Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Mark Hartley

Writer:

Mark Hartley (written by)

Release Date:

28 August 2008 (Australia)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Finally an Aussie film packed full of boobs, pubes, tubes ... and a bit of kung fu.

Plot:

NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD is the wild, untold story of "OZPLOITATION" movies - a time when Australian cinema...

Plot Keywords:

Sci Fi Filmmaking | Film History | 1980s | Film Discussion | Australian History

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Abigail	...	Herself (archive footage)
Phillip Adams	...	Himself
Christine Amor	...	Herself
Glory Annen	...	Herself
Victoria Anoux	...	Herself
Alan Arkin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ian Barry	...	Himself
Briony Behets	...	Herself
Shara Berriman	...	Herself (archive footage)
Alyson Best	...	Herself (archive footage)
Steve Bisley	...	Himself
Jamie Blanks	...	Himself
Graeme Blundell	...	Himself
Gary Bond	...	Himself (archive footage)
Russell Boyd	...	Himself
Richard Brennan	...	Himself
Dan Burstall	...	Himself
Tom Burstall	...	Himself
Don Chipp	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robin Copping	...	Himself
Broderick Crawford	...	Himself (archive footage)
Barry Crocker	...	Himself
Cul Cullen	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lynette Curran	...	Herself
Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Herself
Gianni Dei	...	Himself (archive footage)
Cassandra Delaney	...	Herself
Everett De Roche	...	Himself
Ross Dimsey	...	Himself
David Eggby	...	Himself
Bob Ellis	...	Himself
Noel Ferrier	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alan Finney	...	Himself
Richard Franklin	...	Himself
Belinda Giblin	...	Herself
Rebecca Gilling	...	Herself
Antony I. Ginnane	...	Himself
John Grey Gorton	...	Himself (archive footage)
Deborah Gray	...	Herself
David Hannay	...	Himself
Sandy Harbutt	...	Himself
Rod Hardy	...	Himself
Gregory Harrison	...	Himself
Rod Hay	...	Himself
Robert Helpmann	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Hemmings	...	Himself (archive footage)
Carla Hoogeveen	...	Herself
Alan Hopgood	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself
John Michael Howson	...	Himself
Wendy Hughes	...	Herself
Barry Humphries	...	Himself
Bill Hunter	...	Himself (archive footage)
Olivia Hussey	...	Chris Walters (archive footage)
Ivan Hutchinson	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Jarratt	...	Himself
Barry Jones	...	Himself
Brian Jones	...	Himself
Stacy Keach	...	Himself
Graham Kennedy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ted Kotcheff	...	Himself
John D. Lamond	...	Himself
Nina Landis	...	Herself
George Lazenby	...	Himself
Christopher Lee	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chris Löfvén	...	Himself
Greg Lynch	...	Himself
William Margold	...	Himself
James Mason	...	Himself (archive footage)
Ross Matthews	...	Himself
Donald McAlpine	...	Himself
Bob McCarron	...	Himself
Pat McDonald	...	Herself (archive footage)
Hal McElroy	...	Himself
Greg Mclean	...	Himself
Kris McQuade	...	Herself (archive footage)
John Meillon	...	Himself (archive footage)
George Miller	...	Himself
Spike Milligan	...	Himself (archive footage)
Vincent Monton	...	Himself
Philippe Mora	...	Himself
Katie Morgan	...	Herself (archive footage)
Judy Morris	...	Herself
Russell Mulcahy	...	Himself
Rod Mullinar	...	Himself
Debbie Nankervis	...	Herself (archive footage)
Grant Page	...	Himself
Barbara Parkins	...	Herself (archive footage)
Michael Pate	...	Himself (archive footage)
Susan Penhaligon	...	Herself
George Peppard	...	Himself (archive footage)
Luan Peters	...	Herself (archive footage)
Donald Pleasence	...	Himself (archive footage)
Robert Powell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chips Rafferty	...	Himself (archive footage)
Steve Railsback	...	Himself
Candy Raymond	...	Herself
Cheryl Rixon	...	Herself
Carmen Russo	...	Herself (archive footage)
Joanne Samuel	...	Herself
Fred Schepisi	...	Himself
John Seale	...	Himself
Ken Shorter	...	Himself
Bruce Spence	...	Himself (archive footage)
Lynda Stoner	...	Herself
Rosie Sturgess	...	Herself (archive footage)
Quentin Tarantino	...	Himself
Rod Taylor	...	Himself
Al Thomas	...	Himself (archive footage)
Henry Thomas	...	Himself
Jeremy Thomas	...	Himself
Jack Thompson	...	Himself
Sigrid Thornton	...	Herself
Brian Trenchard-Smith	...	Himself
James Wan	...	Himself
Garry Wapshott	...	Himself
Roger Ward	...	Himself
Lesley Ann Warren	...	Sally (archive footage)
John Waters	...	Himself
Jacki Weaver	...	Herself (archive footage)
Leigh Whannell	...	Himself
Gough Whitlam	...	Himself (archive footage)
David Williamson	...	Himself
Tony Williams	...	Himself
Simon Wincer	...	Himself
Arna-Maria Winchester	...	Herself
Uri Windt	...	Himself
Norman Yemm	...	Himself
Susannah York	...	Herself

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic nudity, sexuality, violence and gore, some language and drug use.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | UK:18 | USA:R | New Zealand:R18

Company:

City Films Worldwide

Movie Connections:

Features Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

One of the best documentaries I have seen in many years!

It is about time a documentary was made about Australia's 70's and 80's exploitation films, which range from sex comedies, car chase films, hardcore horror and kung fu flicks. Mark Hartley has created a fitting tribute which moves at an almost non-stop pace and is full of hilarious interviews, great clips and interesting tales of on-set accidents and rowdy actors. Unfortunately, I never got to experience this period of unknown Aussie film making which now (thanks to this documentary) may be uncovered again!

Not Quite Hollywood starts off with some background of the Aussie film industry back in the late 60's/early 70's and the strict censorship policies we had. This then moves into the first type of exploitation we had; sex-fueled, gross-out comedies. Some notable ones are: Stork (1971), Alvin Purple (1973), The True Story of Eskimo Nell (1975) and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974). Most of these features copious amounts of nudity (both male and female) and sex (of which the doco shows quite a bit of). These made a fair bit of money, but most of the critics despised the crassness and abrupt sexuality. Interviews with the lady stars (who are not afraid to talk about their mostly naked roles) and Barry Humphries are often funny. This first half an hour or so is a great introduction to the next section...

"Comatose Killers and Outback Chillers." In this section, Hartley shows us Australia's disturbed side with absurd, sadistic horror films which have a confessed fan, Quentin Tarantino. He excitedly reels off his favourites and how they have inspired some of his films (especially "ill Bill: Vol. 1." A few stand-out movies are: Patrick (1978), Razorback (1984), Snapshot (1979), Harlequin (1980) and Long Weekend (1978). Interviews with directors (Brian Trenchard-Smith and the late Richard Franklin) and the many actors are again incredibly intriguing and quite amusing. These films were popular in America, being released in the exploitation cinemas and garnering cult followings.

The last section of the documentary is about "High Octane Disasters and Kung Fu Masters." Tarantino really contributes to this part, showing a vast knowledge and passion for our car chase scenes and the "fetishistic" way they are filmed. Cult classics such as: Mad Max (1979), The Man from Hong Kong (1975), Roadgames (1981) and Turkey Shoot (1982) are all mentioned and discussed. This part becomes interesting, as directors talk about troubles with stunts (involving tragic deaths of cameramen and stuntmen), injuries and actor problems. Tarantino lavishes praise on pretty much all these films and he is a pleasure to listen to. Also, new Aussie horror directors Greg McLean ("Wolf Creek") and James Wan and Leigh Whannell ("Saw") are interviewed and discuss the old and new Ozploitation cinema.

Hartley knows how to make a documentary to the point, funny and always captivating. The interviews are hysterical (especially Bob Ellis, a critic who constantly bashes the genre in a comical uptight manner) and the clips are appropriate and show all the right parts. This will please all ages, from the older people who lived through this time and the younger generation (my friends and I) who will discover a new genre of Australian movies to enjoy. This doco is almost one of the best things to come out of the cinemas this year, and opens up a part of Australian culture that up until now was left hidden. Is this recommended? YES! Hopefully (and it DOES look hopeful), Australia can start to release some great Ozploitation style films. With films like Rogue, Wolf Creek, Storm Warning, Black Water and Saw there is still a chance.

A solid 5/5