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Chopper - Andrew Dominik, Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Vince Colosimo

Threat advisory: High - High risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

I am just an average bloke; an average bloke who's a bit down on his luck.

Mark (eventually nicknamed Chopper) Read (Eric Bana) dreams of making a name for himself as a legendary crime figure. His journey is brutal and bizarre, as he tries in vain to capture that elusive Al Capone quality, having to settle, instead, for a Fawlty Towers version of a stand-over man. This does not preclude him being violent and sadistic, but it does prevent him reaching the dark heights he seeks to attain. In and out of jail, Chopper is always on edge, and sometimes he can even see the joke himself. But the fact that he is a better selling autobiographical author than crim (and proud of it) is testament to his absurdity.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn.

Persons of interest

Eric Bana .... Mark "Chopper" Read
Simon Lyndon .... Jimmy Loughnan
Vince Colosimo .... Neville Bartos
David Field .... Keithy George
Dan Wyllie .... Bluey
Bill Young .... Detective Downie
Kenny Graham .... Keith Read
Kate Beahan .... Tanya
Mark Reid .... Author
Andrew Dominik .... Screenwriter
Andrew Dominik .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

Chopper official movie site
Awards and film festivals:

Australian Film Institute (AFI) 2000: Won: best achievement in direction, best performance by an actor in a leading role, best performance by an actor in a supporting role (Simon Lyndon) - nominations: best film, best screenplay adapted from another source, best achievement in cinematography (Geoffrey Hall and Kevin Hayward), best achievement in editing (Ken Sallows), best achievement in production design (Paddy Reardon), best original music score (Mick Harvey), best achievement in sound (Frank Lipson, Glenn Newnham, Steve Burgess and John Schiefelbein)
Cinematic Intelligence Agency Trenchcoat Awards 2001
Edinburgh Film Festival 2000: Screening
Film Critics Circle of Australia 2000: best film, best director, best actor, best supporting actor (Simon Lyndon)
Telluride Film Festival 2000: Screening
Toronto International Film Festival 2000: Screening

Studios and distributors:

Mushroom Pictures * 20th Century Fox

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Chop-paahhh!!!

Based directly on but not by any means a biography, Chopper is the distillation of Mark's books and a heap of prison gossip. If you thought Prisoner was wild then this will blow your socks off. The first half is set in the seventies in dear old Pentridge. Bad hair and worse fashion are nothing next to the beatings, stabbings and brutalising that goes on. The second half is in the eighties when Chopper has been released back into the wonderful world of post-polyester insanity that was Melbourne and has to find a new way to make his mark on the world (no pun intended).

Eric goes from strength to strength as the inimitable Mr Read. His comic timing and dry wit are perfect for the part and his acting skills make you think you're watching a documentary. He's in every scene but not once do you think the guy you are seeing is anyone but Chopper Read. Simon continues his bad guy theme (see Blackrock, Sample people), this time as a third rate loser who just happens to be Chopper's best friend and eventual betrayer. Whether he's stabbing him in the seventies or dobbing him in in the eighties, he's a case of hard-core Aussie battler.

Watching this flick is a lot like watching Sylvania Waters... without the class. It's funny, it's violent, it's disturbing and it has a great stunt penis. See it.