Romper Stomper (1992)

A group of skinheads become alarmed at the way their neighbourhood is changing.

Director:

Geoffrey Wright

Writer:

Geoffrey Wright

Stars:

Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie

8 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Russell Crowe	...	Hando
Daniel Pollock	...	Davey
Jacqueline McKenzie	...	Gabe
Alex Scott	...	Martin
Leigh Russell	...	Sonny Jim
Dan Wyllie	...	Cackles
James McKenna	...	Bubs
Eric Mueck	...	Champ
Frank Magree	...	Brett
Chris McLean	...	Luke (as Christopher McLean)
Josephine Keen	...	Megan
Samantha Bladon	...	Tracy
Tony Lee	...	Tiger
John Brumpton	...	Magoo
Don Bridges	...	Harold

Storyline

Nazi skinheads in Melbourne take out their anger on local Vietnamese, who are seen as threatening racial purity. Finally the Vietnamese have had enough and confront the skinheads in an all-out confrontation, sending the skinheads running. A woman who is prone to epileptic seizures joins the skins' merry band, and helps them on their run from justice, but is her affliction also a sign of impurity?

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Plot Keywords:

skinhead | vietnamese | nazi | corpse with eyes open | map | 

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Taglines:

You've never seen anything like it.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brutality and violence, sexuality and language

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English Vietnamese German Japanese Portuguese

Release Date:

12 November 1992 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Fanatic - Romper Stomper

Filming Locations:

Footscray, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Gross:

$175,340 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Commission, The, Film Victoria, Romper Stomper Pty. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The words "Deutschland Erwache" on the Nazi banner in Hando's room is German for "Germany wake up". The banner looks exactly as they did in the Third Reich and was also originally designed by Adolf Hitler.

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Quotes

Hando: What'd you run into me for?
Tiger: I didn't mean it, mate, that guy pushed me.
Hando: What'd you run into me for? What are you doing here? *What* are you doing here?
[grabs Tiger by the shoulder]
Hando: I'm gonna tell you something.
Hando: I want you to listen to me now, OK? This... is... not... your... country.
[proceeds to beat him up]

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Crazy Credits

The end credits roll over a sideways viewpoint of the beach from the dying Hando that fades to gray and then to black.

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Great Aussie Movies (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Les pecheurs de perles"
Composed by Georges Bizet

User Reviews

Boisterous rough and ready assault on your senses- perfectly timed

Boisterous rough and ready assault on your senses- perfectly timed and utterly sharp and not boring. Random violence explodes as post- Nazi punks/skinheads glorifying Hitler's racial superiority fantasies rattle the bones of society's apathetic navel- not with some political and social conscience but with some "I'm bored/I'm a misfit/Hmm. Nazism? Sounds interesting" truism.

What they lack in vision (with the exception of Davey and Hando, who are bestfriends and the core leaders of the group) and reasoning they make up for in compulsive, frantic rioting and clumsily lashing out at the "gooks"- the Vietnamese people who they believe are "contaminating" the purity of their all-white community.

For a veritable walking time bomb, Rusell Crowe as Hando the gang leader is super charming and hot. He exudes raw, magnetic power- he's exactly the kind of guy that could skin a cat alive without the pussy knowing it. Add some dangerous visions in his mind- and you have a frightening body count of "dead gooks".

I guarantee that you will never find a dull moment in this movie. The plot just tightens; and you just pity these poor, insecure, hapless but blustering, armed kids. Helen, sexually harassed by her father and another misfit, is bewildered and tender- and she pulls the story together, right when there's no more sympathy left for Hando. The wide shots of the frenzied fighting capture the pulsing desperation of the moment/s; and the music video to "skinheads skinheads" is a classic- one that Quentin Tarantino probably envies.

The twisted ending is ferocious and perfect. It's actually a love story set amidst a society fuelled with hate and boredom and angst; or perhaps it's just a story about three lost souls navigating their squalid community- caught up, vindictive against societal ills (broken families, having "no future", wasted lives looming ahead), eager to lay the blame on something, ready to embrace any brotherhood or credo that will give authenticity to their defiant rage.