“Arguably the best and most important Australian Film of
the Year” – The Sydney Morning Herald 1992
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“An extraordinary achievement...at every level exciting,
challenging and original.” – Movie Trader
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“….director Wright knows exactly how to grab audiences
– by their shocked necks and drag them mesmerised to the end.”
– Rob Lowing, The Sun Herald
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Its reportedly harshest critic, David Stratton, called the film
"A Clockwork Orange without the intellect ... a distubing,
essentially misconceived pic." (Variety, 25/5/92)
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Rated
NC-17, this pumping powerhouse from Australian writer-director
Geoffrey Wright concerns skinheads, a subculture of illiterate,
unemployed neo-Nazis who'd bash your skull in for a lark, especially
if you're an Asian immigrant infringing on their Melbourne turf.
The skinhead phenomenon is widespread. As this film shows, you can
mock them, but you can't laugh the buggers off.
Gabe (Jacqueline McKenzie) is a rich girl from the suburbs who falls
for the sexy, muscular head skinhead, Hando (Russell Crowe). To
Gabe, he's a big improvement over Daddy, who's been diddling her
since childhood. Crowe makes a mesmerizing monster (he won Australia's
Oscar for Best Actor), but Hando's a nutso. Gabe turns to the gentler
Davey (Daniel Pollock, a fine actor who recently committed suicide),
and Wright holds out a glimmer of hope for their redemption.
Although the love story doesn't ring true, the violence does, as
the Vietnamese community fights back. Few movies have shoved an
audience so brutally into battle. Ron Hagen's camera work captures
the delirium of carnage that drives out rational thought. Ignore
the prudes who think you shouldn't make films about things that
scare you. It's a first line of defense. This Aussie Reservoir Dogs
opens up a brutal world that needs to be understood.
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Don't stomp on this film for it is a powerful TV-sized window into
the dangers and strife of the Neo-Nazi lifestyle. The effect this
film leaves on you is lasting and similar to that of American History
X but Romper's is more engraved and greater from one scene than
American History X as a whole. Due to the fact that Romper wasn't
withheld by the reins of a studio or Hollywood. This film is flat
out reality of hatred. You fight with hate and die with hate there
is no redemption. They don't learn to love each other or get along,
there is no message and the only happy ending is probably a fatal
blow either side will receive in the midst of their unbearable pain.
For those that think they know what's coming since they saw the
fluff of American History X this film will blow you away and maybe
even disgust you. Even those who could bear the famous curb scene
of American History X.
Russell Crowe as Hando leads a group of skin-heads into violent
shocking assaults on Melbourne's Asian community. As they try to
accomplish a racial purity in their neighborhood. But soon the Asian's
retaliate and in stronger forces than the skin-heads and figured.
Soon the skin-heads are sent on the run pursued by the angry revengeful
Orientals.
This film has been hailed as an Aussie answer to Reservoir dogs.
How inaccurate some critics can be. This film is neither crime nor
a lot of witty dialogue. It is about racism and horrors it cause
along with effects resulting of the horrors. A better comparison
then is Schindler's List as both films gave an authentic even if
sometime harsh portrayal of racism accepting and surpassing all
challenges they faced due to the brutality they must show.
Romper Stomper's editing may induce headache but the effect it
reaches of putting you into the action makes it realistic and all
more intense. The editing is like being planted into a professional
sporting event. Things are happening all around you as you strain
to decipher them much like in this film the fighting surrounds you
as you strain to persuade yourself into believing this is only a
film.
Russell Crowe began his career with his best performance rather
than leading up to it the traditional way. Being able to portray
such rage and hate you don't truly believe in can be a hard task.
But Crowe pulled through delivering a mesmerizing performance of
his psychotic heartless character. However, not only Crowe is worthy
of praise as his supporting cast was outstanding in how believable
they came across.
The film's greatest achievement was not having the entire camp
of Neo-Nazi's black hearted. Besides the drunken passion there is
a lot of compassion for one another among the band. They cry over
one another and can't bear to watch another in pain. They are well
defined characters that are human and not robotic types programmed
to hate and kill without care. Which is how in some movies they
are inaccurately portrayed. The truest and purest form of this passion
is a decision of one of the honored leaders to leave over a girl.
He does not treat her as merely a sex object but one that he loves
even more than his best friends he has fought and lived with most
of his young life.
Geoffery Wright's has crafted an engrossing taut film that grabs
your attention immediately and keeps you easily enthralled all the
way up to and through its devastating ending. A film that is honest
with its content and not holding anything back. Completely persuading
you against ever feeling racist or violent again. A genius of a
film that shouldn't be missed and easily considered one of most
provacative and well made films of the 90's.
Rating 9/10 – www.movievault.com
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Oz Cinema
Author: Joshua Smith
Published on: December 23, 1997
Leading Players: Russell Crowe (Hando), Daniel Pollock (Davey),
Jacqueline McKenzie (Gabe), Alex Scott (Martin), Leigh Russell (Sonny
Jim), Danial Wylie (Cockles), James McKenna (Bubs), Samantha Bladon
(Tracy), Josephine Keen (Megan), John Brumpton (Magoo).
Main Crew: prod, Daniel Scharf, Ian Pringle; dir, Geoffrey Wright;
writ, Geoffrey Wright; dop, Ron Hagen; ed, Bill Murphy; mus, John
Clifford White; prod d, Steven Jones-Evans; cos, Anna Borghesi.
The release of Geoffrey Wright's violent, social realist work,
Romper Stomper, instantly raised questions regarding violence both
within our society and on the screen. The violence that permeates
Romper Stomper, however, carries with it strong moral reasoning.
In many ways, Wright has portrayed the urban wars in a narrative
style reminiscent of a number of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies.
As such, themes revolving around loyalty and the family resonate
powerfully throughout the film, intertwined as poetically and seamlessly
as those present in Macbeth.
Wright's debut directorial effort, also penned by Wright, presents
a remarkably poignant character study of a group of Neo-Nazi social
outcasts. Their situation, as a struggling minority group fighting
for freedom from racial impurity, is indicative of the struggle
that Australian aborigines face every day.
Interestingly, Wright's portrayal of this group appears, in many
ways, to be a study of the obstacles facing the Aborigines in the
1990s. If so, his focus on a group that most audiences would see
as inherently bad, could be a clever façade that shrouds
the essential subject matter in order to protect him from critical
backlash from indigenous groups. In any case, Hando and his accomplices
could be seen as representatives of any minority grouping —
perceived by others as misguided, attention-seeking outcasts.
Hando (Russell Crowe, in a spectacularly powerful performance)
led his group of nationalists in the war to reclaim land that they
believe they are entitled to. This is symbolic of the Aborigines'
battle to reclaim Australian soil. Just as the indigenous people
of Australia are grossly outnumbered, and their numbers diminishing,
Hando's Nazi group was similarly so, and both groups, as portrayed
by the mass media, can be linked to alcoholism and social isolation
as side effects of their fighting a losing battle. In fact, the
riveting conclusion to the film, strengthened by the ironic appearance
of a number of Asian tourists at Hando's death scene, is indicative
of the fact that while the jingoistic battle has been lost, the
survivors came to the realisation that harmony could only be achieved
through dissemination with other cultures.
Within the broad racial struggle that forms the film's main plot,
the Neo-Nazi group strive equally as adamantly to identify their
roles within the exiled family cluster. Hando, as the leader, has
established the role of father figure and mentor within the group,
while Davey (Daniel Pollock) can be seen as the son, and elder brother
to the rest of the motley crew. Gabe's (Jacqueline McKenzie) arrival
upsets the existing balance by creating a mother figure for the
group.
This development is indicated both in her attempts to stop Hando
from attacking a Vietnamese child, and her attempts to "clean
up" the group by cooking and cleaning for them. Her acceptance
by all, except for Hando whose power base is shifted, broadens the
minds of the group and accelerates their willingness to integrate
more comfortably into society.
Understandably, such a dramatic power shift calls themes of loyalty
(both to each other and to "the cause") into question.
Since the group's main strength springs from unity and collectivism
(symbolised by their tenacious belief in Hitler's philosophy), any
imbalance can upset the group's ability to function effectively.
The intolerance that Hando felt towards Asians is, in many ways,
mirrored in his relationship with Gabe as she, in this case, is
the new import — exiled from society by an incestuous father
and a violent boyfriend. As we expect, Gabe creates tension that
forces Davey, an others, to question their blind loyalty to Hitler's
cause and to Hando.
Stylistically, the film's turbulent themes are enhanced through
the usage of equally unbalancing hand-held camera movements, jump
cutting and unusual camera angles. This aspect of Wright's approach
is largely naturalistic, seemingly allowing the audience to participate
in the film's diegesis. The employment of point-of-view shots and
expressionistic lighting not only frames the gritty, dark urban
landscape, but also places an emphasis on the performances of the
actors, which, by all accounts, are naturalistic and provoking.
Employing an incredible diversity of innovative stylistic elements,
Wright has created a hyper-kinetic film that doesn't slow for a
beat until the credits begin to roll. Drawing on genuine, social
realist themes and supported by powerful performances, Romper Stomper
blends potent drama seamlessly within the framework of an urban
action film. In focusing upon a cross section of Australia's cultural
spectrum that is rarely highlighted, Romper Stomper not only captivates
its audience, drawing them into the realism that forms the film's
mise-en-scene, but creates a striking, relentless cinematic experience
that one will never forget. http://www.ozcinema.com/reviews/r/romperstomper.html
DVD Reviews:
Review by Shannon J. Harvey (Urban Cinefile):
This is it: the hardcore movie that made Russell Crowe an international
star, leading the way for an "Aussiewood" revival and
helping guys like Heath Ledger and Eric Bana break through from
their similarly gutsy Australian films as Two Hands and Chopper
respectively. Crowe gives a mesmerising performance as a true monster
here; muscular, menacing and seething with hatred and sex appeal.
He won the best actor AFI that year, though Best Film sadly went
to the sequined costume drama Strictly Ballroom.
Geoffrey Wright should have won for best director and best screenplay
too, for he delivered one of the powerhouse Australian films of
all time, up there with Mad Max for its sheer voracity of a nightmarish
world. Then there's the violence, where Ron Hagen's camera work
throws you brutally into battle, where logic and common human decency
fly out the window.
While Wright gets effectively inside Hando's head, with his creeds
of brotherhood and loyalty, the love story subtext doesn't quite
work. Was it necessary to make Jacqueline McKenzie abused by her
father? Or would being Hando's girlfriend mess her up enough? Daniel
Pollock gives a soulful performance as Hando's right-hand-man with
a conscience. He was romantically linked with McKenzie off-screen,
but sadly committed suicide shortly after filming wrapped (he threw
himself under a train).
Though never before released on DVD in Australia, Wright largely
avoids this topic in his audio commentary. He instead discusses
how difficult the film was to get made (he tried to get funding
for five years), how the title is a play on the kids TV show Romper
Room, and how Crowe and other cast members were almost arrested
during filming in full skinhead uniform. Wright reveals how the
film was shot in just six weeks on 16mm film, all due to extremely
tight funding. While his commentary is refreshing and insightful,
the other main feature of the DVD is 90 minutes of interviews that
formed part of the electronic press kit. It is bitsy, with many
short grabs from cast and crew, but finding out why Wright chose
such controversial material that "spits in the face of expectations
about Aussie films" is worthwhile.
Then there's the time he and Crowe almost came to blows.
Rounding off the disc are 31 black and white photographs from the
set, trailers and bios. The Romper Stomper DVD is a single-disc,
non-DTS transfer, and the extras aren't numerous. Hearing Crowe's
thoughts on the film would make the DVD much better, or other opinions
on skinhead culture, but the film stands alone as a towering achievement
of Aussie filmmaking.
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Romper Stomper Special Edition
By Andy McKeague Mar 9, 2005
Geoffrey Wright, a former movie critic turned director started
his career with a trio of matter-of-fact movies on problematic Australian
youth. First and third were 'Lover Boy' and 'Metal Skin', but it
was the middle feature that brought attention and lots of it.
UK Special Edition
In 1992 'Romper Stomper' was released to a bombardment of critical
uproar and praise. There seemed a mixed audience reaction to the
moral ambiguity of portraying a bunch of white supremacists without
adding a preaching moral quota. This is sad and unjust and seems
to miss the point. The film follows a group of Neo-Nazis over the
course of a week in the suburbs of Melbourne. It does not need to
state with large neon signs what is right and what is wrong, after
all you yourself the viewer can decided on that. At the end of the
movie it does show what this type of lifestyle can and does bring,
as the group are all either jailed or dead, emotionally or literally.
The opening is a straight reference to 'A Clockwork Orange' but
exchanging the political unrest of 70’s Britain to racial
unrest of 90’s Australia. It is slightly marred by some embarrassing
racial stereotypes although Wright would like you to think differently
on the commentary.
Hando
We are introduced to Hando (Russell Crowe in an award winning and
what many call his international break though role) and his gang
of attention seeking misfits. This is not a film about skinheads
but rather about a group of misguided reckless youths who live in
a skinhead culture. This has been tried several times in movies,
and mostly failed with the exception of the hard-hitting 'American
History X' and the grimy 'Made in Britain'. Tattooed, Doc Martin'd
and spouting lines from ‘Mein Kampf’ Crowe is simply
superb as the hate filled moody Hando and he leads his group in
a racial war with the Vietnamese society and eventually to self
destruction. There’s plenty of violence and the hand held
camera work places you right in the midst of the sticks, knives
and bloody punches....
Its low-budget 16mm feel does not hamper the film and gives it
a more gritty edge. John Clifford White does a grand job of the
music, it is worth listening to the audio commentary for his inspiration
for the punky tunes.
US
Special Edition
This is indeed a ‘Special Edition’ but perhaps not quite
a special package. Never has Romper Stomper looked and sounded so
good. The print has been cleaned up and tweaked both in audio and
picture and differs from the US Special Edition in this way. The
US edition was only digitally re-mastered with some minor restoration,
but here it has been tuned up, coloured adjusted and some effects
enhanced with the score and soundtrack banging away like hellcat
let loose on a hot tin roof. Before I start and say 'Buy ! Buy !
Buy !' the UK edition for the definitive ‘Romp’ there
is a slight flaw here. The US Special Edition does have a host of
extra features of which only a few have made it across the pond.
Gone is the music only track. Gone are the interviews with the hindsightful
Wright in 2000. Gone is the theatrical trailer. Gone is the restoration
comparison featurette but that is no great deal.
What’s new here is the audio commentary is now with Wright
and fellow crew members Bill Murphy (Editor), Daniel Scharf (Producer),
Chris Miller (Make Up) and White. This is a big improvement over
the US Wright only commentary, which sounds like someone speaking
into a tin can in an empty warehouse. Although the commentary is
full of insightful and interesting snippets they are episodic and
the stop start and long silences hinder the pleasure factor.
Back are the interviews with Wright and three of the principles,
all shot around the time of the movie. These are the same on both
versions.
In the UK edition Paul Macdonald, from the Melbourne Salvation
Army centre, is also interviewed. Chatting about the credibility
of the characters of the movie this is a nice outside point of view.
Behind the scenes Photo shoot is exactly what it says and then
there are two picture galleries to page through again available
on the UK edition only.
The menus are great on both versions but I do like the beer can
crunching, glass shattering, slowed down monster bellowing, graffitied,
expletive shouting UK one as looking that much more on the raw and
brutal side of things.
UK extra free
For a full listing of special features please check the item in
our archive.
So taking that the UK had only a no frills, gutless, extra-free,
bad print and Dolby 2 channel disc beforehand, this is more than
a welcome addition.
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Russell Crowe’s Breakthrough Performance - Romper Stomper
Controversial Classic Makes Its Long-Awaited DVD Debut November
21 In A Riveting Two-Disc Special Edition CENTURY CITY, CA -- (MARKET
WIRE) -- 11/14/2000 --
A Superb Film That Most 'Gladiator'-Watchers Haven't Seen - The
Hollywood Reporter
Superstar Russell Crowe’s mesmerizing breakthrough film,
Romper Stomper, the controversial and intense favorite, makes its
long-awaited DVD debut in a Special Edition, on November 21, 2000,
from Fox Home Entertainment. It is Geoffrey Wright's harrowing examination
of violence and terror among neo-Nazi skinheads in contemporary
Australia that was critically acclaimed and lauded for its depiction
of Australia's racist subculture. Romper Stomper depicts the last
days of a notorious gang as they lash out at local Vietnamese, who
are seen as threatening Melbourne's "racial purity." This
highly anticipated DVD release features exciting special features,
including running director's commentary, interviews with director
Geoffrey Wright from the documentary "Skinheads – Reality
and Fiction" and other places, a fascinating interview with
Crowe, cast and crew biographies, reviews, a film restoration sample,
and more. Lauded as "Stunning," (The New York Times),
Romper Stomper is available on DVD for a suggested retail price
of $26.98 US.
Viewers who saw Russell Crowe’s mesmerizing star turn in
Gladiator will be blown away by his breakthrough performance in
Romper Stomper. Crowe plays the confused yet charismatic leader
of a rowdy gang of skinheads, showcasing his undeniable power as
an actor. The controversial film drew rave reviews for its visceral
look at how the seeds of racial hatred, fueled by fear and paranoia,
can explode into raw violence. Winner of three Australian Film Institute
Awards, including Best Actor for Crowe, Romper Stomper was lauded
by Preview Magazine as "exhilarating and utterly brilliant."
The riveting two-disc "Special Edition" DVD features
a spectacular Anamorphic Widescreen transfer (Aspect Ratio 1.85:1)
and contains a Stereo music track, English subtitles and English
5.1 surround, English Dolby surround and DTS English sound.
Romper Stomper DVD Special Features
The spectacular two-disc DVD debut is loaded with special features
that include:Fascinating running Director's commentary.
An interview with lead actor Russell Crowe
An all-new interview with Director Geoffrey Wright
A gallery featuring dozens of still photos from the film's production
Cast and crew biographies
A sample of how the film was restored for this DVD release
Romper Stomper Synopsis
Geoffrey
Wright's chilling debut film is a harrowing examination of violence
and terror among neo-Nazi skinheads in contemporary Australia. Led
by the coldly charismatic Hando (Russell Crowe), a gang of white
supremacist Melbourne skinheads wreak havoc on the city's Vietnamese
community. When the Vietnamese have had enough and begin fighting
back, the skinheads go on the run, with the aid of Gabe (Jacqueline
McKenzie), a sexually abused woman prone to epileptic seizures.
Homeless and clueless, the gang begins to disintegrate physically
and mentally with every day spent on the lam.
himself
under a train).