DVD Review: Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)
Forget grindhouse, there's a new low budget kid on the block - Ozploitation - and it's celebrated in the award-winning documentary Not Quite Hollywood.
In truth, it's just another strand of grindhouse, just an Australian variation on a theme, albeit an influential one, especially on the likes of Tarantino (appearing throughout this documentary) and the new breed of Aussie directors, including James Wan and Greg McLean (the men responsible for Saw and Wolf Creek respectively).
Not that the majority of Australian low budget flicks come with anywhere near the gloss of the latter two movies - budget constraints and the need to shock and/or break new ground means the majority of early output (from the late 60s) hovers between blood and guts and sexploitation. Or indeed taking in both. Check out the first part of the documentary for a celebration of the female form Aussie-style, with a series of films that make the British 'Confessions...' films seem like Christmas Day family viewing. Or opt for a series of gory shockers up there with any of the US grindhouse 'classics'. And no-one quite does a car chase (and crash) like an Australian stuntman given just one take to get it right - making for some of the finest fuel-injected fun you'll ever see on the big (or small) screen.
And of course, there's an endless stream of 'out there' titles you really do struggle to make sense of - like Patrick (man in coma causes murderous mayhem from his hospital bed) or Turkey Shoot (where hunting people is a national sport). Oh yes, and a biker film that possibly beats all others. But more on Stone later this week. There's even a few that broke threw to the mainstream - like Road Games and Max Max for example. Indeed, it's not just about low budget movies with no-name actors, quite a few big names (Dennis Hopper, Jamie Lee Curtis, David Hemmings, George Lazenby and Donald Pleasance to name just five) were also tempted into the fledging world of Australian cinema with varying success.
And if you'd just slapped a disc together of all those movies in trailer form, I would have been perfectly happy. But writer/director Mark Hartley does more than that. He breaks down the genre into thematic strands, pulls out the most influential movies and interviews the people behind those films - the cast, the crew, the stuntmen and the famous fans. The result? A highly-satisfying 99 minutes of viewing for anyone with a love of trashy or low-budget cinema. And if that's not enough, check out the extras for more trailers, commentaries and extended interviews with the participants.
Not Quite Hollywood has won awards a-plenty and that's no surprise to this writer. If you think Australian cinema is little more than Muriel's Wedding and Strictly Ballroom, you need to own this. The downside? Well, you just might have to increase the size of your movie collection as a result.
Comments