Dogs in Space (1986)

The film is set in a house occupied by a collection of social misfits. The main storyline is that of a strange musician's relationship with a girl, their drug use and his band. These events... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Lowenstein

Writer:

Richard Lowenstein

Stars:

Michael Hutchence, Saskia Post, Nique Needles

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Hutchence	...	Sam
Saskia Post	...	Anna
Nique Needles	...	Tim
Deanna Bond	...	The Girl
Tony Helou	...	Luchio
Chris Haywood	...	Chainsaw man
Peter Walsh	...	Anthony
Laura Swanson	...	Clare
Adam Briscomb	...	Grant
Sharon Jessop	...	Leanne
Edward Clayton-Jones	...	Nick
Martii Coles	...	Mark
Chuck Meo	...	Charles
Caroline Lee	...	Jenny
Fiona Latham	...	Barbara

Storyline

The film is set in a house occupied by a collection of social misfits. The main storyline is that of a strange musician's relationship with a girl, their drug use and his band. These events are surrounded by a chaotic myriad of sub-plots. A homicidal chainsaw maniac's lust for his machine and a T.V station's offer of money in return for a piece of the Skylab satellite that has fallen to earth are just two. The film is composed of small fragments in the lives of its inhabitants, each following onto the next, sometimes overlapping and ending in tragedy.

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Plot Keywords:

punk | melbourne australia | australia | new wave music | drug addiction | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 January 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cani nello spazio

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Burrowes Film Group, Ghost Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Anna and Sam's fight, Anna goes to her Mum's house and watches an old movie on TV with her. That movie is My Man Godfrey.

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Goofs

In Luchio's bedroom there is a sticker for the FM radio station Triple M. At time the film was set, MMM did not exist (it began as EON-FM at that time) and there were in fact no commercial FM radio stations broadcasting in Melbourne. The radio station the cast do listen to, 3XY, was an AM station that changed to FM and became Triple M; this may have been a bit of product placement.

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Quotes

Charles: Bloody crazy sex maniacs!

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Connections

Features Dragnet 1967 (1967)

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Soundtracks

"Rooms For the Memory"
Written by Ollie Olsen
Performed by Michael Hutchence

User Reviews

Interesting document of a forgotten era.

I had fond memories of this movie for years, but on a recent re-viewing I was put off by the obnoxiousness of many of the characters here. They all seem shallow and self-obsessed, but that is probably an accurate portrayal of this period in Melbourne music history, and my reaction most likely has a lot to do with getting older, and being less sympathetic to the follies of youth.

'Dogs In Space' documents a fairly obscure but important period of Australian music history - the "little bands" scene, when punk turned weirder, artier, and generally more electronic. No other music scene in the world was EXACTLY the same, but the New York 'No Wave' era is the closest equivalent. Out of this melee came cult heroes The Birthday Party, but also many other acts that were hardly recorded, if recorded at all. This movie attempts to redress that. Director Richard Lowenstein lived in the house that inspired this story and hung out with the real band that is fictionalized here.

While not perfect, this movie has a lot of energy, some great music on the soundtrack (Iggy, Boys Next Door, Eno, Gang Of Four, Marching Girls), and there's enough of interest going on to make it highly recommended to anyone curious about late 70s/early 80s music. The late Michael Hutchence (INXS) may have rough acting chops, but he exudes enough charisma to make you wonder what might have been movie-wise for him.

By the way, keep an eye open for an early appearance of Noah Taylor now seen in more mainstream Hollywood fare like Tomb Raider!