Hard And Brutal - Scum / Romper Stomper / Chopper

Starring: Daniel Pollock, Russell Crowe Director: Geoffrey Wright Original UK Premiere: 1979 Dvd Release: 3rd November, 2003 Number Of Discs: 3 Format: PAL, Region 2 Encoding

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Scum is a film made in 1979 portraying the brutality of life inside a British borstal. Directed by Alan Clarke & starring Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Martin Philips, Davidson Knight, John Blundell & Phil Daniels, it tells the story of a young offender named Carlin as he arrives at the institution & his swift rise to become The Daddy. The film is critical of the borstal system & caused much controversy when first shown. Some felt it should be banned, while others felt that it should be required viewing. The film is violent, with a vicious male rape scene that leads to the suicide of the victim. The warders & convicts alike are brutalised by the system. There is no attempt at rehabilitation, the inmates are simply locked away & left to their own devices. The story was originally made for the BBC s Play for Today strand in 1977 but was not shown at the time, although the BBC version has been broadcast since. Two years later director Alan Clarke & scriptwriter Roy Minton remade it as a film, which was then shown on Channel 4 in 1983, by which time the borstal system had been abolished.

Romper Stomper is a 1992 Australian film by Geoffrey Wright starring Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock & Jacqueline McKenzie. The film follows the exploits & downfall of a neo-Nazi skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne. The notable soundtrack released on Picture This Records includes dark, energetic music of the Oi! genre. The film was nominated for 9 AFI Awards, winning Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in a Lead Role & Best Original Music Score. Rich girl, Gabe, falls in with Hando, the violent, unstable leader of a skinhead group in Footscray, Melbourne. Handos best mate Davey falls in love with Gabe, setting up a dangerous love triangle in the volatile situation of the skinhead group battling the Vietnamese population in their neighborhood. Romper Stomper   at the Internet Movie Database.

Chopper is a 2000 drama / crime thriller / black comedy motion picture, written & directed by Andrew Dominik based on the autobiographical books by Mark Brandon Chopper Read, an infamous Australian criminal, convicted for wounding a man, admitting to murder many. It was the film which caused worldwide recognition for Eric Bana who had earlier starred in & produced his own comedy shows on Australian national TV. The biggest obstruction in the way of the production was the using of the Pentridge Prison in Coburg, Victoria for the shooting. The prison was being closed down & while the negotiations were underway, the funding for production was delayed. This put off the starting of the shoot. To show the sterility of the prison & to contrast it with the world that Chopper encounters after leaving prison 16 years later, the production was split into two.

Russell Ira Crowe is a film actor born in Wellington, New Zealand. When he was four years old, he moved to Australia. He attended the Sydney Boys High School & then moved back to New Zealand to attend the Auckland Grammar School. He then moved on to another school where he dropped out. After initial success in Australia, he became a Hollywood actor in the mid-1990s; he won the Academy Award as Best Actor in 2001 for Gladiator & was also nominated for the award for The Insider & A Beautiful Mind. On April 7, 2003, Crowe married singer & actress Danielle Spencer. On December 21, 2003, son Charles Spencer Crowe was born. Crowe has gained notoriety for his off-screen antics, particularly allegations of rowdiness & belligerence, as parodied in an episode of South Park. Master & Commander. The Far Side of the World. Posters Of A Beautiful Mind

Editors Choice: A Beautiful Mind, Gladiator, The Far Side Of The World, Cinderella Man, Master And Commander, The Insider, Proof Of Life, Mystery Alaska, View DVDology

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