Australian/New Zealand movies: 1992

Still going through a lull in the number of Australian movies that are being made with a number of movies starring international actors so much so even New Zealand movies are also importing actors. Yet there's still some good nudity including in the Z-grade exploitation movie Bloodlust, full-on drama favourite Romper Stomper and the arty New Zealand drama The Footstep Man.

1992

Alex (Aus/NZ)
aka Alex: The Spirit of a Champion

New Zealand-made sporting drama but with plenty of Australian influence. School girl Alex (Lauren Jackson) is a star New Zealand 100 metres freestyle swimmer who's looking very likely to make the 1960 Olympic team until out-of-nowhere a rival in Maggie (Cathy Godbold) defeats her and continues to beat her which puts Alex on the back foot. Alex is a high-achiever who does plenty of extra-curricular activities and her loyal coach (Chris Haywood) wants her to concentrate on her swimming. Then the setbacks start happening. She gets a broken leg while playing hockey at school then her boyfriend gets hit by a car and dies. She starts to question whether she wants to continue but then she has a breakthrough in training that brings her back up-to-speed with Maggie. That's when Maggie's mother and the swimming board try to stop Alex from achieving her dream. A solid but fairly predictable story where even with everything thrown at Alex you know she's going to succeed. Also falls into the problem that swimming is a hard sport to portray visually as it doesn't look as exciting as other sports do on screen. Still it's a pretty solid movie.

Strangely for a fairly G/PG rated movie there's a scene where Alex strips off her clothes and goes for a swim in the water. Don't know if ti's Lauren Jackson but we see the bottom of whoever it is as they walk into the water. There's also other videos of both Lauren and Cathy Godbold in bathing suits.

Lauren Jackson in Alex

174879kb 6min 33sec 960x720 (one piece bathing suit, extremely lengthy)

40890kb 2min 11sec 960x720 (one piece bathing suit, lengthy)

17606kb 39sec 960x720 (bum)

 

Cathy Godbold in Alex

52752kb 1min 58sec 960x720 (one piece bathing suit, nippy, lengthy)

 

 

Backsliding

Three-handed psychological thriller where a loved up couple Alison (Odile Le Clezio) and Jack (Jim Holt) run a remote power station in the desert when Tom (Tim Roth, just before Reservoir Dogs) arrives to be the maintenance worker. It turns out that Tom isn't actually qualified to do the job he's hired to do but he's stuck there until someone can come get him. Also Jack is slowly driving himself crazy with the loneliness, the heat and his devotion to religion and then he goes missing for a while. When Jack arrives back, everyone is on edge and it's a fight for survival but not necessarily from the most obvious source. Sparse thriller that goes a different direction to what you're expecting as you'd think the newcomer would be the lunatic especially casting Tim Roth but no he's the 'sensible' one. Gets a bit silly in the end and all feels very minor which would probably explain why it's a very obscure movie.

There's no nudity in Backsliding but there's a couple of sexy scenes featured below.

Odile Le Clezio in Backsliding

9360kb 33sec 736x560 (plenty of cleavage in singlet top, panties, stockings and suspenders)

28800kb 1min 33sec 736x560 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress that flies up to reveal panties, down blouse and various upskirts, lengthy)

 

 

Bloodlust

Ultra low budget vampire exploitation movie about a group of psychotic vampires Tad (Robert James O'Neill), Lear (Jane Stuart Wallace) and Frank (Kelly Chapman) who roam around Melbourne looking for their next victims to have sex and then suck them dry of their blood. They need money so they rob an illegal casino run by gangster Stieg (Paul Moder) who wants to make them suffer and the vampires have also got the attention of couple of crooked cops and a manic bible thumping preacher Brother Bem (Phil Motherwell) and his disciples. Oh, it's going to be a sex-fuelled, blood-soaked fight for survival in Geeksville. It's everything you'd expect from a low budget exploitation movie and more but it's also very cheap looking. The movie is a lot of fun and doesn't try to be anything but exploitation so if you're not into this sort of thing, you'll probably hate it. But it delivers what you expect it should.

A whole lot of nudity from Kelly Chapman throughout the movie plus Rosie D'Urso briefly shows her breasts. There's also a shitload of extra scenes on the DVD that has further nudity from Kelly plus Claire Paradine and Lesley Crofts.

You can find a synopsis with collages and videos from Bloodlust here. A preview is below.

Kelly Chapman in Bloodlust

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 

Rosie D'Urso in Bloodlust

   

 

Claire Paradine in Bloodlust

   
   
   

 

Lesley Crofts in Bloodlust

   

 

 

Crush (NZ)

Drama about two friend Christina (Donogh Rees) and her American friend Lane (Marcia Gay Harden) who get into a car accident when Lane drives too fast which she escapes and leaves Christina for dead. With nowhere to go, Lane ends up in Rotorua and decides to make her presence with the writer Christina was to interview but meets his tomboy teenage daughter Angela (Caitlin Bossley) and takes an interest in her, giving her a dress and inviting her to the local hangout. Lane then meets Angela's father Colin (William Zappa) and it isn't long before they become romantically involved. Angela starts visiting the comatose Christina in hospital and meets Horse (Pete Smith) who has a broken leg. He takes an unhealthy sexual interest in Angela but she doesn't seem to mind. Lane moves in with Colin by stealth which causes Angela to turn on her and when Christina wakes up, Angela plants the seeds of Lane causing her brain injury which gives Christina ideas of revenge. Superb drama with some great performances and is very tense leading to a shocking ending.

Some brief nudity from Marcia Gay Hayden in a few scenes plus a brief scene where Donogh Rees lifts up her hospital gown and reveals a breast.

You can find a synopsis with collages and HD videos from Crush here. A preview is below.

Marcia Gay Harden in Crush

   
   
   

 

Donogh Rees in Crush

 

 

The Footstep Man (NZ)

Highly unique drama about a sound technician/foley artist Sam (Steven Grives) who is providing the sound for an arty movie about Toulouse-Lautrec and his lover directed by Vida (Rosey Jones). The movie is a bleak look at their lives but it is starting to affect Sam who takes a liking to one of the characters in the movie, Mirielle (Jennifer Ward-Lealand) and he starts seeing her in everything and he just might be cracking up, again. After Vida asks him to fire his assistant, Sam takes over and completely immerses himself in the movie to the point where he thinks Mirielle is talking to him and she is taking over the equipment in the studio which causes Sam to tell Vida to give Mirielle a much more uplifting ending which Vida resists until she comes to terms with her own trauma. Incredibly inside baseball movie where a whole lot of the movie is a movie within a movie, a fascinating look at the process of the making a movie. But it's also a dour look at the process and the characters are hard to warm to as they live in their own world, coupled with movie within the movie characters being actual characters in the main movie making the movie a constant chore to keep abreast with what's going on. A truly unique movie that's almost impossible to find. I had to get it on DVD from the Netherlands as it's not available on DVD anywhere else even New Zealand.

There's brief nudity from Rosey Jones (who also has some great nudity in Afraid to Dance) plus a whole lot of nudity from Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

You can find a synopsis with collages and videos from The Footstep Man here. A preview is below.

Rosie Jones in The Footstep Man

   
   

 

Jennifer Ward-Lealand in The Footstep Man

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

 

 

Fortress

Hollywood comes to the Gold Coast with the first movie made at the Movie World Studios. John (Christopher Lambert) and his wife Karen (Loryn Locklin) are locked in an impenetrable prison after Karen becomes pregnant when she isn't allowed. John attempts to find his way out so she can give birth but an increasing number of oddballs will do anything to stop them. Pretty simple movie, exactly what you'd expect from something starring Christopher Lambert even with the occasional strange touch of cult director Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator).

Loryn Locklin briefly shows her bottom and is 'nude' in the shower plus someone called Kirralee briefly shows her breasts.

You can find a synopsis with HD videos from Fortress here. A preview is below.

Loryn Locklin in Fortress

   

 

Kirralee in Fortress

   

 

 

Hurricane Smith

Another Gold Coast movie this time an action thriller where Texan oil worker Billy 'Hurricane' Smith (Carl Weathers) goes looking for his missing sister who was last seen on the Gold Coast. After asking around, Hurricane comes across sex worker Julie (Cassandra Delaney) who seems to know her but her pimp (David Argue) chases him away. Hurricane follows Julie and her pimp to local kingpin Charlie (Jürgen Prochnow) where he subsequently enters the house and knocks out Charlie and Hurricane escapes with Julia who agrees to tell him what she knows. Charlie and his goons go after Hurricane and after a number of scrapes including one involving someone who might know where his sister is, he finds out the truth about his sister and decides that there's only one recourse and that's to kill Charlie. Low rent action thriller obviously trying to cash in on the success of Action Jackson but has none of the stuff that makes that movie work. A lot of silliness and a ridiculous plot don't help plus the Gold Coast has the amazing ability to make anything look more low rent than it is.

Brief nudity from Cassandra Delaney and Louise McDonald.

You can find a synopsis with collages and HD videos from Hurricane Smith here. A preview is below.

Cassandra Delaney in Hurricane Smith

   
   

 

Louise McDonald in Hurricane Smith

   

 

 

The Last Days of Chez Nous

Gillian Armstrong-directed comedy/drama where a family is about to go through a major upheaval. Vicki (Kerry Fox) comes back from overseas and moves in with her much older sister Beth (Lisa Harrow), her French husband J.P. (Bruno Ganz) and Beth's daughter Annie (Miranda Otto). Things are fine at first and the household even takes in a boarder Tim (Kiri Paramore). Then Vicki finds out she's pregnant and after a long deliberation she decides to have an abortion while Beth helps her. Beth decides to go on holiday with her father (Bill Hunter) to Uluru so that they can better connect with one another. J.P. is not loving Australia, particularly the hot weather and when Beth goes away, he starts to see Vicki in a different light. Annie and Tim become an item and after one hot night, so do J.P. and Vicki and they begin an affair. Beth arrives back from her holiday and the tension in the household grows. OK slice-of-life drama where the plot is mostly inconsequential to what the characters bring and most of the characters are fairly interesting. It does feel strange that Vicki and Beth are sisters because there's quite a gap in their ages to the point where they could be mother/daughter. The movie is quite fun and there isn't a huge deal made about the affair even if it ends in a major change. Also interesting that the three leads are all overseas actors playing a family in Sydney.

Very brief nudity from Lisa Harrow and Kerry Fox.

You can find a synopsis with collages and HD videos from The Last Days of Chez Nous here. A preview is below.

Lisa Harrow in The Last Days of Chez Nous

   

 

Kerry Fox in The Last Days of Chez Nous

   

 

 

Mad Bomber in Love

How's this for obscure. Never released on VHS or DVD and only played late night on TV back in the mid-90s. A bizarre comedy thriller where Bernard Lynch (Craig Pearce, who co-wrote Strictly Ballroom) ingratiates himself into a sharehouse after a night out with one of the tenants Julie (Rachel Szalay) but it soon turns out that he's the mad bomber that is currently terrorising the city. Julie thinks it's great to begin with because he seems to be supporting worthy causes but when an amoral TV reporter (Alan Lovell) rats him out on TV, he turns into a psychopath who entombs the house and forces it's tenants to live under his tyrannical reign. Mildly funny satire that has it's limitations, mostly budgetary but also there's only so much you can do in a share house movie before it gets repetitive. There's a slew of cameos from better known actors and the movie feels very Sydney.

There's no nudity in Mad Bomber in Love but there's sexy stuff in low quality videos available here.

 

 

Map of the Human Heart

New Zealand director Vincent Ward brings his unique visuals to this multi-national production. An old Inuit man on an Arctic base, Avik (Jason Scott Lee in old man make-up) tells his story to an American surveyor (John Cusack) before he leaves about when he was a young boy and he was brought to Canada by an English surveyor (Patrick Bergin) after he falls ill and is nursed back to health at a hospital where he meets a young girl Albertine and they form a friendship before she is taken away. Years later the boy is reunited with Albertine (Anne Parillaud) and their connection is reignited as they both take roles during World War II. There's just one problem and it's that Albertine is with the surveyor and he's none-too-happy about their growing love for one another. Very depressing romantic drama with a real downer of an ending that didn't need to happen but a fairly decent movie otherwise. Not a lot of scope for Ward to bring his usual visual prowess but the Dresden bombing scene is a highlight.

Brief nudity from French actress Anne Parillaud.

You can find a synopsis with HD videos from Map of the Human Heart here. A preview is below.

Anne Parillaud in Map of the Human Heart

   
   

 

 

Married (NZ)

60 minute drama from Gaylene Preston about a married couple Trish (Tracey Moore) and Kevin (Jed Brophy) who decide to have a night out away from their two annoying kids. Trish has set everything up but Kevin meets up with his buddies from a band and decides to spend the day with them which turns into night and Trish reluctantly tags along instead of being miserable at home because Kevin's neglected her again. It seems Kevin is more interested in being with his friends than her. It doesn't help that the babysitter gets drunk. Can their marriage survive this horrible night? OK drama where everything goes against Trish and this seems like a regular thing but it ends in a way that suggests it's just another day. You feel for Trish because this just seems like it's going to keep happening again and again. Features an early role for Robyn Malcolm as the singer in the band.

Sort-of brief nudity from Tracey Moore as she lies atop a bloke as they attempt to have sex.

Tracey Moore in Married

9860kb 57sec 768x576 (top of breasts, 'nude' under covers)

 

 

The Nun and the Bandit

Psychological drama from Paul Cox about a farmer Michael (Chris Haywood) who lives with his discarded brothers/half brothers and becomes incensed when he finds out his father died with a large estate and he's not getting any. He comes to town to demand what's rightfully his but his heirs push him away when he demands $50,000. Michael isn't happy so he kidnaps one of the heir's daughters Julie (Charlotte Haywood) who is travelling with a nun Sister Lucy (Gosia Dobrowolska). Michael wants Sister Lucy to go back to town to tell the family what he's done but she won't leave Julie so Michael ends up kidnapping both of them. Well, the family won't pay the ransom, Michael's brothers think he's gone mad and when Michael is rejected, we turns his attention to Lucy and decides to make her his wife, much to her objection. Strange misfire from Paul Cox that never really gets going particularly when the movie turns into a two-hander in the second half where the rest of the cast seems to have abandoned it. The movie then dawdles to its ending.

A few brief nude scenes from Gosia Dobrowolska, regularly naked in Paul Cox productions.

You can find a synopsis with videos from The Nun and the Bandit here. A preview is below.

Gosia Dobrowolska in The Nun and the Bandit

   
   
   

 

 

Over the Hill

Drama about a newly widowed woman Alma (American actress Olympia Dukakis) who comes to Australia to hang out with her daughter Elizabeth (Sigrid Thornton) but she's too busy with her husband's political campaign. Alma then finds a car that reminds her of her youth and decides to drive 'the long way' to Melbourne. Alma meets various characters in rural Australia including travelling dentist Dutch (English actor Derek Fowlds) and they both fall for one another. But Alma is concerned about her daughter and tries to help her decide what she really wants in life. Silly movie that gets more annoying when it becomes a mother/daughter story because it never really feels like Alma or Elizabeth could be ever related not helped by Alma being from America. A mess.

Some brief nudity from Olympia Dukakis as she hangs out with some Indigenous women plus some very brief nudity from Andrea Moor while swimming in a river.

You can find a synopsis with VHS videos from Over the Hill here. A preview is below.

Olympia Dukakis in Over the Hill

   
   

 

Andrea Moor in Over the Hill

   

 

 

Redheads
aka Desperate Prey

Loopy thriller where juvenile delinquent Lucy (Claudia Karvan) visits her lawyer (Mark Hembrow) in the dead of night after stealing some jewellery which she wants him to fence also they are sleeping with one another. Then there's a knock at the door where a person in a motorcycle helmet shoots dead the lawyer and Lucy barely escapes in her underwear and a videotape of the murder. Lucy gets herself arrested to avoid the killer but now she needs a new lawyer and it comes in newcomer Diana (Catherine McClements). Things start to point that Lucy is in the middle of a conspiracy and that the killer knows she's a witness. After escaping near death by drowning, Lucy hides out with Diana only for a number of suspects to come forward wanting Lucy for themselves. Incredibly silly thriller which plays up a very obvious red herring and then the killer is unveiled in a spectacularly silly way. Karvan and McClements are OK although the significance of them being redheads doesn't extend much beyond it being the title. Get the feeling this would've worked better as a more comedic movie considering how silly it gets at times and occasionally it threatens to but never does.

There's no nudity in Redheads but there's a lengthy video of Claudia Karvan in her underwear which is available here.

 

 

Romper Stomper

Full on thriller that follows a group of skinheads living rough in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. Led by Hando (Russell Crowe), the skinheads attempt to cause damage and lead the Nazi lifestyle while living on the edge of society. Hando is with Gabe (Jacqueline McKenzie) but then his second-in-command Davey (Daniel Pollock) takes an interest in her. This interest takes flight after the skinheads are attacked by a group of Vietnamese men who want revenge for a previous attack and the gang are left to fend for themselves. Davey and Gabe fall for one another and when Hando finds out, all hell breaks loose. Strangely the searing drama of the first half of the movie is left behind for a silly love triangle which feels like a real step-down from what came before it. Career making performances from Crowe and McKenzie and sadly Daniel Pollock died before the movie was released.

Some good nudity from Jacqueline McKenzie including what looks like a real sex scene.

You can find a synopsis with collages and HD videos from Romper Stomper here. A preview is below.

Jacqueline McKenzie in Romper Stomper

   
   
   
   
   
   

 

 

A Slow Night at the Kuwaiti Cafe

Boulevard Films strikes again. This time a ridiculous drama about a Vietnam veteran Charlie (Mike Bishop) who goes to the newly opened Kuwaiti Cafe that has opened across from where's his living on the night before the Gulf War is about to start. It is run by Iraqi immigrant Rashid (Tiriel Mora) and after some initial chat, Charlie brings out a gun and holds Rashid hostage with the demand that he speak to Saddam Hussein. Well that's not going to happen so Charlie and Rashid chat about a wide variety things before a police officer (Fiona Corke) enters to get takeaway and Charlie then holds her hostage. Things are going nowhere until a belly dancer Bethsheda (Tania Lacy) arrives and gives Charlie the idea to call a reporter from CNN to get his demands heard. Basically a filmed play, it's a ludicrous idea that barely runs 70 minutes but feels like an eternity. Then little nuggets of information get added and Charlie just seems more and more like a raving lunatic. Very silly stuff and displays not even a base knowledge of how things work.

No nudity in the movie but Tania Lacy arrives in a belly dancer's outfit to liven things up for a few minutes.

Tania Lacy in A Slow Night at the Kuwaiti Cafe

63166kb 3min 46sec 744x560 (bra, skirt, extremely lengthy)

 

 

Strictly Ballroom

Crowd-pleasing debut from Baz Luhrmann, basically a parody of the close knit ballroom dancing scene where egos are huge and hair-dos are bigger. After a disastrous turn at the dancing championships, Scott (Paul Mercurio) and Liz (Gia Carides) split up because of Scott's outlandish moves. He decides to look for a new partner but nobody fits the bill until ugly duckling Fran (Tara Morice) comes along and despite her lack of experience, they hit it off both as dancing and romantic partners. This comes to a head at the Pacific Championships when Scott decides a last minute change of partner for Fran which sets the dancefloor alight. It is what it is, I'm not a fan of Luhrmann but he sure knows how to crowd=pleasing. I just find his movies way too corny.

No nudity in the movie but I've made a few videos of the sexy outfits from the movie.

Gia Carides in Strictly Ballroom

55325kb 58sec 1920x1088 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress)

43182kb 45sec 1920x1088 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress)

 

Sonia Kruger in Strictly Ballroom

71516kb 1min 15sec 1920x1088 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress)

40979kb 43sec 1920x1088 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress)

 

Leonie Page in Strictly Ballroom

66389kb 1min 09sec 1920x1088 (plenty of cleavage in nice dress)

 

Kris McQuade in Strictly Ballroom

15168kb 15sec 1920x1088 (plenty of cleavage)

 

 

Turtle Beach

Drama about a journalist Judith (Greta Scacchi) who decides to report on the Vietnamese refugee problem in Malaysia with the help of a Chinese woman Minou (Joan Chen) who is hoping that her own children will arrive on one of the boats one day. One night she witnesses a massacre of refugees by the military at Turtle Beach and Judith then decides to expose what really going on. Along the way she has an affair with a local man Kanan (Art Malik). OK movie, one of a number of Australian movies that go into the troubles in Asia.

Brief nudity from Greta Scacchi and Joan Chen also shows her bottom.

You can find a synopsis with VHS videos from Turtle Beach here. A preview is below.

Greta Scacchi in Turtle Beach

   
   
   

 

Joan Chen in Turtle Beach

   

 

Movies that don't have anything to cap in them include the wacky Miranda Otto horse girl comedy Daydream Believer aka The Girl Who Came Late, Secrets which is a drama about a bunch of people trying to get in to see the Beatles when they arrived in Melbourne, low key comedy Greenkeeping, crazy Troma backed live action/animated cross breed Virgin Beasts, drama Eight Ball, nutty comedy about garbage men Garbo, docudrama The Last Man Hanged, Indigenous drama Jindalee Lady plus a bunch of kids telemovies Big Ideas, Clowning Around, The Distant Home and The Time Game. There's also the New Zealand movies The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior plus the batshit crazy Peter Jackson classic Braindead aka Dead Alive.

I wasn't able to find copies of Academy, Ninja, late career John D. Lamond North of Chiang Mai and Seeing Red.

1993 looks like having a similar output to the previous couple of years.

 

Tags: Gia Carides, Cathy Godbold, Sonia Kruger, Lauren Jackson, Tania Lacy, Odile Le Clezio, Kris McQuade, Tracey Moore, Leonie Page