Release Date: April 27, 2001
Time Kate wanted to see it: Since I learned about its existence: about 18 months or so ago.
Reason Kate procrastinated: I actually got it out of the library several times! Including this time. Researching the release date, I was totally surprised that it came out so long ago. Ah, time truly does fly.
Category: Movie, Comedy, True Story
Kate says I'm a Sam Neill fan, so it was inevitable that I would eventually see this movie. Sam Neill does a wonderful job as the soft-spoken yet passionate director of the Parkes satellite installation, Cliff Buxton. The rest of the cast is equally magnificent; one of the nice things about watching movies for the video club is coming across actors and actresses in unexpected roles. Patrick Warburton delivers a more than credible performance as the brusque American engineer! In fact, all the roles are gently and lovingly played.
The movie reminds me of The Right Stuff and Apollo 13, not just for the subject matter and the use of original footage but for the way in which the story is presented. As in the former movies, The Dish relates extraordinary events from the "ground level," so to speak--through the everyday efforts and lives of the people who enabled them to occur.
This is the type of true-story-telling that I appreciate the most. Rather than being struck with BIG EVENTS EVERY THREE MINUTES, the big events are the result of seemingly minor actions in each scene, a quiet unwinding. The end result is one of those truly extraordinary opportunities: for just a moment, the viewer sees historical events through the eyes of those who actually witnessed them.
Landing on the moon was really something, especially considering that the engineers, astronauts, and scientists brought it about with what seems to us, now, almost archaic technology. Talk about goosebumps and tears! I love movies that leave me thinking, Human beings are cool. If Da Vinci had had the wherewithal, he'd have gone to the moon!That's how cool we are!
Not to mention, the movie is very funny in a sly, dry-humor way. Deep-voiced Rudi with his walkie-talkie and his "sections" is hilarious. Kevin Harrington as Mitch and Tom Long as Glenn have great repartee. Warburton, naturally, is dry as dry can be (though he does downplay his usual cynical edge, which impressed me; Jim Carrey may be funny, but I'm always charmed when an actor works more to support a film's overall tone than his own career). The Prime Minister delivers great quips. The McIntyres (the mayor's family) is just adorable with its quick by-plays.
All in all, this is definitely a movie I will watch again!
Mike says I had never heard of this movie. Not a peep. In fact, I lack the vocabulary to fully express my ignorance of both the film and source material itself. As such, it was with some trepidation that I put in the film and prepared for what I thought was a flick about scientists building a satellite dish to look for extraterrestrial life. Okay, so I admit it, maybe my research for this flick wasn't entirely thorough....
The film I ended up watching was fairly entertaining, especially given that in reality, we're watching four guys listen to the radio. Luckily, the actors are able to perform and sell their parts well enough that even this is gratifying and interesting. Thankfully though, the film does focus on some other things to break up the potential monotony.
Australian humor really is unique . . . one can sense the distant relation to English humor, mixed with a dash of plain old oddness. Australian movies seem a bit more willing to poke fun at themselves and the people that live there, which makes watching them a real treat.
One thing I really did enjoy about the movie was the soundtrack, which provided a nice mix of instrumental and songs of the era. The mix of historical footage also really helps set the tone of the film. All in all, not a bad film.
But . . . after watching it, I can understand why the film is fairly unknown. Imagine Apollo 13 from the point of view of one of the guys in the background. Sure, interesting things are going on, but he never really gets involved. There are two main incidents that happen in the movie, and neither feel particularly urgent or really that notable. Interesting, perhaps, but probably more so to the people that live in the area.
Still, given the general lack of excitement and, perhaps, pertinence, the film is still very well made, written, and acted, and is not a bad addition to your "Historical Space Film" collection. However, make sure you're well-rested before you watch it.
Friday, March 9, 2012
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5 comments:
To explain the, uh, level of enthusiasm difference between Mike and me I have to confess, my favorite parts of Apollo 13 are the guys on the ground.
Sorry, rereading my review I guess I do come across a little under-enthused. It was a good film and I did like it. However, I think it will only be watched by people like us- people who are known to sit through a movie that doesn't have one explosion.
Yeah, I'm afraid you're probably right. I don't know if I'm young enough or old enough to still be amazed by technology (probably, old enough). The whole scene where the heroes have to find the spacecraft using the moon and an ancient computer just blew my mind. I had never thought of it before, but space is BIG! (As Douglas Adams would say.) Those guys in that spacecraft are out there unconnected to anything terrestrial and as far as anybody but astronomers and NASA are concerned, they might as well be lost.
I also have to confess I spent most of the beginning of the film going, Wow, that satellite is huge! I didn't know it would that big!!
Yeah, okay, I'll be like 80 years old freaking out over hover technology: "In my day, we had to PUSH cars to work."
I agree that Australian humor is far more self-amused than American or even British humor (and Canadian humor is just strange). "Americans are weird. Oh, hey, so are we. Cool."
Yeah, it probably says a lot of really sad things about me that when I first saw the dish I was like "Wow, that's small! The movie must be about how they'll build a bigger one"
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