This Blu-ray release from Arrow Academy will be available for purchase (www.arrowvideo.com – www.facebook.com/ArrowVideo/) on May 29th.
Arrow Academy, an art house division of Arrow Video have releasing quite a list of interesting little features over the past few years by such esteemed moviemakers as Robert Altman, Jean-Luc Godard and Federico Fellini among many others. In the early 80s, a drama from New Zealand called Smash Palace earned plenty of praise at festivals like Cannes, eventually earning a release in numerous markets around the world. In fact, it’s considered one of the titles that helped establish the country’s film industry. Now, it’s being given an impressive Blu-ray release with crisp picture and sound as well as some insightful extras.
The plot involves ex-race car driver Al Shaw (Bruno Lawrence), who has moved his family back to a remote area of New Zealand’s North Island to take over a junkyard inherited from his late father. Obsessed with vehicles, he works on a new car in the hopes of getting back out on the circuit. Not so happy about the family’s circumstances are his French wife Jacqui (Anna Maria Monticelli). Terminally bored and feeling ignored by her husband, she begins flirting with local cop and Al’s best pal, Ray (Keith Aberdein). The relationship between Al and Jacqui soon becomes strained, with daughter Georgie (Greer Robson) caught right in the middle. Eventually, Al feels like he has no other recourse than to kidnap his own daughter and head into the bush.
It’s a subtle but very believable scenario that slowly spins out of control. Most movies would take a very black and white approach to the material, but these characters are shaded in gray. Al is difficult, doesn’t give Jacqui the attention she deserves and his actions almost end up pushing her into Ray’s arms. Jacqui is also cruel to Al, severing his ties with Georgie and preventing him from seeing her almost as a sort of punishment. The performances and events play out in a very naturalistic manner as Al slowly becomes unglued. It must have been quite surprise for viewers during its initial release to see a nuanced and far less glamorous depiction of a separation.
The marital fights are uncomfortable to witness as they grow in intensity, leading to plenty of rash decisions and actions. And star Lawrence has no qualms about doing anything in service of the film in front of the camera. The character overreacts at times and then shows great compassion and sympathy. It’s a bold and fearless performance that deservedly earned raves during the film’s release. And the realistic approach means viewers are never quite sure how events are going to resolve themselves (if at all), adding tension to the proceedings.
While this is a domestic drama, the locations and photography are also quite impressive (the stills posted here don’t do the actual disc’s image quality justice). The titular junkyard full of rusted out vehicles and parts is visually striking and presents a nice metaphor for the marriage. There are also a few racing scenes with the camera mounted on the vehicles as they hurtle down race tracks and back roads. Additionally, as events move into the wilderness, there are also beautiful nature shots including a bit featuring a helicopter flying through a narrow rock canyon that make you feel like you’re right there with the pilot. The effect is both lovely and unnerving.
The movie itself appears very clean and crisp. Seeing as it was a landmark film in New Zealand history, the source material appears to have been very well maintained and it looks wonderful, particularly during some of the sunset sequences. The look of the film (as well as its talented cast) really defy the limitations of a small budget.
Extras on the disc are incredibly informative and really give viewers a sense of the cast and crew flying by the seat of their pants and simply doing their best just to get the movie finished. This was an early effort from director Roger Donaldson, who had received praise for his work on the thriller Sleeping Dogs (1977) and he provides a great commentary track along with the movie’s stunt driver. And the making-of documentary is equally notable.
Some of the funny stories include how difficult it was to get this project together. Donaldson was inspired to write the script by a stand-off between a father and police like the one featured in the movie. Unfortunately, he found that members of the New Zealand Film Commission didn’t quite get it and turned down its funding requests repeatedly. Amusingly, they eventually gave in. There were no hard feelings, as board member Aberdein (who had voted the screenplay down) was later cast in the role of Ray. Reportedly, part of the deal was also contingent on the fact that the team had to finish the film for screenings at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. It gave them a total of four months from script approval to shoot, edit and complete the picture.
Thankfully, it all worked out, but in the commentary track, director Donaldson can’t quite believe what he got away with. Most of this involves the impressive bits involving car races, vehicle crashes and trains pummeling towards the characters. He comments on how dangerous it all was and expresses great happiness that all went more-or-less exactly as planned.
Donaldson would eventually go on to work in Hollywood on titles like The Bounty, No Way Out, Species and Dante’s Peak, among many other features. Yet he still claims that Smash Palace is his most personal and favorite film among his storied career. If that truly is the case, he’ll be pleased with Arrow Academy’s presentation of the movie. It looks great and really informs viewers of the difficulties of making an independent picture, while still showing how it can all come together, resulting in a truly unique and effective end product. This disc is sure to impress.