The Dish (2000)

A remote Australian community, populated by quirky characters, plays a key role in the first Apollo moon landing.

Director:

Rob Sitch

Writers:

Santo Cilauro (conceived and written by), Tom Gleisner (conceived and written by)

Stars:

Sam Neill, Billy Mitchell, Roz Hammond

3 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sam Neill	...	Cliff Buxton
Billy Mitchell	...	Cameron
Roz Hammond	...	Miss Nolan
Christopher-Robin Street	...	Damien
Luke Keltie	...	Graeme
Naomi Wright	...	Melanie
Ben Wright-Smith	...	Nicholas
Beverley Dunn	...	Secretary (voice)
Grant Thompson	...	Mr. Callen
Bille Brown	...	Prime Minister
Bernard Curry	...	Newspaper Reporter
Kevin Harrington	...	Ross 'Mitch' Mitchell
Tom Long	...	Glenn Latham
Patrick Warburton	...	Al Burnett
Roy Billing	...	Mayor Robert 'Bob' McIntyre

Storyline

In the days before the July 19, 1969 space mission that marked humankind's first steps on the moon, NASA was working with a group of Australian technicians who had agreed to rig up a satellite interface. That the Aussies placed the satellite dish smack dab in the middle of an Australian sheep farm in the boondocks town of Parkes was just one of the reasons that NASA was concerned. Based on a true story, The Dish takes a smart, witty, comical look at the differing cultural attitudes between Australia and the U.S. while revisiting one of the greatest events in history.

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Plot Keywords:

nasa | moon walk | satellite dish | australia | american man | 

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Taglines:

Based on the true story of what we didn't see.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. (Flash version)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Dish

Filming Locations:

Crawford Productions, Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$70,612 (USA) (18 March 2001)

Gross:

$2,252,970 (USA) (8 July 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Working Dog, Distant Horizon, Dish Film Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 97 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Dish control console used in the film is currently displayed at the Parkes visitors centre.

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Goofs

In the scene were Billy is explaining the moon landing to his father, he anticipates Marie's line, "If you ask me it's the most chauvinistic exercise in the history of the world." (He turns to look at her before she starts speaking even though she is interrupting the conversation.)

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Quotes

[first lines]
Worker: Excuse me sir, I'm afraid you've come in the wrong way.
Cliff Buxton: I'm sorry...
Worker: Yeah, this is the old entrance. The visitors center is back out and around to the left.
Cliff Buxton: Right well, I'll wander out then.
Worker: Well worth it. Some amazing times.

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Crazy Credits

The producers acknowledge the valuable assistance of the staff at the CSIRO Parkes Observatory and Visitors Centre, the Council and people of Parkes, New South Wales, and the Council and people of Forbes, New South Wales.

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Connections

Referenced in The Chase Australia: Episode #2.31 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Good Morning Starshine
(1966)
Written by Galt MacDermot / Gerome Ragni (lyrics) / James Rado (lyrics)
© 1966 EMI U Catalog Inc.
All rights administered by EMI Catalogue Partnership Australia Pty Limited
Licensed by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Limited
Performed by Oliver, (The London Cast of Hair)
© EMI Records Ltd
Licensed courtesy of EMI Music of Australia

User Reviews

A great story

With "The Dish" & their previous effort "The Castle", the Working Dog crew show their innate ability to tell a great story.

The direction, cinematography, the music & the acting are all A+ quality, but for mine that is not the strength of "The Dish". The main strength of this film is it's story, a beautifully told, heartwarming story about one of the most memorable moments in history & the role a small town in middle-of-nowhere Australia & its citizens played in this event.

For those who see "The Dish" on DVD, check out the directors commentary with Rob Sitch. In this commentary, Sitch shows himself to be a very thoughtful & intelligent director, which may surprise those who see him as the big mouth from "The Panel"