Product Details

• Actors: John Bach, Tania Bristowe, Sean Duffy, Tim Elliott (III), Connie Gilbert
• Format: Color, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Kino Video
• VHS Release Date: June 27, 2000
• Run Time: 104 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304600399
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #282,170 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recomended, over-looked, seldom-seen New Zealand film, February 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Utu [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Ignore Leonard Maltin's review of this film and check it out for yourself! What the British did to the Maoris in New Zealand curiously parallels what happened to the Native Americans in the USA. The story concerns a Maori warrior serving in the British Army who discovers that his family has been wiped out by the same military he is serving in. He tattoos his face and engages in UTU (ritualistic revenge). It is a powerful film, little-known in the USA, but tight, exciting, and and sure to leave you thinking.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Zealand "Last of the Mohicans", April 23, 2003

By 

William Yates (Richview, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Utu (DVD)

The conflicts of the indigenous peoples of Australia and New Zealand are often eclipsed by the conflict of Native Americans against the U.S. government. Utu offers an insightful snapshot into the conflict many of the New Zealand Maori felt against the encrouching culture of the English. The film showed that even those Maori who aided the English struggled inside to keep their cultural identity from being pulled into the undertoe of English colonialism.

The film serves up a good course of action, especially with the double barrelled shotgun scene. I highly recommend this film because it vividly presents the conflict between colonial powers and indigenous peoples. This film is "Last of the Mohicans" in a New Zealand context.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply stunning, May 30, 2002

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Utu [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I saw this movie when it first came out in the early 1980s, and a recent reviewing confirmed its brilliance. The subject matter is unique, a Maori uprising against Europeans in 19th century New Zealand. But what makes the movie worth watching are the performances. Several of the performers stand out, but especially Bruno Lawrence, who I have long considered one of the great underrated actors of the past twenty years. He has never gotten the kinds of rolls that I believe he deserved, but his work in this film as the settler bent on revenge for the loss of all he loved is stunning, as was his work in the films THE QUIET EARTH and SMASH PALACE. I was baffled when this movie came out that it didn't make a bigger splash than it did, and I have remained amazed that so few people seem to know about it.

Anyone who enjoys any Australian or New Zealand film should definitely seek this move out. Just an outstanding film.