Customer Reviews

Ghosts... of the Civil Dead

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cathy Doyle (Spikes, Mikes, Slackers and Dykes) took me to see a screening of this extrordinary Austrailian produced film 15 years ago. The setting is a 'maximum security lockdown' in the middle of nowhere. Obviously, the theme is isolation. It's a classic. Performances by Nick Cave (The Bad Seeds) and Chris de Rose (Last Chance for Animals) are violently poetic. Leaving the lonely preview (Cathy, I and Wendy Hayes (Billy's wife) were the only attendees) , we shared a communal awe and agreed this was a rare treat, a 'one of a kind' experience. Cathy pitched, but both Bob and Harvey (Miramax) and Nelson Entertainment (Embasy) turned it down. It is available on DVD in Europe, but has not yet been released in the United States. I strongly recommend this disturbing film and urge a domestic DVD release.

firstly I would have liked to have known just how much it would cost me to see this DVD. $89 was rather steep for the privilage. perhaps things could have been made clearer. as I have two copies it would desireable if I could sell one to in someway recoup the absurd expence that I have incurred.
as for the film. certainly not a happy one but neverless a jail is not meant to be. it comes across almost as a documentary in the way it depects the ugly side of prison life & the inmates within. a life that we hear about & only can imagine in our mightmares ie as an inmate. ugly people prisoners & guards, tattoos, violence are involved in a brutal battle to survive. it has been said that the only differnce between a prisoner & a guard is the side of the bars they are on. thus the story is that way inclined. certainly a question of what is entertainment must be considered.

A stunning film and as relevant as when it was made 22 years ago . . . I cannot see why this forgotten classic of the Australian Gothic genre has not gotten more attention.