Not Quite Hollywood

There was a glorious time when Australian cinema was full of good bad movies and bad good movies, with awesome car stunts, chopsocky, desert vampires, alien invaders, psychos, weirdoes, nymphos, bikers, marsupial werewolves and killer pigs. That was the era of the Ozploitation movie. It was a golden period in the '70s and '80s when Australia was churning out low budget gems usually with a sense of outrageousness whether it was a bawdy comedy or an uberviolent auctioneer.

It's without doubt my favourite period of Australian cinema, not just because I'm cult film inclined but I have a fondness for unrefined commercialism. When you don't have the money you have to become resourceful and stylish. It didn't always work, but it could result in some clever, innovative and hell entertaining flicks. And what is surprisingly common, that sometimes that cleverness, that refreshing kind of entertainment isn't fully recognized to well after the movement is over.

The feature length Not Quite Hollywood documents and celebrates the Ozploitation era. And it is thorough, covering as much as can be crammed in the two hours. It makes sure you don't miss anything. It feels like every bit of exploitation in the Ozploitation cannon is exhibited here. Every bawdy moment, every nude scene by a known actress, every time a body part is cut off, every car crash, every stunt gone wrong, every dirty one-liner, every punch, kick and explosion, everything that gave Ozploitation its identity.

The packaging and arranging of all these bits and pieces is an entertainment in itself. It's a fun film carefully designed to be accessible to anyone who has not seen a single film mentioned. Indeed, I saw it with just such a person and they got quite into it all. I greatly enjoyed the film, but I have to admit I got a buzz from identifying so many great and cheesy movies. However, even if I was chuffed at how many movies I recognised, I was in awe of Quentin Tarantino; the man knows his Aussie action stuff.

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Anyways, here are my five favourite Ozploitation movies. It's not what I think are necessarily the best films or the most representative; this is simply my five personal choices.

Stone (1974)

This is a landmark in Australian cinema and heralded the dark side of the Ozploitation era. It is a semi-real insight into biker culture, its the philosophy and codes. It was a tough film and brave for its day. It has dated but in such a way as to work as a '70s period film. And its exploitative aspects have actually kept it fresh.  Stone is not just a good Australian biker film; it is a good biker film, period.

Mad Max (1979)

One of the most important films to come out of the colony; it established the Australian Car Mythos and then exported it to the world. Hard to believe such a well made film came from so small a budget. Again, audiences reacted to the brutality but it revamped the hero myth and made its indelible mark. Its sequels pushed it into the popular consciousness.

Road Games (1981)

Quite consciously a Hitchcockian road movie - the director Richard Franklin went on to make Psycho 2 - and quite slick overall. Odd to have two American leads but I got over that quick enough as they are both good enough actors to carry the intended transpacific feel. It is the closest Ozploitation got to mainstream.

Running on Empty (1982) / Midnight Spares (1983)

I cheat, here are two movies; I couldn't make up my mind which I like more. Both are suburban car movies trying to create a fantasy mythos around car culture. Both create quirky support characters and set up hero/villain archetypes in a mundane environment. Running on Empty is turning

the drag racing scene from Rebel Without a Cause into a hero fantasy. Midnight Spares is more down to earth as eccentric tow-truck drivers get involved with a car stealing crime ring. Both have big car climaxes, both are little blasts of Aussie cool.

Razorback (1984)

Jaws in the desert, yes, but so what? It might be in essence a big scary pig movie, but made with so much '80s music clip style by Russell Mulcahy that it becomes an uber-cool sight and sound piece. Great soundtrack by Icehouse lead Iva Davies enhanced the whole thing. Is it a good film? Not a relevant question to ask.