Mad Dog Morgan [Blu-ray]

Director: Philippe Mora Philippe Mora

Overview

In this film, based on a true story, a 19th-century Australian gold-digger is pressed into a life of crime. A six-year stint in jail doesn't provide reform but does introduce him to an Aboriginal partner-in-crime. The duo then proceed to violently terrorize the province of New South Wales.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/05/2022
UPC:	0843501039465
Original Release:	1976
Rating:	R
Source:	Powerhouse
Language:	English

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Dennis Hopper	Daniel Morgan
Jack Thompson	Detective Manwaring
David Gulpilil	Billy
Frank Thring	Superintendent Cobham
Michael Pate	Superintendent Winch,Roget's Assistant
Wallas Eaton	Macpherson
Bill Hunter	Sgt. Smith
John Hargreaves	Baylis
Martin Harris	Wendlan
Robin Ramsay	Roget
Graeme Blundell	Italian Jack
Gregory Apps	Arthur
Elaine Baillie	Farm Girl
Don Barkham	Morrow
Kurt Beimel	Dr. Dobbyn
David Bracks	McLean
Liddy Clark	Alice
Peter Collingwood	Judge Barry
Peter Cummins	Gibson
Max Fairchild	Prisoner
Judith Fisher	Mrs. Warby
Alan Hardy	Bob
Isobel Harley	Mrs. Macpherson
Norman Kaye	Swagman
Hugh Keays-Byrne	Simon
John Derum	Evans
Gerry Duggan	Martin
David John	John Evans
Kevin Leslie	Maples
David Mitchell	Haley
Grant Page	Maginnity
Philip Ross	Watson
Bruce Spence	Heriot
Peter Thompson	Mayor
Roger Ward	Trooper
Harold Baigent	Actor
Natalie Bate	Actor
John Bowman	Actor
Tom Broadbridge	Actor
John Cousins	Actor
Reg Evans	Actor
Cliff Ellen	Actor
Tom Farley	Actor
Jon Finlayson	Actor
Ken Grant	Actor
Jeremy Kewley	Actor
Gerard Maguire	Actor
Dennis Miller	Actor
John Smythe	Actor
Don Kerr	Actor
Patrick Flynn	Composer

Technical Credits

Philippe Mora

Philippe Mora	Director,Screenwriter
Jeremy Thomas	Producer
Ken Hammond	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

This intense variation on the historical biopic offers more grit and offbeat flourishes than one might expect from this kind of film. The story it tells works both as an outlaw-as-antihero story and also as an indictment of Australian colonialism (fittingly, the hero's partner in crime is the most dispossessed of Australians, an Aborigine). The narrative is told in a punchy style, with lots of events rolling out in machine gun style, as Morgan goes from iconoclast to wanted man. Director Philippe Mora gives the often violent storyline a tremendous sense of stylistic drive, piling on swooping camerawork by cinematographer Mike Molloy and a haunting musical score by Patrick Flynn that mixes choral and Aboriginal motifs to otherworldly effect. That said, the beating heart of Mad Dog Morgan is the all-stops-out lead performance from Dennis Hopper as the title character: he sustains a burning intensity from start to finish and his willingness to go out on a limb and drain every last drop of emotion from the role is the engine that drives the film. Also worthy of note are David Gulpilil, whose quietly charismatic turn as Morgan's partner acts as a counterbalance to Hopper's furious theatrics, and an ominous, darkly witty turn by Frank Thring as the government man determined to take Morgan down. In closing, Mad Dog Morgan is an intense, sometimes brutal experience but it also offers plenty of food for thought and a stunning example of cinematic craft. As such, it is well worth a look for the adventurous cult-film fan.