Australia After Dark

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by John Lamond
Australia 1975

Five years before he turned the world on with his schoolgirl sexploitation classic FELICITY, producer/director John Lamond made his indelible debut with this mondo -style look at the depraved underbelly of a land down-under. It s an ultra-sleazy, full-frontal journey through the weird and the pathetic, the ugly, the obscene and the beautiful, featuring strippers, swingers, murderers, devil worshippers, nutty gurus, drunken aborigines, and much more. From the back alleys of the big cities to the savage cruelty of the outback, discover a continent of pleasure, pain, erotic art, wriggling cuisine, tiny bikinis, alien landings, and record-breaking beer consumption, now fully restored from a print recently discovered in the cellar of the Lower Wonga Drive-In and presented uncut & uncensored for the first time ever in America.

Posters

Theatrical Release: 1975 (New Zealand)

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

DVD Review: Intervision Picture Corp. - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Intervision Picture Corp. Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	1:22:40
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.7 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono
Subtitles	none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Intervision Picture Corp. Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • Audio Commentary by director John Lamond, moderated by NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD's Mark Hartley DVD Release Date: 10 January 2012 Amaray Chapters 16

Comments

While there is to be some softness expected from a 16-35mm blow-up - director Lamond had the blow-up work done in Sweden after seeing the feature version of Bergman's SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE projected - Intervision's disc of AUSTRALIA AFTER DARK seems to have been sourced from an aged tape master and is a bit painful on the eyes (presumably the Australian disc from Umberella is of similar quality). The running time suggests a PAL source (the Umbrella runs DVD 82:25), and sideways movement of the camera or actors results in blurring and other conversion artefacts. 1.66:1 seems as though it would have been the better aspect ratio since the title card is slightly cropped at the top, and several of the end credits are very high up on the frame (the framing does not appear to impede any of the nudity).

Mark Hartley - director of the Ozploitation documentary NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD - moderates the audio commentary with director John Lamond (Hartley and Lamond also appear on commentary tracks on THE ABCs OF LOVE AND SEX and NIGHTMARES). Lamond mentions that there is at least one sequence missing from this "uncut" version - presumably cut before release - and that he has the master for this longer version (which prompts Hartley to ask why they are transferring this cut master). He is forthcoming about which sequences were staged, it's poor performance everywhere else but Australia, and dealing with the prudish press at the time of the film's release. The back cover promises a "John Lamond Trailer Reel" but it is not present on the disc (nor is it present on the accompanying Intervision release THE ABCs OF LOVE AND SEX where it is also promised). Presumably, this is the same trailer reel that appeared on the Umbrella and Severin releases of Lamond's NIGHTMARES that included previews for THE ABC OF LOVE AND SEX, FELICITY, PACIFIC BANANA, BREAKFAST IN PARIS, and SKY PIRATES.