Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation examines how Australia didn't really have a movie industry to call it's own until the beginning of the Seventies, but once they got started the Aussies mostly bypassed making worthy and critically-respectable films, and instead embraced the various genres associated with low budget B movies, churning out sex comedies & skin flicks, horror films and action thrillers. The documentary contains clips and discussion on many Australian films that I've already seen or was aware of - TURKEY SHOOT, SKY PIRATES, SNAPSHOT, RAZORBACK, LOST WEEKEND, PATRICK, THE SURVIVOR, ROAD GAMES, HARLEQUIN, etc (sadly the wannabe sci-fi epic THE TIME GUARDIAN is only represented by a quick glimpse of it's poster) - and a few that I'd not previously heard of, but would now like to track down. FAIR GAME (1985) and THE MAN FROM HONG KONG both look as though they're an absolute blast.
There are dozens of interviewees, most of whom are surprisingly candid: Steve Railsback has nothing good to say about TURKEY SHOOT, and the movie's producer admits that due to lack of time and money, live rounds were fired close to actors during some of the action scenes. Jamie Lee Curtis remembers being subjected to a hate campaign while shooting ROAD GAMES, for allegedly taking work away from Australian actresses. Wendy Hughes recalls that after doing a topless scene in one film, most of the reviews discussed the shape of her breasts at length and didn't mention her performance. Everybody involved in MAD DOG MORGAN tells of how Dennis Hopper spent the entire shoot out of his head on drugs (we see behind-the-scenes footage confirming this), and Hopper himself reveals that during production he was arrested for drunk driving and the police doctor told him that based on the amount of alcohol in his bloodstream, he was technically dead.
Not Quite Hollywood is a wonderful celebration of Australia's frequently ignored movie output, and is well worth watching.
There are dozens of interviewees, most of whom are surprisingly candid: Steve Railsback has nothing good to say about TURKEY SHOOT, and the movie's producer admits that due to lack of time and money, live rounds were fired close to actors during some of the action scenes. Jamie Lee Curtis remembers being subjected to a hate campaign while shooting ROAD GAMES, for allegedly taking work away from Australian actresses. Wendy Hughes recalls that after doing a topless scene in one film, most of the reviews discussed the shape of her breasts at length and didn't mention her performance. Everybody involved in MAD DOG MORGAN tells of how Dennis Hopper spent the entire shoot out of his head on drugs (we see behind-the-scenes footage confirming this), and Hopper himself reveals that during production he was arrested for drunk driving and the police doctor told him that based on the amount of alcohol in his bloodstream, he was technically dead.
Not Quite Hollywood is a wonderful celebration of Australia's frequently ignored movie output, and is well worth watching.