The Castle (film)

Infobox_Film
name = The Castle


image_size = 190px
caption = Promotional poster
director = Rob Sitch
producer = Working Dog Productions
writer = Santo Cilauro
Tom Gleisner
Jane Kennedy
Rob Sitch
starring = Michael Caton
Anne Tenney
Stephen Curry
Eric Bana
music = Craig Harnath
Edmund Choi (US version)
cinematography = Miriana Marusic
editing = Wayne Hyett
distributor = Village Roadshow (AU),
Miramax Films (USA)
United International Pictures Ltd. (UK),
RVC Film Distribution (Netherlands/Belgium/Luxembourg)
Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (Switzerland)
released = 1997
runtime = 83 min.
country = flagicon|AUS Australia
language = English
budget = ~AUD $500,000
imdb_id = 0118826

"The Castle" is a 1997 Australian comedy film that gained widespread acclaim in Australia, but was not widely distributed globally.

"The Castle" starred Michael Caton and Anne Tenney, Eric Bana, and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. Directed by Rob Sitch, the screenwriting team comprised Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions. "The Castle" was filmed in 11 days on a budget of approximately AUD$500,000 (rumoured to be as little as AUD$19,000). [^ Wills, Dominic. [http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/eric_bana_biog/2 Eric Bana - Biography] Tiscali Film & TV. Retrieved 29 May 2008. ] It grossed AU$10,326,428 at the box office in Australia. The Castle was Eric Bana's first film [^ Wills, Dominic. [http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/eric_bana_biog.html Eric Bana - Biography] Tiscali Film & TV. Retrieved 6 May 2008. ]

Plot

The story follows the exploits of the Kerrigan family–whose name was reportedly borrowed from the towing company that loaned the trucks used in the film–-who have been blissfully residing in their home (their "castle") for years. Unfortunately, the nearby airport wants to expand and plans to evict the Kerrigans and their neighbours by way of compulsory acquisition. The humour in "The Castle" plays on the self image of Australians, most notably the concepts of working class Australians and their place in the modern Australia. [ [http://www.fff.org/freedom/fd0607g.asp W. McElroy, "A Man’s Home Is His Castle", 2006] ] The movie title is named for the English saying, repeatedly used in the film, "A man's home is his castle." The film also refers to the land rights movement of the Australian Aborigines, with Darryl Kerrigan drawing an explicit parallel between his struggle and theirs. It also draws on one of the few rights protected in the Australian Constitution for subject matter, the right to just terms compensation for acquisition of property under s51(xxxi). Also interspersed in the film are many references to famous Australian Constitutional Law Cases, such as Mabo and the Tasmanian Dams Case. The film also deals with section 109 of the Constitution which states that in the case of inconsistency between Federal and State law, Federal law will prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

Filming locations

"The Castle" was filmed mostly in Melbourne, Australia. The external shots of the Kerrigan household were shot at 3 Dagonet St, Strathmore, and footage of Essendon Airport and Melbourne Airport. Location shots of Brunswick feature in the film, including Brunswick Town Hall. Melbourne's 200 Queen Street and the Supreme Court of Victoria are featured along with the High Court of Australia in Canberra.

Although some of the film is set in Bonnie Doon, a very small portion of it was shot there.

Alternate versions

In the USA version, there were several cosmetic changes, among them, 'rissole' was changed to 'meatloaf', 'two-stroke' was changed to 'diesel', the references to the Australian TV show "Hey Hey It's Saturday" were removed, and the brand names of the various cars in the driveway were changed from an Australian (Commodore etc) to an American one (Chevrolet) . [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118826/alternateversions Alternate Versions for The Castle] ] The Australian TV-Version for "before 8.30pm screening" has scenes of explicit language either completely cut, where possible, masked by aircraft noises or redubbed when lip movements can't be seen.

Cast

* Michael Caton as Darryl Kerrigan
* Anne Tenney as Sal Kerrigan
* Stephen Curry as Dale Kerrigan
* Anthony Simcoe as Steve Kerrigan
* Sophie Lee as Tracey Petropoulous (nee Kerrigan)
* Wayne Hope as Wayne Kerrigan
* Tiriel Mora as Dennis Denuto
* Eric Bana as Con Petropoulous
* Costas Kilias as Farouk
* Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Lawrence Hammill
* John Flaus as Sgt. Kennedy
* Oliver Rees as Himself/Judge 3
* Comedian Tony Martin also plays a cameo role, as the son of Lawrence Hammill
* At the time, Channel Nine Newsreader Ian Ross as himself
* Former host of "The Price is Right " Larry Emdur as himself

ee also

*Mabo v Queensland
*Australian Constitutional Law

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0118826|title=The Castle
* [http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=333863;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 The Castle at the National Film and Sound Archive]
* [http://www.michaeldvd.com.au/Reviews/Reviews.asp?ID=5323 DVD release details including region 1 vs. 4 comparison]