Eric Bana stars as the eponymous Chopper, Australia’s most notorious and celebrated criminal figure, in what’s been lauded as the “performance of a lifetime”. This brutally gripping true-crime feature received critical acclaim on its original release in 2000, and now Andrew Dominik’s directorial debut is available as a Limited Edition Blu-ray from Second Sight Films. It is also available in a Standard Blu-ray format.
Dominik’s (Blonde, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) shocking and darkly entertaining film takes us into the violent world of Australia’s most infamous figure – Mark ‘Chopper’ Read – who conquered Victoria’s brutal underworld single-handedly, in a film based on his memoirs.
Bana shows his acting chops in this seminal, career defining role of bonafide villain Chopper, and he brings the outrageous true story to the screen with maximum force. The brutality and nonchalance of the life and crimes of the one-man mafia,...
Dominik’s (Blonde, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) shocking and darkly entertaining film takes us into the violent world of Australia’s most infamous figure – Mark ‘Chopper’ Read – who conquered Victoria’s brutal underworld single-handedly, in a film based on his memoirs.
Bana shows his acting chops in this seminal, career defining role of bonafide villain Chopper, and he brings the outrageous true story to the screen with maximum force. The brutality and nonchalance of the life and crimes of the one-man mafia,...
- 4/16/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
The director says his film was sympathetic to Mark Brandon Read and ‘on his side’. It had to be – to understand his violence
Few would be unfamiliar with Chopper – both the criminal, and the movie. The former is Mark Brandon Read, the notorious Australian gangster, bestselling author and serial shit-spinner, who committed many crimes and claimed he committed many more. The latter is the New Zealand-born writer-director Andrew Dominik’s terrific 2000 drama, supercharged by an astonishing performance from Eric Bana. The film returns to Australian cinemas on 26 August in a pandemic-delayed celebration of its 20th birthday.
Making a good biopic is never easy but making one about Read posed all sorts of challenges – including how to accurately represent the life of a compulsive liar. Dominik, speaking to me over the phone from the UK, says Read “sold the myth of himself as being a kind of Robin Hood character who...
Few would be unfamiliar with Chopper – both the criminal, and the movie. The former is Mark Brandon Read, the notorious Australian gangster, bestselling author and serial shit-spinner, who committed many crimes and claimed he committed many more. The latter is the New Zealand-born writer-director Andrew Dominik’s terrific 2000 drama, supercharged by an astonishing performance from Eric Bana. The film returns to Australian cinemas on 26 August in a pandemic-delayed celebration of its 20th birthday.
Making a good biopic is never easy but making one about Read posed all sorts of challenges – including how to accurately represent the life of a compulsive liar. Dominik, speaking to me over the phone from the UK, says Read “sold the myth of himself as being a kind of Robin Hood character who...
- 8/17/2021
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
This article is dedicated to Andrew Copp: filmmaker, film writer, artist and close friend who passed away on January 19, 2013. You are loved and missed, brother.
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Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful performance in Joe Carnahan’s excellent survival film The Grey, easily one of the best roles of Neeson’s career.
In Neeson’s case, his lack of a nomination was a case of neglect similar to the Albert Brooks snub in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film year 2011 for Drive(Nicolas Winding Refn, USA).
Along with negligence, other factors commonly prevent outstanding lead acting performances from getting the kind of critical attention they deserve. Sometimes it’s that the performance is in a film not considered “Oscar material” or even worthy of any substantial critical attention.
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Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful performance in Joe Carnahan’s excellent survival film The Grey, easily one of the best roles of Neeson’s career.
In Neeson’s case, his lack of a nomination was a case of neglect similar to the Albert Brooks snub in the Best Supporting Actor category for the film year 2011 for Drive(Nicolas Winding Refn, USA).
Along with negligence, other factors commonly prevent outstanding lead acting performances from getting the kind of critical attention they deserve. Sometimes it’s that the performance is in a film not considered “Oscar material” or even worthy of any substantial critical attention.
- 2/27/2013
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
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