The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith [Blu-ray]

Director: Fred Schepisi Fred Schepisi

Overview

Racism and the mistreatment of aborigines in Australia are the themes of this violent, adult drama. It chronicles the tragic life of Jimmie, a racially mixed aborigine who was reared by a Methodist minister. He doesn't really fit in either the whiteman's nor the aborigine's world, but still opts to try living amongst the whites. When it seems that he has impregnated a white servant girl, he marries her. He is then permitted to live and work on a large estate. Later it is discovered that the child's father was white. That is of no importance to Jimmie, but it seems to matter to his employers who suddenly stop paying him. Years of pent-up rage and frustration erupt as Jimmie embarks on an astonishing spree of violence. This film is based on a novel by Thomas Keneally.

Product Details

Release Date:	09/17/2019
UPC:	0738329235567
Original Release:	1978
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kino Classics
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	3:59:00

Special Features

Disc 1: ; International Version (119 minutes); Interview with Fred Schepisi and DP Ian Baker; The Chant of Tom Lewis, an interview with star Tommy Lewis; Trailer; ; Disc 2: ; Australian Version (122 minutes); Audio commentary by Fred Schepisi; Introduction by Fred Schepisi

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Tommy Lewis	Jimmie Blacksmith
Freddy Reynolds	Mort Blacksmith
Ray Barrett	Farrell
Angela Punch-McGregor	Gilda Marshall
Steve Dodds	Tabidgi
Jack Thompson	Rev. Neville
Julie Dawson	Mrs. Neville
Tim Robertson	Healy
Jane Harders	Mrs. Healy
Peter Carroll	McCready
Robyn Nevin	Mrs. McCready
Don Crosby	Mr. Newby
Rose Lilley	Jane Newby,Vera Newby
Peter Sumner	Dowie Stead
Ray Meagher	Dud Edmonds
Brian Anderson	Hyberry
Rob Steele	Claude Lewis
Thomas Keneally	Cook
Bryan Brown	Kelly
Elizabeth Alexander	Petra Graf
Marshall Crosby	Peter Newby
John Bowman	Mullett
Ruth Cracknell	Mrs. Heather Newby
Arthur Dignam	Man in Butcher Shop
Bruce Smeaton	Composer

Technical Credits

Fred Schepisi

Fred Schepisi

Producer,Director,Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A difficult film that was one of the most shocking products of the Australian New Wave, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith demonstrated that Fred Schepisi was a director willing to handle explosive subjects. Schepisi had made The Devil's Playground two years earlier; in this film, he tackled a true story that had been semi-fictionalized by Thomas Keneally. It's a blazing indictment of Australian racism, centering on the mistreatment of a young half-breed aborigine (Tommy Lewis) raised by a Methodist minister. He gets mixed up in sexual politics, accused of misdeeds involving a white girl, and eventually goes on a murderous rampage. Schepisi's task is a thankless one, helped immeasurably by Lewis' portrayal, which helps audiences sympathize with a victim who becomes vengeful. Schepisi went on to a Hollywood career after this film won international acclaim.