In this brutal film, a gang of hard-luck Australian skinheads takes its frustrations out on Vietnamese immigrants. Hatred pulled the skinheads together, but the love of a woman pulls them apart just as the foreigners they have been terrorizing decide to fight back. Actor Russell Crowe shines in one of his first leading roles in .. Read more
| Starring | Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Alex Scott |
|---|---|
| Director | Geoffrey Wright |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller |
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In this brutal film, a gang of hard-luck Australian skinheads takes its frustrations out on Vietnamese immigrants. Hatred pulled the skinheads together, but the love of a woman pulls them apart just as the foreigners they have been terrorizing decide to fight back. Actor Russell Crowe shines in one of his first leading roles in this controversial hit from Australia.
| Starring | Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Alex Scott, James McKenna, Tri Phan, Leigh Russell, Dan Wyllie |
|---|---|
| Director | Geoffrey Wright |
| Studio | PRISM LEISURE |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 29 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 02 Jun 2003 Production year: 1992 |
| Format | DVD |
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Russell Crowe stars as the leader of a racist gang that preys on Australia's immigrant population in writer/director Geoffrey Wright's unsettling portrait of neo-Nazi thugs. Unflinching in its depiction of the lifestyle of the protagonists, the film caused a Clockwork Orange-style controversy Down Under when it was released. Much of the film's power comes from the bruising, raw performances of Crowe (later to become a major Hollywood star with LA Confidential and The Insider), best friend Daniel Pollock and lover Jacqueline McKenzie, who has even deeper psychological problems than the guys. Although some may find the violent subject matter a major turn-off, Wright's stylised camerawork and pacey editing make this more than just an exercise in screen brutality.
A violent excursion into Australian low-life and one that refrains from any implied comment on the anti-social action it presents.
Out 6 years before American History X, Romper Stomper has been compared many times to the Ed Norton movie.
Russell Crowe in his first (I think) starring movie role does a great job of playing Hando, the leader of the skinhead gang, intent on ridding Melbourne of it's Asian population.
All round this movie does a good job of telling a story that is both interesting and important, with this kind of thing being quite common at the time, certainly in NZ (where I'm from) and I presume Australia (where it was based).
The violence is not as graphic as some other films, but due to the realism it is based on it appears stronger.
Violent, disturbing but very watchable. This is one I've been meaning to watch for years and I wasn't disappointed.
It's a menacing story portraying the lives of a gang of Melbourn skinheads. Russell Crowe is excellent in one of his first major performances as Hando, the psychotic leader of the gang. After a brutally compelling fight with an Asian mob, Hando's gang becomes increasingly desperate and disjointed, leading to tragic consequences. Rather than being an out and out exploration of the Australian far-right movement, the film develops into a thriller with the tension building up to a violent crescendo.
It never really morally condemns the skinheads, which some might find uncomfortable, but I thought this marked it out as brave film-making. It's aged pretty well and overall I'd definitely recommend it, but not for the easily shocked.
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