Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008) User Reviews

An absolute must see.

[TheRowdyMan · 9/10 · 22 August 2008]

Fantastic! A great documentary focusing on a long unsung faction of cult cinema known as Ozploitation. Tarantino features heavily as an expert of the genre. As an Australian, it's scary watching how a foreigner could have so much knowledge and enthusiasm for films that have been almost purposely forgotten in their own homeland.

Like any good documentary, it's a real eye opening experience to get an insight into the lost world of blood, bikers and boobs. The directors, actors and those influenced (Greg McLean (Wolf Creek/Rouge), James Wan and Leigh Whannell (Saw)) share the stories of a fledgling film industry that embraced a Guerrilla style of film-making that stuck it to the stuffy cinema elite that wished they would disappear.

An absolute must watch for anybody who thinks they're an expert on cult/trash cinema.

Joyous

[christopher-underwood · 9/10 · 29 October 2008]

A very fine documentary. I went into this at the London film Festival screening yesterday, never previously even having heard the term, ozploitation but came out ready to search out the films. A good film book will have you eager to google away to track down some hitherto unheard of 'must have' and this movie does the same. I felt I should have taken a notebook with me to take down some of the titles so enthusiastically spoken of. The films celebrated here were made in the 70s and 80s and are an Australian equivalent of what would usually be called drive in or exploitation movies. Sex, violence, cars and fighting is generally the name of the game and the more extreme and wild the better. Numerous, high quality clips from the movies leave one open mouthed and the people who made them tell us amusing anecdotes and horrifying details of things that went wrong. All of this would be enough but we also get generous helpings of Barry Humphries and the ever reliable, ever enthusiastic, Quentin Tarantino, just in case we were not already convinced that some of these trashy movies are just the greatest movies ever made. Joyous.

One of the best documentaries I have seen in many years!

[LoneWolfAndCub · 10/10 · 2 September 2008]

It is about time a documentary was made about Australia's 70's and 80's exploitation films, which range from sex comedies, car chase films, hardcore horror and kung fu flicks. Mark Hartley has created a fitting tribute which moves at an almost non-stop pace and is full of hilarious interviews, great clips and interesting tales of on-set accidents and rowdy actors. Unfortunately, I never got to experience this period of unknown Aussie film making which now (thanks to this documentary) may be uncovered again!

Not Quite Hollywood starts off with some background of the Aussie film industry back in the late 60's/early 70's and the strict censorship policies we had. This then moves into the first type of exploitation we had; sex-fueled, gross-out comedies. Some notable ones are: Stork (1971), Alvin Purple (1973), The True Story of Eskimo Nell (1975) and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974). Most of these features copious amounts of nudity (both male and female) and sex (of which the doco shows quite a bit of). These made a fair bit of money, but most of the critics despised the crassness and abrupt sexuality. Interviews with the lady stars (who are not afraid to talk about their mostly naked roles) and Barry Humphries are often funny. This first half an hour or so is a great introduction to the next section...

"Comatose Killers and Outback Chillers." In this section, Hartley shows us Australia's disturbed side with absurd, sadistic horror films which have a confessed fan, Quentin Tarantino. He excitedly reels off his favourites and how they have inspired some of his films (especially "ill Bill: Vol. 1." A few stand-out movies are: Patrick (1978), Razorback (1984), Snapshot (1979), Harlequin (1980) and Long Weekend (1978). Interviews with directors (Brian Trenchard-Smith and the late Richard Franklin) and the many actors are again incredibly intriguing and quite amusing. These films were popular in America, being released in the exploitation cinemas and garnering cult followings.

The last section of the documentary is about "High Octane Disasters and Kung Fu Masters." Tarantino really contributes to this part, showing a vast knowledge and passion for our car chase scenes and the "fetishistic" way they are filmed. Cult classics such as: Mad Max (1979), The Man from Hong Kong (1975), Roadgames (1981) and Turkey Shoot (1982) are all mentioned and discussed. This part becomes interesting, as directors talk about troubles with stunts (involving tragic deaths of cameramen and stuntmen), injuries and actor problems. Tarantino lavishes praise on pretty much all these films and he is a pleasure to listen to. Also, new Aussie horror directors Greg McLean ("Wolf Creek") and James Wan and Leigh Whannell ("Saw") are interviewed and discuss the old and new Ozploitation cinema.

Hartley knows how to make a documentary to the point, funny and always captivating. The interviews are hysterical (especially Bob Ellis, a critic who constantly bashes the genre in a comical uptight manner) and the clips are appropriate and show all the right parts. This will please all ages, from the older people who lived through this time and the younger generation (my friends and I) who will discover a new genre of Australian movies to enjoy. This doco is almost one of the best things to come out of the cinemas this year, and opens up a part of Australian culture that up until now was left hidden. Is this recommended? YES! Hopefully (and it DOES look hopeful), Australia can start to release some great Ozploitation style films. With films like Rogue, Wolf Creek, Storm Warning, Black Water and Saw there is still a chance.

A solid 5/5

OZploitation unveiling

[den_515 · 8/10 · 27 January 2009]

Best documentary I've seen this year. It feels as if these films have been swept under the carpet by a film industry which is overprotective of its image. The Australian film industry is so very narrow-minded and so it is great to see a documentary which has been so brilliantly edited but also used along with the great characters of the industry through the 70's and 80's who make this possible multiple movie preview so entertaining. There is a good mix of local and international actors/producers/directors and there is also contradictory comments and varying disagreements which merely adds to the movie myths. This film is also refreshing as it harks back to a time when the business was far from a business and less stringent with the absence of governing bodies which equates to many broken bodies and lots of bodies on show in terms of nudity. These films make me proud to be Australian. Thank you Mark Hartley. Now will someone just release them on DVD!!

A one of a kind documentary

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 22 August 2009]

Documentary of Australian exploitation films from the late 1970s to the early 1980s. They're presented in three section--the sex movies, the horror movies and the action movies. There's generous clips from various movies with LARGE doses of nudity (male and female), sex, blood and gore (I'm really surprised this got by with an R rating). There's also some very interesting interviews with the directors, producers, film critics and actors from the various films. Quentin Tarantino introduces each film.

I was looking forward to this a lot. I love exploitation films and thought this might be fun. It was--but I felt it was lacking somewhat. For one thing Tarantino gets annoying. It seems he loves each and every film which I question ("Road Games" is one of the most boring "thrillers" I've seen). Also with the exception of a few I haven't seen any of these films. They do explain them and why they're here--but I didn't know what EXACTLY they were talking about. The best parts were the interviews with the actors and actresses who talk about why they did the films and how they feel about them. It was especially surprising to see Jamie Lee Curtis discussing "Road Games"! This is (obviously) for a very limited audience but it is fun and interesting. Just quite lacking something to put it over. I wanted to like it so much more but, as it stands, I can only give it a 7.

wonderful documentary, and very funny

[dolphins-15 · 8/10 · 29 August 2008]

Thoroughly enjoyable - a few notes I made afterwards follow, including quotes from my wife First section of the movie covered how the new R-rating allowed an explosion in the Australian film industry. Specifically, as much nudity ( boobs, pubes, and tubes ) as the filmmakers could squeeze in...

"And here was me thinking Australian film in the 70s was prudish." On John Holmes rather, ah, prominent role in the doco - Australia's first exposure to him ( or possibly the other way around )

"Wouldn't his head implode when he got an erection?" and about paying to see the movies covered

"We're supporting the Australian film industry!"

"Given that quite a few of those movie were made to *lose* money...." The stories about the incredibly lax safety procedures at these flicks were pretty alarming. Take just one example from Mad Max ( where the head stuntman arrived on his first day with one limb already broken! ).

Do you recall the shot in that movie, from the motorcyclist's POV, where the bike is screaming along the highway and the odometer is hitting 180? The director got that shot by leaning over the motorcyclist's shoulder with a camera. Helmet? Hell no - protective equipment is for sane people.

Tarantino's excited fan-boy bouncing was amusing.

Regarding one of the very few movies they covered that I actually recall seeing ( I may well have seen more but have protected myself by blanking the memory ) - Razorback. I wonder if this movie is the reason my old D&D group would blithely deal with a pack of animated skeletons, but leg it for the nearest tree when an ordinary wild boar showed up? Also - The Return of Captain Invincible? Australia made a superhero musical? All I can say is that Australia made some amazingly bad movies, *that actually managed to get theatrical release*. Still, it made me miss the old days of drive-in cinema, even if the only one I recall seeing at such a cinema was Death Race 2000 ( the exploding baby scene - which I still find hugely funny).

If you have any interest in Australia's contribution to cinematic immortality, you have to see this documentary :D

Don't miss this

[lazarillo · 20 November 2008]

This is an excellent documentary on the "Oz-ploitation" films of the 1970's and 80's. It covers a number of genres from sexploitation comedies ("Alvin Purple") to horror ("Patrick", "Long Weekend") to Down-Under Westerns ("Mad Dog Morgan") to auto-obsessed action flicks ("Mad Max"). They interview many of the directors/producers of these films including Brian Trenchant-Smith, Richard Franklin, Tony Ginane, and John Le Monde. They also interview a number of the English and American "name" actors (Jamie Lee Curtis, Stacy Keach, Dennis Hopper, Steve Railsback, George Lazenby) that came to work in Australian exploitation during this time. They all have some funny stories to tell (a drug-addled Dennis Hopper managed to wreak havoc even in the hard-drinking Australian outback). They even interview many of the local Aussie stuntmen and T-and-A queens, who certainly made their own daring contributions to these films. Moreover though, there are A LOT of clips from these films, and they serve to make this documentary more fast-moving and entertaining than most of the movies it covers.

It's unfortunate that many of the important figures from that era have died, like actor/director David Hemmings, but even they show up in archival footage. It also might have been nice to hear from people like Jenny Agutter and Olivia Hussey, who both made some memorable films Down Under. The omnipresent Quentin Tarantino, on the hand, had nothing to do with Australian films, but he certainly is VERY knowledgeable about them.

The only disappointing thing about this is the short shrift it gives to the more arty Australian films of this era--"Walkabout" is represented only by a single full-frontal still of Jenny Agutter, and some of the interviewees refer disparagingly to films like "Picnic at Hanging Rock". It's understandable that some of these "exploitation hacks" would resent the more arty, "culturally important" Australian films that received most of the international recognition (and government support), but the line between exploitation and art is a lot less clear than it's made out to be sometimes. Peter Weir who directed art films like "Picnic" and "The Last Wave" also directed much more straight-forward 70's genre films like "The Cars that Ate Paris" and "The Plumber". And if you look at the career of someone like Canadian David Cronenberg, it's certainly possible in many countries to start out as a genre/exploitation director and become an arty, more mainstream one. These resentments were more the result perhaps of the Australian film financing policies of the era than of any real differences between the two kinds of film. Whatever the case, this definitely an entertaining documentary. Don't miss it.

Not quite much of anything.

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 20 December 2009]

The story of the Australian film industry and its exploitation roots. Mostly its about its exploitation roots with lots of violence and nudity (with heavy emphasis on topless females).

I'm really not sure what to say beyond that. Other than telling me a few anecdotes and putting a few faces to names this really didn't tell me anything I didn't know already. Actually what I'm really curious about is whether there were more movies being made then what they showed. With rare exceptions I think I've seen or heard of almost every film here (I think one of the film's I didn't see was I think Stork). It seems more like a greatest hits film.

I don't know. I liked it I didn't love it.

wow

[GhostXXX · 10/10 · 29 August 2008]

I have wanted to see this film since I saw it advertised at the Melbourne Film festival so naturally I had to see it opening night when it came to my local cinema, I saw it last night and what can I say, it was fantastic, I had no idea that Australia made so many films in the 70's and 80's.

The film features interviews with a lot of Australian directors, filmmakers, critics, some A list Hollywood actors and even Quentin Tarantino, who has an unbelievable knowledge of Australian exploitation cinema.

The film explores the good, the bad and the ugly of Australian genre films. There is no doubt that there were some pretty dodgy ones made at the time but there is no denying that there were also some real gems made as well, it's just a shame that they seemed to do better overseas than they did here.

Weather you are interested in Australian film, Australian culture, or just film in general I highly recommend seeing this film. Listening to the filmmakers stories about how they made there films is both amusing and inspiring.

Over all this is a fun movie that should be seen in the theater.

It's Not Quite Hollywood - and that's a good thing!

[misbegotten · 7/10 · 3 July 2010]

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.

Excellent Informative doco...

[braindead_666 · 9/10 · 6 September 2008]

as a lover of 'Ozploitation" films from way back, (hell im a card carrying member of the Turkey Shoot fanclub hahha) to say that Not Quite Hollywood was going to be essential viewing is quite an understatement. And so i finally made the 3 hour trek to Melbourne to see this thing and all i can say is WOW! Mark Hartley has done good with what was available to him, however there were a few other films that never got a mention that are quite vital to the "ozploitation" story.

To my knowledge COSY COOL was the first independent Aussie exploitation film, and it never even got a mention! (admitedly its not a really great "film", but is still an interesting watch).

1979 slasher flick ALISON'S BIRTHDAY never received a mention either, and quite crucially RUNNING ON EMPTY is only shown in a collage of car crashes, but nothing is said about it at all. And don't even get me started on the absence of genuine classics like STIR, THE MONEY MOVERS, LAST OF THE KNUCKLEMEN.

However it all really comes down to time. 2 hours is only really long enough to just skim the surface, which is what NQH does, and does a commendable job of it.

In my eyes there are only 2 problems with NQH, one which is inevitable.. it has to end sometime. The second is why does everyone hate Turkey Shoot so bloody much? It is a genuine classic and is definitely one of the most entertaining films to come out of Australia! In summary a commendable effort and hopefully we will get all of these films appearing on DVD (and yes i already know that most of them are)

Well-researched, highly entertaining documentary

[tomgillespie2002 · 6/10 · 11 November 2011]

Five years in the making, director Mark Hartley's documentary is his love-letter to the films he grew up with as a child. Like the majority of us film-lovers, we would occasionally stay up late and watch whatever crap late night television would show, whether it involved giant monsters, lesbian vampires, or gruesome horror. Hartley grew up in Australia, and he witnessed first hand the boom in Australia that saw their most prolific time in movie production, producing some of the most full-on B-movies of the time. Disappointed that writings on Australia cinema always failed to recognise this sub-genre, Hartley sent his synopsis to Quentin Tarantino, a long-time fan of 'ozploitation', who helped Hartley fund the project, and himself sitting in as the key interviewee.

As much I love his work, minus the pretty shoddy Death Proof (2007), Tarantino is possibly the most annoying person on Earth. I appreciate his enthusiasm, but he's such a shameless dork that I just want to punch him. And seeing him for long periods of this pretty good documentary just brings the film down. More interesting, however, are the interviews with the likes of Jamie Lee Curtis, Stacy Keach, Dennis Hopper, George Lazemby, and probably the most famous and prolific director of the period, Brian Trenchard-Smith. The film certainly opened my eyes to a sub-genre that I have until now neglected (apart from the globally popular Mad Max (1979)) and introduced me some films that actually look pretty good (namely psychokinetic thriller Patrick (1978), which I hope to watch very soon).

The documentary itself is obviously designed to be as entertaining as possible. Images, interviews, effects and film-clips fly at you at a relentless speed. Trying to keep in tone with the fast paced enjoyment of the B-movies it is showing, it does this at the cost of allowing the audience to absorb all the information. I don't mean it's hard to keep up with, I would just have liked the pace to slow down a touch so I can differentiate between the films it shows, and the various anecdotes given about their production. At the end of the film I could barely remember any specific films, just a blur of scenes. But like I said, it's certainly fun, and some of the visuals are wonderfully designed, especially the title sequence. Overall, a must-see for exploitation fans - the film is very well researched and Hartley clearly knows his s**t - but nothing exactly ground-breaking for documentary fans.

www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Unenlightening

[DelBongo · 4/10 · 27 March 2009]

This is another one of those worryingly fashionable and prominent documentaries that offers plentiful sound-bites set to almost non-stop music, but precious little insight. Like that terribly overrated skateboarding flick Dogtown And Z-Boys, this is a barrage of information that you didn't care to know, delivered by people sometimes visibly salivating at the prospect of recounting a story that isn't really worth telling.

Many of these subjects are so rigorously determined to mythologize this period of Aussie film-making, that they end up telling tales that make them look like a smirking misanthropy collective. Wasn't it funny when that actress nearly drowned, just because some schmuck of a director couldn't get the shot that he wanted? How about when Henry Silva, an actor petrified of heights, almost p*ssed himself with fear because a camera crew took him 70ft off the ground without warning him? And that Etc sequence in Patrick? They considered giving the actor real shock therapy! What lovable rogues! What tw*ts.

Stir in the endless shrugging off of numerous instances of casual racism and misogyny, and you're left with a pretty empty document of little genuine significance.

There are a handful of interesting, level-headed contributors (one of them being an uncharacteristically restrained Quentin Tarantino) but there is no form, structure or analysis of any cultural impact that this movement may have had. Which is a shame, because such analysis may have justified the film's existence.

There may well be valuable things to say about this subject, but it'll take a much more ambitious director to do it.

This documentary is just pure entertainment!

[Byron Dandy · 9/10 · 20 August 2008]

I won't be arty with this review. This film is an absolute ripper - a super fast paced documentary on the many genre films Australia produced in the 1970s & 80s that were in many cases commercially successful but critically smashed by 'respectable' reviewers at the time. I saw this last night at a premiere AFI Awards screening here in Melbourne and was blown away.

There are so many good stories, amazing revelations and choice excerpts from literally dozens and dozens of outrageous Oz flicks here that if you are expecting a slow, monotonous talking heads-type doco that kills a few minutes in your evening, you will be happily mistaken.

Stunt man deaths, John Holmes, fights with the Australian censor, copycat Italian film rip offs, sex, blood, martial arts fights on Uluru/Ayers Rock, Mad Max, Turkey Shoot, Dennis Hopper going nuts, incredible car fetishistic filming, classic Oz Rock songs on the soundtrack (AC/DC, Rose Tattoo, The Angels, Masters Apprentices et al), great Tarantino quotes & so much more - it's absolutely all there.

With docos starting to become more popular with cinema goers, I really hope that this film gets tons of bottoms on seats - I fully applaud the the amount of time the filmmakers must have have spent travelling acrosss three continents to get these interviews as well as the copyright nightmares of needing to clear so many films. Wow.

My only (minor) criticism is that the film is so continually fast paced it just needs a little breathing room sometimes to let you take it all in and have a break. The film is very much at you all the time.

As you can tell, I loved it and I reckon that even if you have never seen a single one of the source films, you are guaranteed to enjoy this wild ride into the commercial Oz film scene of a few decades back when this country actually had a varied and vibrant film industry.

A brief side note - I think Tarantino is claiming credit for coining the collective term 'Ozploitation' used to describe these films. Interesting...

HAD A SUBSEQUENT PROFOUND EFFECT ON TARANTINO AND HIS FILMS

[Tony-Kiss-Castillo · 9/10 · 19 January 2024]

FILE THIS ONE UNDER.... "DIFFERENT"!

BUT BEFORE DIVING IN: Let us FOCUS on the Title's Content & Context!

If you like Quentin Tarantino, you'll simply Love NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD! There are many contributing/participating narrators, but Tarantino has, by far, the most ON-SCREEN time. (Storyline Blurb doesn't even mention his crucial participation!)

This extremely entertaining and informative low-budget documentary traces the revival of the Australian film industry, which all but died at the mid-30's Pacific onset of WWII, from its fledgling late 60's re-birth, through its multi-faceted heyday in the 70's and early 80's.

Initially, HOLLYWOOD seemed determined to go in the direction of a soft-core documentary, but this was only during the initial 20 to 25 minutes.

In the early and mid-70's, the AUSTRALIAN industry saw nudity and sex as an easy road to making big Aussie Dollars! Be forewarned, however... There's a LOT of frontal nudity and some mildly simulated sex during this opening segment! So probably better for viewers 16 or over!

Throughout, CLIPS from SCORES of films appear, some from movies considered rather mainstream like MAD MAX and RAZORBACK, but the vast majority are from obscure cult classics like '78's PATRICK and '79's LONG WEEKEND, or totally unknown, never released in the U. S. or on DVD, titles like The CHAIN REACTION-'80 and MANGO TREE-'77.

HOLLYWOOD is truly a veritable treasure trove of early Aussie Titles! I'm not the BIGGEST Tarantino fan on the planet, but most of his films are, I reluctantly admit, GREAT!

On a PERSONAL level; he's one of my favorite famous people. Talk about not being affected by fame! He's a joy to watch! Despite being in his mid-40's, he's the same rather nerdy, little-kid-at-heart, goof-ball genius he was when he burst onto the entertainment scene nearly 25 years ago, God Bless him!

An ABSOLUTE Must See for ALL "GENRE" and History of Cinema Buffs!

9*********.....ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!

Great Look at Oz Trash

[Michael_Elliott · 3 July 2012]

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Excellent documentary from Mark Hartley takes a look at the Australian film industry with 99% of the detail devoted to the exploitation films that made enough money to where more "serious" filmmakers could have a career. The horrible thing about being a film buff is that you're constantly looking for new subjects to explore and if you're a fan of film like I am then it's highly recommended that you keep a pen and paper handy because this documentary is going to offer up dozens of recommendations. Of course, this is one of those documentaries that are so fun that it makes the films it's discussing seem more interesting but that's really not the point. The point of this documentary was to shine a spotlight on the cinema and I think it was a real home run. We start off taking a look at the early days of censorship and how the walls were broke down, which allowed all sorts of sleaze to enter the pictures. We start off taking a look at how nudity and sex because a booming business and then we see the slasher and horror pictures. From here we see the kung-fu and action pictures. Fans like Quentin Taratino are interviewed about their favorite scenes in various films and we also see the inspiration PATRICK had on his KILL BILL VOL. 1. We also hear from Stacy Keach, Jamie Lee Curtis and countless other people including many directly involved with a number of the productions that we see clips from.

An adequate documentary about inadequate film

[rgcustomer · 7/10 · 12 April 2010]

I generally love documentaries about film.

However, this one was just so-so. One reason is because it seemed to be a Tarantino masturbation fantasy. This is a man who should never step out from behind the camera. Another reason is the subject matter itself is just bad.

I did like learning about the catalogue of incredibly bad films that Australia has produced over the years, apparently with some government funding attached. As a Canadian, it makes me feel less embarrassed by the total garbage we usually produce. I can't imagine what sort of fans we have, but maybe someone will make a really earnest and boring documentary about them.

Of all the films they referenced, the only one I liked was Wolf Creek, (although Dead End Drive In wasn't too bad). So there's hope for the gore genre. Maybe budgets and technology have risen to the level required to do these movies justice.

Anyway, for this to be a decent documentary, it should have included some other things... maybe more of a comparison with the crap films of other countries, or with more moderate Australian cinema (I assume there was such a thing). Really, we aren't given much context.

Still, it does give you a good sense of what was out there, and I was blissfully unaware of most if it until now. But I can't say I'm motivated to see any more of it... In 2010 we have choices. I think that was missing back in the day.

a gold mine

[jonathan-577 · 8/10 · 18 March 2009]

Subtitled "The Wild, Untold Story of Ozsploitation", and that's what we get: a 100-minute cavalcade of all (?) the dizzy highlights of Australian exploitation cinema. The parceling into sex comedy/horror/action subheadings serves the material quite nicely, giving us a broad view of the aesthetic: ideologically working class, plain-spoken, and very male. That latter point is given just enough emphasis as the female participants offer their diverse bewildered reactions to the paces the filmmakers put them through, without getting all superior; the one pompous ass film critic who tries THAT trick is roasted on a spit. There's a lot of initiative, energy, and inspiration on display in this exhausting avalanche of quick clips; I was writing down titles like a mad man, there's a lot of stuff I'd never heard of that I'm dying to see. Genre film-making is presented, rhetorically, as a polar alternative to the classy upmarketing of familiar exports like Peter Weir, Bruce Beresford et al...even though Beresford was responsible for the Barry McKenzie series and Weir bequeathed us The Cars That Eat People. But dichotomy or not, I can tell you with certainty that Patrick has now jumped The Last Wave on my must-see list. Quentin Tarantino is dispensed in quantity, but I didn't get annoyed; he knows of what he speaks, and he's well-mixed with the folks who were there.

List of Ozploitation Films Referenced in Not Quite Hollywood

[sentientbeings-love · 10/10 · 19 October 2009]

After watching this awesome movie, I was more in love with Tarantino than ever and psyched to watch as many of the referenced movies as I could get my hands on (with a few exceptions that didn't appeal to me). I desperately searched online for a list of the movies they referenced, but could find NOTHING complete, so I watched it again and typed up a list as I went, with the titles and years of all the movies they list. I believe it's complete, and I think all the years are correct, but please correct me if I'm mistaken! I broke them down by genre like they did in the film. Hope this benefits someone!! Happy hunting!

*Foreign/Negative Portrayal of Australia* Age of Consent 1969; Ned Kelly 1970; Wake in Fright 1971; Walkabout 1971

*Sex/Crude Humor* The Naked Bunyip 1970; Stork 1971; The Adventures of Barry McKenzie 1972; Barry McKenzie Holds his Own 1974; 96—TV show; Alvin Purple 1973; Alvin Rides Again 1974; Eliza Fraser 1976; Australia After Dark 1975; The ABC of Love and Sex Australia Style 1978; Felicity 1978; The True Story of Eskimo Nell 1974; Hoodwink 1981; Centrespread 1981; Fantasm 1976; Fantasm Comes Again 1977; Pacific Banana 1980

*Scary/Buckets of Blood* Inn of the Damned 1974; Night of Fear 1972; Lady Stay Dead 1982; Brothers 1982; Patrick 1976; Long Weekend 1978; Snapshot, aka Day After Halloween (US title) 1979; Thirst 1979; Harlequin 1980; The Survivor 1980; Roadgames 1981; Nightmares 1980; Howling III: the Marsupials 1987; Razorback 1984; Dark Age 1985; Next of Kin 1981

*Hard Core Action* Stone 1974; Mad Dog Morgan 1976; The Man From Hong Kong 1975; Death Cheaters 1976; Stunt Rock 1978; Mad Max 1979; Chain Reaction 1979; Midnight Spares 1982; Race for the Yankee Zephyr 1981; Turkey Shoot 1981; BMX Bandits 1983; Fair Game 1985; Sky Pirates 1986; Return of Captain Invincible 1982; Dead End Drive In 1985; Blood Moon 1990

*Newer Stuff*--not necessarily Australian, but in the same vein-- Wolf Creek 2004; Undead 2003; Storm Warning 2007; Saw 2004; Rogue 2007

Best Aussie doco yet

[ladymidath · 10/10 · 22 November 2010]

Having grown up watching these films, it was a pleasure to watch Not Quite Hollywood. It was fast paced and fascinating, the stories were funny and interesting, not at all like the dry boring documentaries that are being put out lately. I would have liked to have seen certain movies mentioned like, Last Of The Knucklemen, The Night The Hunter, The Plumber and Mama's Gone A Hunting, but it covered many long lost gems. Many of these films are among Australia's Lost Films, lost because a certain Premier leased them all to a Panama based company. It is good to see that they are gradually trickling back, but in the meantime, we have this excellent documentary to remind of that we once had a thriving and vibrant film industry.

A celebration of crap!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 23 July 2016]

"Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!" is a celebration of some of the worst films ever made...and unapologetically so. It seems that back in the 70s and 80s that Australia created a film industry dedicated to the most low-brow of films. Nudity, violence, blood and cheese--these films made the American equivalents seem like films from the Criterion Collection by comparison! The film explores the history of these crappy films and features tons of clips and interviews to tell the story. However, viewers might want to think twice--there is a lot of blood and even more full frontal nudity throughout the documentary. It is NOT for the faint-hearted nor prudish! For what it is, it is done reasonably well and is mildly interesting.

By the way, Australians will no doubt enjoy the film. However, as an American, I would have loved captioning as the accents (mostly on the clips, not the interviews) were occasionally hard to understand and some of the Australian terms were lost on me.

more listing off movies than behind-the-scenes stories, but essential viewing all the same

[Quinoa1984 · 8/10 · 6 October 2010]

Not Quite Hollywood isn't a great documentary - in some ways the quality of its editing and how the interviews and clips are put together resembles a longer DVD special feature 'making-of' history than a documentary. But it is really fantastic for someone like myself, who is always on the look-see for new and exciting (or just trashy) movies. I was aware of some of the Ozploitation films of the 70's and 80's, mostly through coming across some films of Philippe Mora (The Howling III, Mad Dog Morgan, Return of Captain Invincible, two of those three very good, one not so much), and of course Mad Max, which is like the creme-de-la-creme of the output. But there was more, much more, and if you're into crazy B-movie or just genre entertainment, it gives invaluable lots of new finds - it's like, to quote Superbad, a Ghostbusters Treasure-Trove of Aussie-movies!

Not all of the movies look as appealing as they should. The one group that looked underwhelming just from the clips were the sex comedies, which, God bless em, looked like low-rent rip-offs of John Waters movies (i.e. Pink Flamingos), which is saying a lot. It's when the doc gets into the bloody, trashy and actually well-crafted stuff that it gets interesting. Better than that, filmmakers will come up on your radar you may have only heard in passing before. The big one here is Brian Trenchard Smith, who made a career out of just going to town with crazy car crashes, anything-goes horror, and intense action, and as his first film, kung-fu (The Man from Hong Kong, which provides one of the most entertaining sections of the film as *everyone* hates on the lead Asian star). By the time the doc ends, not only will you know Smith's name and how his films look so ballsy, but want to check out most of them as genuine articles of exploitation-fare.

Other names are good to know too, like the man who makes Long Weekend, an animal-attack movie that has high production quality, or the movie Patrick by Richard Franklin (an intense admirer of Hitchcock), and written by multiple Ozsploitation writer Everett De Roche. Of course we get Quentin Tarantino expounding his love for so many of these films- and sometimes not so much (the "What is this s***" moment about one film in particular is very funny). But it's the actors and filmmakers and the critics, both the praising and the damning, that give the film a good boost as far as nuggets of the making-of the movies. As a documentary the best it does is to do what many good documentaries do: inform about a subject one doesn't know so much about, with a little history (like Decade Under the Influence early on it talks about the changing times in Australia), and as a guide for movie-geeks it's like Christmas has arrived.

An entertaining potted history of modern Australian genre movies...

[dfle3 · 8/10 · 4 September 2008]

I say "modern" Australian genre movies because I have heard in the past that Australia had a thriving homegrown cinema scene in the early part of last century, until US companies bought the screening venues here and (suprise, surprise), started showing US movies instead of the local product. An example of US capitalism acting like a cuckoo on the world scene, perhaps.

What you get in this docu is lots of talking heads and scenes from the movies being discussed. It's a pretty entertaining combination. Some of the interviewees include American fan-boy Quentin Tarantino (a successful genre movie maker himself), industry players like Phillip Adams and the politician Barry Jones, as well as the stars of the exploitation movies, like George Lazenby (Australia's own James Bond), Rebecca Gilling (whom I remember for her role in the brilliant trashy mini-series "Return to Eden"), Lynda Stoner (of the great police soap "Cop Shop"), Abigail (of the popular and notorious sex obsessed soap "Number 96") and Graeme Blundell, 'Alvin Purple' himself and who would later feature in George Lucas' Star Wars prequels.

As well as the stars of these movies, you get interviews with the makers themselves...be they the schlockmeisters you've never heard of (unless your name is Quentin Tarantino!) or people who would forge significant international careers like George Miller, who made the uber road carnage movie "Mad Max".

There are lots of interesting and entertaining inside stories on the movies which are mentioned here. Tales of the death of stunt people because the films were made in the days before there was any sort of safety oversight of them...or the local media giving overseas stars a hard time because locals weren't getting their job. One time 'scream queen' Jamie Lee Curtis fits into the latter category. Along with Stacy Keach, she is one of a few overseas insiders interviewed for the docu. She had a role in "Road games" with Keach, and I must say, my interest in seeing this movie has been piqued. Usually having an American in a local movie would signal to me that the film was a dog. "Road games" could be a genre movie which doesn't vindicate that prejudice of mine.

As far as the 'potted' history of Australian cinema in recent times goes, that too is enlightening. Before we made our own movies, overseas productions would use our country for an exotic backdrop. Singer Mick Jagger playing Australian outlaw icon Ned Kelly is a major example of this phenomenon. We then started making gross out, populist comedies, like "Alvin Purple" and "Barry McKenzie". If you are easily offended or have a squeamish sensibility, some of the clips may displease you. Some scenes are what you would expect from a gross out comedy, whilst some are more horrific, as you'd expect to find from horror genre movies.

The success of these genre movies had an 'Establishment' backlash. The Aussie 'Renaissance' in movies was more about presenting an image to the world which we felt comfortable with...it was sort of a battle for Australia's soul...the 'evil' populist side was abandoned as funding bodies supported more 'nice'/'proper' subjects for movies. There is a very funny scene where famous Aussie satirist Barry Humphreys suggests that the art-house movie "Picnic at Hanging Rock" could have been even better if it had only had scenes of...(won't spoil the surprise for you on that one!).

Also fascinating in this docu is how Australian genre movies were influenced by overseas genre movies and vice-versa. E.g. it was a revelation to me that the notorious sex-romp creation "Alvin Purple" was basically taken from the premise of the British movie "Alfie" but with a plot twist used for comedic effect. Movies like "Mad Max" and "Patrick" had Italian rip-offs too, showing their influence on the world scene.

Have heard recently that Australian genre movies like "Patrick" and "Thirst" are to be remade here. I've seen the latter...many years ago. Interesting take on the vampire genre...I really only remember one visually stunning scene. This docu reminded me of another absolutely stunning scene from that movie...you'll see it too if you watch this docu. Fan-boy Tarantino often talks of arresting moments in such genre movies. The shower scene from Thirst would be an example that works for me.

I'm sure we like to imagine that we live in more liberated times than people did decades ago. Watching this docu, you'll realise how mistaken you are! In the 1970's on Australian free to air TV, you could see full frontal male and female nudity on shows like "Alvin Purple" and "Number 96". You don't get stuff like that nowadays...not even on US shows which are on cable TV there. Sure, a lot of that stuff was sexist, but that is not hidden in this docu...women like Jackie Weaver discuss this topic at some length.

This docu has definitely piques my interest in some of these movies: must get around to watching "Patrick" one of these days, as well as revisiting "Thirst" some time too. No doubt due to some of the tax concessions the government offered, some absolutely worthless movies were made here. Those tax concession days are discussed here too, plus you get the points of view of people who have utter contempt for these movies (like Bob Ellis) as well as the out and out fan-boys, like Quentin Tarantino.

Really, you don't have to be Australian to appreciate this docu or even be that familiar with the movies which are covered here. It's just a great over-view of a niche scene in the world.

...I suppose the only lamentable thing is that the early Australian cinema scene was killed by the US movie business. We had arguably the first motion picture ever made ("The story of the Kelly gang"). How much richer could Australia's cinema history have been if government had protected our industry?

Superb documentary

[Neon-man · 9/10 · 10 January 2009]

This documentary detailing the wave of Aussie exploitation (better known as Ozploitation) films through the 70s and 80s is not only made with such passion, excitement, complemented further so by the anecdotes and praise from the key players of the wave and their fans, but is criminally underrated. The film is always interesting, educational, inspiring, and choc-a-block full of tits, pubes, blood, gore, and the sexiest cars/car chases/car accidents you've ever seen. not only is this film so much fun, but it is the most important Australian film to come out this year because it gives the deserved praise to a wave of films that should've been treated better and in retrospect have been forgotten (until now. And some of the featured films in the doco are thankfully getting their first DVD releases). Thankfully, as the ending of the film details, Aussie film-makers are heading back to the days of Ozploitation and putting it in their movies, as seen in the likes of Wolf Creek, Saw, Undead, and Rogue. It's also great hearing these directors, producers, writers and actors alike talking about how much fun, dangerous, and crazy it was to make these sorts of films, and how it was never inspired by how much money could be made (however, money was made, and Ozploitation did have an audience, mainly in countries outside of Australia). This is an excellent, exciting, and informative documentary and is absolutely essential viewing for all aspiring film-makers. If this doesn't get a Best Documentary nom at the Oscars, I will be disappointed. I hope to see it on more "Top 10 in 08" lists, because it is certainly on mine.

Down Under at the Top!

[Coventry · 8/10 · 21 June 2009]

Having watched "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!" is eventually going to cost me a lot of money in the long run, as I added yet another handful of obscure movies to my never-ending list of 'absolutely-must-track-down-purchases'. That is actually the main reason why horror and cult fanatics ought to check this spirited and cheerful documentary out! Not so much because it's highly informative and professionally made (which it is), but mainly because this literally is a gravy train of virtually unknown but seemingly delicious genre titles. You can watch this documentary with a pen & notebook next to you and just start writing down the titles of all out-and-out demented movies they show brief clips of, and I assure that near the end you'll have a whole page full! In case the extended title doesn't make it clear enough yet, "Not Quite Hollywood" is a documentary revolving on the Australian exploitation/B-movie industry in general. This production features tons of clips from movies of the different streams in cult cinema (vulgar 70's sex flicks, brutally gore horror and outrageous car/biker movies), interviews with practically all the pioneers of Aussie cult cinema (like Brian Trenchard-Smith, Richard Franklin and Everett De Roche…) and over-enthusiast testimonies for younger generation directors about how influential these movies were (Greg McLean, James Wan and particularly the always-hyperkinetic Quentin Tarantino). The footage and interviews covering the Sexploitation stream was the least interesting part for me, because I'm not that interested in those films. Still it was nevertheless worthwhile seeing, as this meant the launch of the Aussie exploitation industry, with director icons like John Lamond and Tim Burstall giving birth to Down Under sleaze and vulgarity. There's a surprisingly high amount of little interviews with lewd actresses of that time, so it's really fun to see them showing off their T&A first and then talk about how carefree this era was. The horror movies (comatose killers & outback chillers) and exploitation flicks (high octane disasters and kung-fu masters) are a non-stop spitfire of fantastic images, compelling background information, marvelous on-set anecdotes and enticing bits of gore. It's always a brilliant experience to watch so many of your cinematic heroes assembled in one documentary, and "Not Quite Hollywood" accomplishes exactly this.