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Backroads (Phillip Noyce, 1977, Australia)
Rating: R Running time: 60 minutes
Noyce’s first feature (which has Russell Boyd as cinematographer) is an existentialist road movie that has at its core the relationship between an Aboriginal and a white Australian drifter. Based on a short story by John Emery but with dialogue largely improvised by its stars Gary Foley, a well-known Aboriginal activist of the time, and Bill Hunter, and released the same year as Fred Schepisi’s more polished The Chant Of Jimmy Blacksmith, this did not find a local audience but was noticed at the Berlin Film Festival and at Cannes. Made on a budget of $28,000 and influenced by American filmmakers like Cassavetes and Altman and films such as Monte Hellman’s Two-Lane Blacktop and Wim Wenders' Kings Of The Road and reflecting Noyce’s background in documentary film, it is seat-of-the-pants film-making that works, being both fictional and realistic, entertaining and serious at the same time. There was another ending intended for the film with the 3 main protagonists making it to Sydney and disappearing into urban anonymity but budgetary considerations and Foley’s pessimistic view of Black Australia at the time determined the ending we see. BH
DVD Extras: An extensive suite of extras include a very thorough audio commentary by Phil Noyce, Gary Foley and Russell Boyd, interviews with all the above; information on the restoration and remastering of the film including a comparison with the original 16mm print; bios of the key cast and crew, reviews and a DVD ROM with the original script and the John Emery story which provided the inspiration for the film.
DVD available from: Reel DVD
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