The Odd Angry Shot

This is an Australian film of notable controversy upon its original release in 1979. Containing some brief nudity and quite vulgar dialogue, this is however absolutely nothing by today’s standard of film.

The film centres on Bill’s entrance into the SAS and his journey to Vietnam. Before departure we are introduced to the rest of his platoon and we follow them all through a year’s tour of duty in tropical Vietnam. Throughout the course of the year, various skirmishes occur that test the men to their limits. They counter this by drinking and laughing as much as possible, but beneath there runs the theme of the awful uncertainty in an unpredictable war situation.

"This is the most well constructed wanking machine I’ve ever seen!"

Graham Kennedy plays Harry, the SAS Corporal serving his second term in country. Having left his miserable wife, he enlisted in the army the very next day and was shipped straight to Vietnam. The naïve Bill is played by a youthful looking John Jarrett, and he plays the role well, if a little clumsily. Wide-eyed and inexperienced, we witness the horrors of war from his perspective and watch him grow into a man very swiftly. Some of the acting here is a little stilted, what with so many of the cast being young, but nevertheless it’s a very watchable film with some very funny moments (I give you the Chaplain’s present, for example).

There’s also an intensity beneath the mainframe of this film, wherein the characters find themselves in difficult situations that could easily kill them, yet maintain an outward level of jocularity. Being wartime, they carry on as best they can just surviving, though the strain begins to tell toward the end of their service. This is a film unlike any other war film I’ve watched in that the focus is more on the non-fighting moments, rather than the heavy combat so many American films employ. This allows us some respite from the horror, yet we feel the tension alongside the men, particularly when a character is killed and the men must support each other while still appearing ‘manly’.

There are some scenes that aren’t fully led into by the script, causing us momentary confusion as we attempt to ascertain what is happening and who did that just happen to. With all characters in greens and camouflage paint, everyone looks alike and some helpful explanations could have assisted us more. This isn’t a major fault, but some extra usage of names may have been handy. Still, it’s a great Aussie film and one that contributed heavily to the quality of film Australia produces today.

An extremely clear picture helps define this film well on DVD. Being made in 1979, it looks rather nice actually, with limited artefacts and a razor sharp image. Presented in 1.85:1 and enhanced for widescreen tellies, it looks just like it did at the cinema all those years ago (not that I’d know, actually, having been too young to see it at the time, but I can assume).

Being mostly daylit, the shadows aren’t a real problem but look fine anyhow. Blacks are quite solid and well saturated without being too dark and most of the colour (being green and lots of it) is nice as well. One minor fault is in the flesh toning of some characters. There are times when it comes across quite yellowy, which has nothing to do with jaundice in the jungle. I thought it may have been camo paint of some sort and scrutinised it very closely, but it just appears to be an effect of particular outdoor scenes in daylight.

Oh, and one last thing: I know everyone in film these days is big into wirework and kung fu fighting and stuff, but back then I guess they didn’t have the ability to digitally remove wires. There’s a scene in which the men are rappelling down from a helicopter and the ropes they are using can be clearly seen. Tsk.

Dolby Digital stereo works just fine for this film. Without the overuse of gunfire and such, the track works great. Some gunfire is a little loud, but it is gunfire after all and supposed to be loud. I think there may have been some stock sound effects in the gunfire too, but this is acceptable.

Dialogue is mostly well spoken, although there are some shouting incidents that are a little illegible and hard to make out. Sometimes voices are a tad low as well, making some quips easy to miss. However, apart from some wooden deliveries (Mr Brown; Mr Jarrett; we’re looking at you) it’s mostly pretty good.

Music is an interesting feature in this film in that the theme was a commissioned piece that utilises an army brass band. This is clever and works well, although it does get on the nerves a little after returning to the main menu a couple of times. It’s a bit brassy and sometimes used for comedy, but on the whole it’s alright.

Something I’ve wondered why they don't do for a long time has finally turned up: The DVD Site Map. This is delivered under the banner Air Support and gives an overview of the entire disc contents, right down to sub menus within sub menus. Clever stuff and greatly appreciated.

The Air Support shows a good deal of extra stuff on this disc which includes the theatrical trailer and 11 biographies and filmographies of the main cast and major crew. Very comprehensive too, at an average of two pages per person with some as high as seven. Also included is an audio commentary with producer Sue Milliken, producer/director Tom Jeffrey and actor Graeme Blundell. This is very interesting as they discuss the ways they saved money, the trivia behind certain scenes and various other titbits of information. They also seem to be enjoying themselves discussing the film, so we feel included, rather than just privileged to listen.

Two to go now. The first is the film dossier with information about six aspects of production: The Source, The Movie, The Production, The Music, Publicity and a Photo Gallery. Certainly very comprehensive, but mostly still photos of actual documents that are a bit hard to read, interesting as they appear. The second are two script to screen scenes in which we follow the script at the pace of the film. Interesting, but it is a bit hard to follow script and footage at once. These run for 2:15 and 3:46 and at their completion, feature skip-to-the-scene to view it full screen.

Overall a killer extras package, all packaged as if it were an army base. ‘Mission Selection’ instead of ‘Chapter Search’ and so on. The menus are all well animated too, as are the individual chapters.

Another great Aussie film from years ago graces DVD and does so with style. A good-looking print and some quality extras added that include headlines and clippings from the day, and even a political cartoon or two! Roadshow have done their research well and it shows in this excellent presentation of a fine movie. I can imagine both mums and dads enjoying this one, though there is some coarse language throughout. Enthusiastic acting makes up for wooden delivery in parts, creating an overall funny and warm film, with a deeper message moving beneath.