth, villain of David Lynch's classic 1986 thriller, "Blue Velvet." Hopper played another memorable villain (who meets a memorable end) in 1994's "Speed.

The Alamo Guide

for February 26th, 2010

I’ve got to stop bitching about the weather. Last week I praised February, and then yesterday it snowed. Snowed. Whatevs. I’m over it.We were surprised earlier this week when we found out we’d be getting Roman Polanski’s newest thriller early than expected! The Ghost Writer opens Friday at S. Lamar and has Ewan McGregor’s dreamy face all over it, with Pierce Brosnan trying to kill that dreamy face. I think. I haven’t seen it yet! Cop Out also opens this weekend, and if you love 30 Rock as much as I do, you’ll probably go see it just for Tracy Morgan! Also, the red band trailer makes me giggle A Lot. Speaking of giggling inappropriately, it’s time for the return of Spike And Mike’S Sick And Twisted Festival Of Animation! Longest title ever! Grossest cartoons ever!

You can't really make an argument for Philippe Mora as a great filmmaker, but I might be able to make the argument that he's not a terrible filmmaker.  If I was only judging films like his "Howling" sequels or "Communion" or "Pterodactyl Woman From Beverly Hills," it would be easy to dismiss him completely.  But there have been some bright spots on his filmography like the early documentary, "Brother Can You Spare A Dime?" or this movie, "Mad Dog Morgan," which has never been released properly in the Us until now. My interest in this film was piqued when it was featured in "Not Quite...

The first action Dennis Hopper takes in the 1976 film Mad Dog Morgan mixes compassion with violence. While trying, and largely failing, to get rich off a mid-19th-century Australian gold rush, he watches a policeman abuse a Chinese immigrant, and he registers his protest with his fists. Before long, the powers that be answer his kindness with a bloody show of force that he barely escapes. It’s a pattern he’ll follow for the rest of his short life. A bushranger—Australia’s equivalent of an Old West outlaw—Hopper becomes an unstable rebel hero thanks to his unrestrained ...

"Stand and deliver, sir!" Dennis Hopper in Philippe Mora's Mad Dog Morgan.

Philippe Mora: Ballad Of A Mad Dog

By

Alex Simon

Born in Paris in 1949, Philippe Mora is a member of one of Australia’s best known artistic families. His parents, Georges Mora and Mirka Mora, migrated to Australia from France in 1951 and settled in Melbourne, where they quickly became key figures on the Melbourne cultural scene. Georges, a wartime resistance fighter, became an influential art dealer, and in 1967 he founded one of the first commercial art galleries in Melbourne, Tolarno Galleries. The Mora family home and restaurants were focal points of Melbourne's bohemian subculture. As a result of this, Philippe and his brothers had what he has described as a "culturally privileged childhood."

Philippe moved to London in late 1967 to pursue painting and filmmaking. He was one of many important Australian artists, writers and others who...

DVD Playhouse—December 2009

By

Allen Gardner

Public Enemies (Universal) Johnny Depp portrays legendary Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger in co- writer/director Michael Mann’s take on America’s first “Public Enemy Number One.” Like many big studio releases today, Public Enemies has it all: A-list talent before and behind the camera, but lacks a heart or soul that allows its audience to connect with it. Film plays out like a “true crime” TV show with re-enactments of famous events cast with top actors and shot by the best technicians in the business, with little, if any, character or story development to hold it together in between. A real disappointment from one of our finest filmmakers and finest actors. The lone standout: the great character actor Stephen Lang as a hard-eyed lawman who’s seen a lot, but manages to retain a tiny piece of his heart. For a better take on the same subject,...

This is only the second installment of Western Wednesday, and I believe I have already seen the messiest and strangest film that ever boasted a horse, a pistol, and a sunset: Mad Dog Morgan. It was a toss-up between Morgan and The Ox-Bow Incident, but I had a thirst for some Ozploitation, and Morgan is a pretty legendary piece of Australian filmmaking.

It also seemed like a good idea to expand the cinematic frontier early on in this feature, and visit a place that has a remarkably similar history. Americans tend to think that the myth of the Wild Wild West is theirs, and theirs alone – and it certainly is, but Australia enjoyed a settlement experience that was just as violent and lawless as our own. They just had kangaroos instead of buffalo, and convicts instead of hardy pioneers.

One thing America and Australia would appear to have in common is an idolization of outlaws.

The second part to Halo-8's post-nuke, punk rock animation series, Godkiller: Walk Among (amazon) streets today. This time we get a 45 minute episode which is a bit more satisfying than the first 25 minute part. This series based on the comic book by Matt Pizzolo and illustrator Anna Muckcracker is truly groundbreaking stuff so check it out if possible.

Also out this week is the Criterion Collection edition of Matteo Garrone's documentary-like, gangster film, Gomorrah (amazon). I've heard nothing but good things about this one and I can't wait to finally catch it on DVD.

Another heavy hitter out this week comes to us from Troma's new "Tromasterpeice Collection" which brought us the impressive 25th Anniversary Edition of Combat Shock. This time they're outdoing themselves by releasing a 3-disc DVD set of Philippe Mora's 1976 film, Mad Dog Morgan (amazon), starring Denis Hopper at his absolute craziest. If...

Philippe Mora's Mad Dog Morgan, a violent true story and a 70's classic that forever changed the way international audiences saw Australian cinema, is being released in a two-disc limited edition DVD set on November 24 from Troma. Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now) plays Mad Dog Morgan, Australia's most notorious criminal, with all the bravado that turned him into the decade's most radical screen icon. Critics at the Cannes Film Festival praised Mad Dog Morgan and awarded it the John Ford Memorial Award for Best Western before it became a worldwide hit. The new two-disc set includes the shocking uncut version of Mad Dog Morgan (with graphic violence previously censored in North America!), That's Our Mad Dog (a conversation with writer/director Philippe Mora and Dennis Hopper), a rare radio interview with Mora, new interviews with crewmembers, a locations featurette, and more! One of the inaugural films of the Australian New Wave,...