- "Crocodile" Dundee
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"Crocodile" Dundee 
Theatrical release posterDirected by Peter Faiman Produced by John Cornell Screenplay by John Cornell
Paul Hogan
Ken ShadieStory by Paul Hogan Starring Paul Hogan
Linda KozlowskiMusic by Peter Best Cinematography Russell Boyd Editing by David Stiven Distributed by Paramount Pictures
20th Century Fox (in some European countries)Release date(s) 26 September 1986 Running time 104 minutes (Australia)[1]
97 minutes (international)[2]Country Australia Language English Budget ~ $8.16 millon USD Box office $328,203,506 "Crocodile" Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton.[3]
Inspired by the true life exploits of Rodney Ansell, the film was made on a budget of under $10 million as a deliberate attempt to make a commercial Australian film that would appeal to a mainstream American audience, but proved to be a worldwide phenomenon. Released on 30 April 1986 in Australia, and on 26 September 1986 in the United States, it was the second-highest-grossing film in the United States in that year and went on to become the number-one film worldwide at the box office.
There are two versions of the film: the Australian version, and the American/international version, the latter of which had much of the Australian slang replaced with more commonly understood terms, and was slightly shorter. The international version also changes the title to "Crocodile" Dundee, adding the quotation marks. The film was followed by two sequels: "Crocodile" Dundee II (1988) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).
Contents
Plot
Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski), a feature writer for Newsday engaged to marry her editor, Richard (Mark Blum), travels to Walkabout Creek, a small hamlet in the Northern Territories of Australia to meet Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee (Paul Hogan), a bushman reported to have lost a leg to a Saltwater Crocodile. On arrival, she finds his leg is not missing, but has a large scar.
At first Sue is displeased by Dundee's behaviour; but she is later amazed when in the Outback, she witnesses "Mick" (as Dundee is called) as subduing a Wild Asian Water Buffalo, taking part in an Aboriginal tribal dance ceremony, killing snakes with his hands, and (at her request) scaring tourists from their sport of shooting kangaroos. When offended by Mick's assertion that she is incapable of surviving the Outback alone, Sue goes to prove him wrong, but is attacked by a crocodile and rescued by Mick, later to become enamoured of him.
On her own departure, Sue invites Mick to New York City on the pretext of continuing the feature story, where he is perplexed by local folkways but able, by reason of his own self-reliance, to overcome situational trouble including attempted robberies and two encounters with a pimp. When Richard proposes marriage to Sue at a dinner party, Mick is upset and decides to go 'walkabout' to relieve his disappointment; but Sue, having refused Richard, follows him to a subway station. There, she cannot reach him through the crowd on the platform, but has members of the crowd relay her message to him, whereupon he walks to her on the heads and raised hands of the jubilant crowd and embraces her.
Cast
- Paul Hogan as Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee
- Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton
- John Meillon as Walter Reilly
- David Gulpilil as Neville Bell
- Reginald VelJohnson as Gus
- Steve Rackman as Donk
- Gerry Skilton as Nugget
- Terry Gill as Duffy
- Peter Turnbull as Trevor
- Christine Totos as Rosita
- Graham 'Grace' Walker as Angelo
- Mark Blum as Richard Mason
- Michael Lombard as Sam Charlton
- Caitlin Clarke as Simone
- Alan Dunlea as Dingo
- John Snyder as Pimp
- Anne Carlisle as Gwendoline
- Anne Francine as Fran
- Paige Matthews as Party Girl
- Paul Greco as New Yorker
Reception
The film has a rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.[4][5] James Berardinelli of Reelviews.net gave the film three stars out of four stating, "What the storyline lacks in ambition, it makes up for in sheer, unfettered likability."[6]
Box office
The film was a worldwide box office hit.[7] The film grossed $47,707,045 at the box office in Australia,[8] which is equivalent to $104,001,358 in 2009 dollars.
The film was released theatrically in the United States by Paramount Pictures in September 1986. It grossed $174,803,506 at the domestic box office.[9] It was the second highest grossing film that year for both the studio and the United States box office.[10]
Awards
Award wins:
Award nominations:
- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
- Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay – Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, John Cornell
- BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay – Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, John Cornell
- BAFTA Award for Best Actor – Paul Hogan
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Linda Kozlowski
References
- ^ "Crocodile Dundee". Australia: Classification Board. 7 January 1986. http://www.classification.gov.au/www/cob/find.nsf/0/3f79345ce772db10ca257671007ab819?OpenDocument. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ "Crocodile Dundee". United Kingdom: BBFC. 24 September 1986. http://www.bbfc.co.uk/AFF059383/. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
- ^ Darnton, Nina (26 September 1986). "Film: 'Crocodile Dundee'". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/26/movies/film-crocodile-dundee.html?scp=2&sq=Crocodile%20Dundee&st=cse. Retrieved 2010-08-10.
- ^ "Crocodile Dundee Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/crocodile_dundee/. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ "Movie Review : Charm Of 'Crocodile Dundee'". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1986-09-25/entertainment/ca-9982_1. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
- ^ "Review: Crocodile Dundee". Reelviews.net. http://www.reelviews.net/movies/c/crocodile.html. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ "No Tears For 'Crocodile'". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1986-10-02/entertainment/ca-3539_1_crocodile-dundee. Retrieved 2010-10-26.
- ^ "''Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''" (PDF). http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-01.
- ^ "Crocodile Dundee". boxofficemojo.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=crocodiledundee.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ^ "1986 Domestic Grosses". boxofficemojo.com. http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/chart/?yr=1986&p=.htm. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
External links
- "Crocodile" Dundee at the Internet Movie Database
- "Crocodile" Dundee at the TCM Movie Database
- "Crocodile" Dundee at Box Office Mojo
- "Crocodile" Dundee at AllRovi
- Crocodile Dundee on australianscreen online
- Location of the Pub featured in the film, situated in McKinlay QLD
- Crocodile Dundee at the National Film and Sound Archive
Categories:- Australian films
- English-language films
- 1986 films
- Australian comedy films
- Australian romantic comedy films
- 1980s adventure films
- Adventure comedy films
- Paramount Pictures films
- Films set in the Northern Territory
- Films set in New York City
- Films shot anamorphically
- Films shot in Sydney
- Australia in fiction
- 1980s comedy films
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