Chopper (film)

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Movie
German title Chopper
Original title Chopper
Chopper (film) Logo.png
Country of production Australia ,
United States
original language English
Publishing year 2000
length 94 minutes
Age rating FSK 18
Rod
Director Andrew Dominik
script Andrew Dominik
production Michele Bennett
music Mick Harvey
camera Geoffrey Hall
Kevin Hayward
cut Ken Sallows
occupation

Chopper is an Australian film drama from the year 2000 , that of Andrew Dominik was written and staged. The film is based on an autobiography by Mark Brandon Read .

action

Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read has been in jail since he was 16 years old. For kidnapping a judge to get his friend Jimmy Loughnan out, he is serving another sentence in a Melbourne prison . He is not very popular with his fellow prisoners and when he kills a fellow prisoner, the other prisoners pool their money and put a cash bonus on his head.

His fellow prisoner and best friend Jimmy Loughnan seizes the chance and tries to murder Read with a self-made knife. Read survives the attack and asks the prison warden to move him to avoid the danger. However, the latter denies his request. To emphasize the request, Read has his ears cut off.

After his release from prison, Read appears paranoid and continues to fear for his life. He meets up with his then-girlfriend, Tanya, who he thinks is in cahoots with Neville Bartos, a previous victim of his. Bartos, who has long forgiven Read for a past assault, invites Read into his villa and is extremely hospitable. But Read reacts suspiciously to the friendly behavior, shoots Bartos in the stomach, robs him and then drives him to a hospital himself. Read also spreads the lie that he works for the police and that the authorities have given him a free pass for his crimes while working with the police.

Driven by paranoia, Read believes he has been the target of several homicide assignments. He also suspects his old friend Jimmy Loughnan of trying to murder him. In order to be certain, he visits him, who now has two children and a drug addict fiancée. After Jimmy has calmed him down, Read leaves the apartment of his old friend in a good mood, whom he had just threatened with a gun.

After Read's visit, however, it turns out that Jimmy Loughnan was commissioned to murder Read. Jimmy, his wife and a Turk named Sammy follow Read to a club. That same night, Read kills Sammy, the Turk, leaving the real story behind and showing several versions to the viewer.

Read was able to justify the murder allegation with self-defense. However, he was convicted of numerous other crimes. While in prison he wrote a book about his life in the criminal underworld of Australia, which quickly became a bestseller. In the final scene of the film, Read sits in his cell and watches an interview with two guards on television that he had given shortly before in prison. He boasts of his actions and fights for approval from the guards. After the interview is over, one of the guards asks Read if all of the media reports about him are true. Whereupon he just laughs and says that one should never let the truth screw up a good story. The final shot shows the convict sitting alone in his cell.

production

The hardest part of making Chopper was getting permission to film at HM Prison Pentridge in Coburg, Victoria . The prison was closed at the time, and negotiating the filming permit delayed funding for the film. Therefore, the start of shooting was postponed.

In order to illustrate the sterility of the prison and the contrast to the world outside the prison, the film was shot in two parts. The first part of the film, which takes place in prison, was shot as sterile as possible. In the second part, care was taken to ensure that many colors are used. Director Andrew Dominik called this visual overload . This was achieved through lighting, choice of footage and colors on set. Part of the production ran from May 3rd to May 26th and filming continued with the second part, which was recorded between June 28th and July 21st.

Awards

price category person result
AACTA Awards
(2000 AFI Awards) 		AACTA Award Best Film Michele Bennett Nominated
AACTA Award Best Director Andrew Dominik Won
AACTA Award for best script Nominated
AACTA Award for the best actor Eric Bana Won
AACTA Award for best supporting actor Simon Lyndon Won
AACTA Award best camera Geoffrey Hall Nominated
Kevin Hayward Nominated
AACTA Award best cut Ken Sallows Nominated
AACTA Award best music Mick Harvey Nominated
AACTA Award best production design Paddy Reardon Nominated
BIFA Award BIFA Award for the best foreign independent film Andrew Dominik Nominated
Cognac Festival du Film Policier Critic award Won
Grand Prix Won
FCCA Awards Best movie Michele Bennett Won
Best director Andrew Dominik Won
Best script Nominated
Best Actor Eric Bana Won
Best supporting actor Simon Lyndon Won
The best supporting actress Kate Beahan Nominated
Best camera Geoffrey Hall Nominated
Kevin Hayward Nominated
Best cut Ken Sallows Nominated
Best film score Mick Harvey Nominated
Inside Film Awards Best New Filmmaker (Independent) Andrew Dominik Won
Best Actor Eric Bana Won
Stockholm Film Festival Bronze horse Andrew Dominik Nominated
Best Actor Eric Bana Won

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for chopper . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , February 2003 (PDF; test number: 92 916 V).