Smash Palace

Smash Palace - 1981

Aardvardk Films - 108 min.
DVD UPC # 013131261691 (2 disc set w/sleeping dogs)

Cast: Bruno Lawrence, Ana Jemison, Keith Aberdein, Greer Robson, Desmond Kelly.
Crew: Screenplay: Roger Donaldson; Photography: Graeme Cowley; Editor: Michael Horton; Music: Sharon O'Neill; Producer and Director: Roger Donaldson.

Retired racing car driver Al (Lawrence), who now runs a wrecker's yard in Horopito, is more interested in his cars than in this wife. To Al's anger, she gets friendly with the local cop, Al's best friend, and leaves taking their young daughter with her. But Al wants to keep his daughter and abducts her for the bush, but returns to town when she becomes ill. Many memorable scenes - especially with Lawrence. Put this on your "must see" list.

Censor Rating: R16 - Review Rating: B+

AVAILABILITY OF COPIES

New PAL VHS copies will cost about $10nz or 10eur. New NTSC VHS copies will be about $10us.
There is a two-disc set, either R1 NTSC or R4 PAL, with SMASH PALACE, titled THE ROGER DONALDSON COLLECTION. It is a product of Anchor Bay and contains an excellent commentary track by Donaldson, Neill and Mune. It also has one of the best "Making of....." features I have even seen with a New Zealand film (65 minutes) plus the disc also has a gallery of stills and posters as well as text bios. The movies are restored widescreen 1.76:1, enhanced for 16x9 and includes restored soundtracks with Dolby Digital 1.0 or Dolby 5.1 surround - resulting in an above average visual and aural quality.
The 2-disc DVD set sells new for about $15us from various sources, but be sure to search for it by the title: ROGER DONALDSON COLLECTION. This collection is definately the way to go. The optical and sound quality approaches theatrical and the background info in the commentary and "Making of" additions is very insightful - altogether and excellent buy for the cost. For R4 PAL users - this "double feature" offering, with audio commentaries and "Making of" featurettes, is available in NZ for about $30nz.
As of January 2009, the 2-disc Collection is out-of-print. As of October 2012, new sets are selling for about $40us and used about $20us.

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SOUNDTRACK ON AUDIO CD

There are no known soundtrack CDs of this title.

Link to soundtrack sample download

The first known NZ feature film to also have its own soundtrack release was the 1977 33rpm LP of Sleeping Dogs. Other titles that are on 33rpm LP and/or audio cassette, but have not yet (as of 2007) found their way to CD are: Solo (1978), Goodbye Pork Pie (1980), Battletruck (1981), Smash Palace (1981), Strata (1984), Bridge to Nowhere (1986), Queen City Rocker (1986) and The Leading Edge (1987).

Details on these rare LPs can be found at the Soundtrack LP page.

REVIEWS

Roger Ebert Review

DVD Compare's Review

Peter Harcourt's Sequence Review

New Zealand Film Archive Info and Reviews

MRQE Reviews (8 articles)

DVD Verdict Review

DVD Talk - Glenn Erickson Review

Chicago Reader On Film Review

"Smash Palace is a thoroughly remarkable and commercial drama about human beings. Superbly constructed and paced, it is the story of marital break up which erupts into an impulsive kidnapping of a child by its father and a totally believable escalation to the brink of tragedy." - (Variety, September 2, 1981)

"We literally see an affable, intelligent man driven mad. And not mad in the funny, cuckoo sense, but mad in the obsessed way that so many people seem to go during the process of separating. There is a rigorous fidelity to modern experience in this movie, and it's not what you'd see if you lived next door to these people, because with Donaldson's help, Bruno Lawrence makes his emotions transparent..." - (Pauline Kael, The New Yorker, May 31, 1982)

TRAILER - AWARDS - MISC

Official Trailer

Information at the New Zealand Film Commission Website

Information at IMDB

Internet Movie Poster Awards

1982 - Manila Film Festival - Best Actor: Bruno Lawrence.

Horopito Motor Wreckers - Site used for the film

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