Not Quite Hollywood

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008). Directed by Mark Hartley.

This is a fast-paced documentary about Australia’s “Ozploitation” films of the 1970s and early ‘80s. It’s a celebration of the forgotten action movies, sex comedies and horror films that could never have been made in Hollywood.

Interviews with Quentin Tarantino, Dennis Hopper and Jamie Lee Curtis will pique the curiosity of North American audiences. An endless number of clips accompany the interviews. After 90 minutes you’ll understand why films such as Saw, Wolf Creek and even Death Proof are inspired by some of the Ozploitation films.

The action movies from this era were unbelievable in their quest for realism. There are tales of live ammunition being fired at actors. Dangerous high speed stunts often resulted in broken bones and sometimes even death. High speed automobile chases were routinely filmed without permits on open streets.

In The Man From Hong Kong George Lazenby was set on fire because a stunt double wouldn’t look as convincing. Of course, Lazenby was burned performing this stunt and he became so angry that he punched the director.

While making the horror film Thirst, Henry Silva refused to hang out of real helicopter. The director found a crane and told Silva that they would suspend him only a few feet off the ground and fake the shot. Once filming started the crane was raised 70 feet into the air with Silva hanging on for dear life.

If you love film then I think you’ll find this documentary to be very entertaining. The opening title sequence and production value are top notch and you’ll be amazed at some of the stories that come out of the interviews.

Films are rated from 1 to 4 stars.

Not Quite Hollywood - Official Film Site.

Posted in OzFlix at 3:16 PM