Goodbye Pork Pie (1980) User Reviews

Classic switch off flick

[finmckenzie · 8/10 · 18 March 2001]

If you desire a film that has little effect on your psyche, then this is it. It has an enjoyment factor to rival many big budget films from both sides of the continent. To it's credit is the tiny budget and the 'number 8 fencing wire' approach by the cameramen at the time. As the Mini is now officially out of production, it may be of small comfort to know that the car involved can impress drivers from all walks of life. An icon for Mini enthusiasts as it shows the versatility of the car and for film buffs as there is more ad-libbing in the show than in a Michael Parkinson chat show. Enjoyable from start to finish, albeit too short and a bit disjointed. A classic that shows many slices of New Zealand life that no other camera would dare to cover. Enjoy.

froth and depth in pretty much equal measure. An underrated future classic from down under.

[slightlyweirdperson · 8/10 · 29 May 2005]

A truly entertaining road movie from the early 80's, recently launched on DVD. From beginning to end, Goodbye P P is full of moments that charm and make you feel good, blended with those episodes of genuine depth that are (I think) hard to achieve in a film that sells itself for it's frothy facade. The acting is pretty good, the camera work very well done and overall a throughly enjoyable dash through beautiful New Zealand. There are certain sections of the flick that can seem rather dull but then again, I haven't seen a film that lacks these entirely.

Despite some dubious scenes (a mini out running an Oz V8 being one of them), the action sequences are believable, helped by the film and editing crews' skills.

Watch it and enjoy a surely to be cult classic.

What I found most intriguing about the whole thing was how dated everything appeared compared to early 80's UK. For those car buffs out there, check them out and you'll see what I mean but don't let that distract your attention from the subtle camera moves and as I said earlier, the quality of the acting.

An enjoyably lightweight screwball goof of a seriocomic road movie delight

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 23 October 2006]

Kelly Johnson and Tony Barry are affably boorish and unaffected as a couple of aimless, disaffected, alienated everyday nobody ne'er-do-well blokes -- Johnson's a nutty, reckless juvenile delinquent hell-raiser while Barry's a dejected middle-aged loser who's just broken up with his wife -- who decide to make a cross country jaunt across New Zealand in a tiny stolen yellow rental car in this disarmingly modest and unpretentious seriocomic road movie delight. The misfit duo inadvertently become wanted fugitives and subsequent overnight criminal celebrities when they stiff a gas station attendant out of several bucks worth of fuel. During their wacky misadventures our scruffy anti-heroes pick up a daffy lady hitch-hiker (the adorably vacuous Claire Oberman), cunningly elude the bumbling cops at every turn, and run into a fair share of eccentrics who want to eagerly capitalize on their newfound fame and notoriety. Director Geoff Murphy compensates for the hackneyed chase premise by coaxing funny, endearingly loose and zany performances from his uniformly excellent cast ("The Quiet Earth" 's Bruno Lawrence has a nice bit as a laid-back, pot-smoking chopshop owner), dynamically staging a few thrilling automobile stunts, keeping the pace swift and unflagging throughout, and neatly mining a winningly droll line in crudely amusing off-color humor. A marvelously mellow jazz score, beauteous backwoods locations, slick cinematography, and a plausibly downbeat, yet still satisfying ending round off this likably lightweight screwball goof of a movie.

Region 4 DVD severely cut

[hellblazer-4 · 5 January 2006]

I'm saddened to report that the region 4 2 disc DVD release has been cut by about 12 minutes, a series of cuts so severe that it renders some subplots completely meaningless.

presumably this has been done by the Director, but i still feel somewhat cheated that a original version isn't available on this "not so special edition"

However the region 2 DVD is complete,although the picture quality isn't as good. the fact the region 2 is full frame isn't too bad as the film was shot that way and theatrically matted to 1.85

my advice is that if you want to see this Kiwi classic the way you originally remember it get the Region two version

Typical road movie that's still entertaining

[rwint · 7/10 · 18 June 2001]

Typical road/buddy movie about two strangers who come together through circumstance and then bond in their quest to snub authority and the system. This time it's done in along trek across New Zealand in a very small (yet very durable) little car. Certainly not the most original idea and not the most plausible either. Yet the humor is genuinely funny and the characters are better defined than other movies of similar type (ala GUMBALL RALLY). Actor Johnson is particularly good as a rebellious and confused young man with no constructive outlet to channel his emotions. Overall this is not a important movie nor even a memorable one, but it is a enetertaining one that should bring out everyones deep seated desire for independance and nonconformity.

Hilarious screwball road movie

[mark-rojinsky · 7/10 · 6 June 2021]

A hilarious nonconformist screwball road movie from the early-'80s. Full of genius-level hilarious one-liners, dynamic and unpredictable action shots, adventurism and sense of the New Zealand transport network and urban aesthetics - this is a stable-mate to The Club (1980) another Antipodean classic. The gibbering hippy moneygrubber featured towards the end of the move is hilarious.

Fantastic!

[eeren16 · 9/10 · 6 February 2005]

I had never heard of this film until I searched amazon.com for my name (I'm easily amused). An actor with the same name as myself (Kelly Johnson) was the result of my search and his first film was "Goodbye Pork Pie." I purchased it straight away. I was so excited to find I actually enjoyed the film. It's quirky and crazy, a lot of fun, has great (oftentimes wacky) characters and takes you on a wild ride through New Zealand. It offers a new view of NZ if you've only seen films such as one of those "Lord of the Rings" or "Whale Rider" (a gorgeous example). The fact that it was made in 1981 enhances it's excellence. Highly recommended as an alternative to Hollywood-style humour. Adios Pork Pie!

kiwiana a go-go

[shaun j · 8/10 · 23 November 1999]

This film is an indispensable piece of Kiwiana. While the humour has certainly dated, it's still heaps of fun....and an excellent example of the road movie genre. Good for including many different locations in New Zealand, too. Was (and possibly still is) very popular in its native land.

it might be a kiwi masterpiece but it doesn't live up to the hype

[emma-maguire96 · 4/10 · 27 January 2017]

Look, I'm a fan of this film, truly, I am. It's just very dated. The anachronisms, the language, the sensibilities, the pacing. It might be a road movie, but it's SLOW. There's no sense of urgency and you really don't 'get' that there's actually something they're running from.

However, I love how much this film covers the country. The Wellington scenes are good fun.

Perhaps I would have liked it more if I was alive when it was released/set but it just doesn't appeal to me. I don't deny that it's a stalwart of Kiwi cinema, but times have changed and this film certainly doesn't endure.

Goodbye Pork Pie-Director Geoff Murphy has made one of the most successful films from New Zealand.

[FilmCriticLalitRao · 10/10 · 21 June 2013]

One cannot blame the current generation of viewers for their ignorance as most of them blindly believe that the New Zealand film industry is represented by Peter Jackson. This kind of miserable ignorance prevails as there are many who have not seen old films which were influential in revealing the richness of the cinema made in New Zealand. One of the best known films from New Zealand, 'Goodbye Pork Pie' is the best example of how innovative ideas help a film to achieve tremendous local success as well worldwide acclaim. It was made by director and writer team of Geoff Murphy and Ian Mune, who are considered as New Zealand cinema's important directors. Although Goodbye Pork Pie is classified as a road movie, it is much more than that as it is for the first time that a film made in New Zealand has covered the entire nation with only three characters who represent three different faces of New Zealand. The general outlook of rebellion appears to be credulous as big doses of humor were added in order to speak against the system. The natural beauty of New Zealand is filmed in such an artistic, professional manner that one would easily be tempted to pack bags and immediately leave for a trip to those parts. Lastly, those viewers who care about the promotion of serious cinema would not hesitate to explore some other films made by Geoff Murphy name Utu and The Quiet Earth.

Great Kiwi movie

[harurar · 10/10 · 27 November 2007]

Yep great Kiwi movie in it's day, got people back into the movie theaters showed life the way it was, if you were unhappy with things the way they were you could just drop everything jump in a car and go. sadly it is showing it's age a little now, but is still great entertainment the mini speeding through the streets of wellington is just great, then driving through the wellington railway station just great.As for those big Aussie tanks the cops use to use, they always had trouble catching smaller cars on the Windy narrow roads, only ever good for the straits. The sad thing is Geoff Murphy didn't make any more comedy ones after this bit of a shame. got some great actors, Kelly,Bruno,Don & co. Lots of kiwi jokes. just a great entertaining movie, i saw it on DVD so bought it, a must have. Shame that movies like this for good old entertainments sake are seldom made anymore.

Dated but excellent anarchistic New Zealand road movie

[Angusdog · 4 November 1999]

Goodbye Pork Pie is one of my favourite movies, mainly because it covers everything about road trips, hitch-hiking and hassles with the law in New Zealand. Kiwi's get a real kick from GBPP because it's a hoot to see the old police cars, the chases in Wellington CBD, the dope smoking, the small "in" jokes about how New Zealanders see each other. You might have trouble finding in in NTSC f

Kiwi Classic

[death-hawk1 · 8/10 · 18 January 2017]

I was born 11 years after this came our and watched it for the first time 25 years after that, a mere fortnight before the remake is released.

I can see why this film was an instant classic. It remains true to its era and although it appears a little dated today it will forever be regarded as a pinnacle of Kiwi Cinema.

If you've ever lived in New Zealand you'll be able to say "I've been there!" as the characters wind their way down the country from tip to tail. I might be coming to the party 35 years late but even I was able to recognise streets in Auckland, Dunedin and on the West Coast. Reminisce about your own road trips, adventures, excursions and joy rides in a 1978 Mini Cooper.

If you're Kiwi, you can't not love it.

A feel good, funny comedy flick

[Pipsta_2001 · 9/10 · 22 June 2022]

This movie isn't well known here in the UK but it should be. It's not the most visually stunning movie but the plot is extremely entertaining and is quite funny. Definitely recommend if you like on the run mini movies. Reminds me of the Italian Job.

Classic piece of NZ cinema

[milo970 · 5 December 2003]

A classic NZ movie. Two rebels and a stolen yellow mini treat us to a bunch of laughs as they stay ahead of the police on a 1000 mile road trip from top to bottom of NZ. Goodbye Pork Pie was a local blockbuster and sold to more overseas territories than any film of the time This is available as PAL VHS in NZ for less than $nz15.00 about $us9.00

Quirky and Enjoyable.

[crumpytv · 9/10 · 28 November 2020]

Legendary NZ road film. Quirky and enjoyable road trip from the north of the north to the south of the south. Northing to think about except enjoying it. Couple of criticisms; the dialogue was inaudible at times, particularly in the Wellington garage workshop. Also, the version I watched had been cropped by 10 minutes, which explains why there were a couple of times I was lost by references to something that had happened but we had not seen. The scenery is stunning.

Balderdash

[blkbwoi · 10/10 · 17 July 2019]

I'm reviewing solely because for more than a decade my friends and I cite this title. See, it appears as a movie title in the boardgame Balderdash, for which one must write the movie synopsis. We reminisce because the winning clue was something about a Jewish kid who goes on the run after being caught eating bacon.

This was AMAZING

[iamaricklee · 8/10 · 27 May 2021]

Really loved the film . Watched it back in 2018.. enjoyed it.. highly recommend it.

Where can I get it?

[Billp-3 · 5 August 1999]

I saw this film years ago, back when having a VCR was a real novelty. It was available on VHS at the time. I recall very much enjoying the movie, about a couple of off-beat characters in a mini driving the length of New Zealand. Their journey takes on folk-hero proportions as they progress further and continue to elude police. What I'm wondering is if the film is available on video anywhere now? My local video shop certainly doesn't have it, and I can't find it on Amazon.com Thanks.

Well worth rewatching

[master668 · 9/10 · 6 July 2021]

A classic piece of New Zealand film history, this definitely bears rewatching.

A bit silly in parts film wise, with too obviously sped up keystone cops antics and the like, it doesn't need them to get the majority of the deadpan Kiwi humour across. As a movie from a young director, in a country growing into its filmic strenght, it is a great step along the way!

Road trip/buddy movie - New Zealand style. Great.

[victordelavieter · 9/10 · 11 August 2020]

A New Zealand film pioneer scored a hit with this little gem. Prepare for one and a half hours of fun on a shoestring budget as two inventive rogues on a slightly destructive road trip though beautiful New Zealand (though no Maoris and only a few sheep). This is the ultimate folk hero / 'mini cars are freedom on wheels' movie. Great views of a country full of rivers, woods, mountains and a nostalgic eighties feel. (compared to the more aggressive recent remake). Great natural acting, great psychedelic scenes in a redecorated (with stuff stolen form elsewhere in the train) box car. There is even a love interest: sexy Claire Oberman, carelessly losing her virginity on the way. One of the movies that started the remarkable New ealand wave, resulting in mega productions as Avatar and The piano. Don't expext all sugar and spice though. New Zealand film is known for its dark undertones.

Kiwi Classic

[thies-2 · 12 April 2009]

Timeless, still entertaining in 2009. Could we get a remake, say with the new (BMW)Mini. Let's see how well this vehicle can be shared with everyone across the country. Tourism NZ should be consulted, so we will see a bit more about this beautiful part of our planet. Or simply turn it into a wacky chase from North to South on different modes of transport. Include scenes that spoof on other famous Kiwi Movies, e.g. include the house from "Scarfies" in Dunedin or instead of the Wizard in Christchurch show Hayley Westenra busking in the Mall. While standing in front of the TV Tower in Auckland let a Tom Cruise Look-a-Like buzz down on the Bungy rope (if not himself...). Directors of New Zealand: Get creative for your country ! The world is waiting for a new Kiwi Classic.

Great movie! Why isn't it on video?

[Beery1 · 25 July 2000]

This movie is great fun, and entertaining from start to finish. Whereas some of Geoff Murphy's movies (Quiet Earth, Young Guns 2, Utu) made it to video, this little gem didn't (at least not here in the US) - too bad. Hopefully at some point, someone will recognise it as the classic it is, and release it on video or DVD.