Saw Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!(!!!?!), a documentary about the early days of filmmaking in Australia. Apparently there was a big push for native Australian film on the federal level, resulting in big tax breaks for filmmakers and therefore in a huge number of people making any kind of schlocky film because now it was profitable. Thank heaven because we get some truly crazy, insane, anarchic and fun films as a result.
It turns out I've seen a few of the films they talk about in this documentary. They bring up Turkey Shoot, Mad Max, and The Man from Hong Kong all of which I've seen and didn't particularly like. Don't get me wrong, I do like the fact that these films exist, I'm just not the target audience. Quentin Tarantino is which is why he appears throughout this documentary ("Fan" is listed under his name.) He claims the film are great lurid excesses that make you doubt what you're seeing. Maybe for him but for me I'm not much wowed by the brilliant cruelty toward women or the car-fetishism which so impresses him. I have my own weaknesses of course, just not for blood.
Anyway, the documentary is great fun. It plays rock music at you and covers the screen with Lichtenstein-esque blow-ups of posters and film frames, gobbing the image with GCI blood and collages as aging actors and directors burble excitedly about their films. It's infectious and makes me want to see more of their horrible art. And like I say, I would rather see an ambitious muddle than an expertly crafted remake, so I feel we are not totally opposed, the schlockmeisters and I.
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