Crocodile Dundee (1986)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Peter Faiman

Writers:

John Cornell (screenplay)
Paul Hogan (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 September 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

From the Australian Outback to New York City, Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee is about to survive in a different kind of Jungle.

Plot:

An American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.

Plot Keywords:

Crocodile | New York City | Australian Outback | Australia | Journalist

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Paul Hogan	...	Michael J. 'Crocodile' Dundee
Linda Kozlowski	...	Sue Charlton
John Meillon	...	Walter Reilly
David Gulpilil	...	Neville Bell
Ritchie Singer	...	Con
Maggie Blinco	...	Ida
Steve Rackman	...	Donk
Gerry Skilton	...	Nugget
Terry Gill	...	Duffy
Peter Turnbull	...	Trevor
Khristina Totos	...	Rosita (as Christine Totos)
Graham 'Grace' Walker	...	Angelo
David Bracks	...	Burt (Roo Shooter)
Brett Hogan	...	Peter (Roo Shooter)
Mark Blum	...	Richard Mason

Also Known As:

'Crocodile' Dundee (UK) (USA)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Norway:12 | Singapore:PG | Australia:PG (tv rating) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Rimfire Films

Trivia:

When Paul Hogan gave an interview for Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), he put to rest the myth that there was a real Crocodile Dundee. He assured the interviewer that there was not, and that the idea for the character came from his own head. Hogan admitted that on a trip to New York he felt like a complete fish-out-of-water and the idea began to form in his head.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The phrase Richard says in Italian to the waiter in the Italian restaurant doesn't make any sense. The first two words, "e' stato" means "he was". The next word is a non-existent conjugation of the verb "piacere". The last word, "rivedertu", while it was technically said correctly, should have been preceded by the word "di" since there are three verbs in a row. Based on the action, he may have been saying something to the effect of "he was pleased to check you."

Quotes:

Sue Charlton: How does he find his way in the dark?
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee: He "thinks" his way. A lot of people believe that they're telepathic.
[Sounds of branches breaking, splashing]
Neville Bell: OOOOh, God, I hate the bush.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Andy Richter Controls the Universe: Gimme a C (#1.5)" (2002)

Soundtrack:

Different World

Croc Out of the Water...One of the Best of its Kind...

Crocodile Dundee - 4/5 stars

A Film Review by John Ulmer

"Crocodile Dundee" is one of those Fish Out of the Water tales; the innocent outsider thrown into the frustrations of modern life. Or is it the Croc out of the Water? Whatever it is, it's one of the best of its genre.

"Crocodile Dundee" is about a newspaper journalist (Linda Kozlowski) who travels out to the Outback, where she meets with Mick Dundee, better known as "Crocodile" Dundee. After wandering around in the Outback for a few days with Mick, writing her little story about surviving in the Outback, she decides that it would be interesting for her (or her newspaper?) to bring Mick back to New York City, where she lives. Mick reluctantly agrees, and travels to New York City clad in his croc-skin vest and Australian hat. Now Mick will have to adjust to modern life if he wishes to survive in New York.

"Crocodile Dundee" is, in a way, very typical of its kind. For example: Mick walks off the plane to NYC and steps onto an escalator, dressed in his Australian attire. Now, no matter how innocent and inexperienced a guy is, you can't tell me he's not going to realize he looks a bit odd in his clothes. The first thing I'd do is try to change to fit in better. But, you see, this is half the fun of this films, and all Fish Out of the Water films for that matter. If the main character did adapt straight away to his new surroundings, not only would it make for an awfully boring tale, but it would not be a proper Fish Out of the Water film.

Not only is Paul Hogan completely convincing in his role as Mick Dundee, he is utterly likable from the start. He's a nice, innocent Outback man who learns what the fast life is like, yet sticks to his old ways. As we can see from the less-successful sequels, Mick never really adapts to his surroundings. He learns how to survive, but he never buys fancy clothes or such: he sticks with his croc-vest and hat.

While "Crocodile Dundee" isn't exactly a great comedy, it's one of those that can be remembered for being very funny, and it is easy to watch. It has a certain charm to it, like many of those eighties' comedies. It makes it hard to hate them. Just yesterday I wrote a review for "Opportunity Knocks" with Dana Carvey. That movie wasn't great, but it's hard to dislike it. While "Crocodile Dundee" is about ten times greater than "Opportunity Knocks," it still isn't an excellent comedy. But because of its likable charm and great sense of humor, it's definitely one to see and watch many, many times.

There have been a lot of these kinds of films: "Blast From the Past," "Bubble Boy," to name a few recent of the genre. But "Crocodile Dundee" ranks as one of the best of its kind.

4/5 stars -

John Ulmer