Out of the Blue (I) (2006)

Based on the Aramoana Massacre that occurred on 13 November and 14 November 1990. Resident David Gray, an unemployed gun collector, went on a rampage in which 13 people were shot dead, before Gray himself was shot by police.

Director:

Robert Sarkies

Writers:

Bill O'Brien (book), Robert Sarkies,

Stars:

Karl Urban, Matthew Sunderland, Lois Lawn

7 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Karl Urban	...	Nick Harvey
Matthew Sunderland	...	David Gray
Lois Lawn	...	Helen Dickson
Simon Ferry	...	Garry Holden
Tandi Wright	...	Julie-Anne Bryson
Paul Glover	...	Paul Knox
William Kircher	...	Stu Guthrie
Georgia Fabish	...	Chiquita Holden
Fayth Rasmussen	...	Stacey Percy
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Timothy Bartlett	...	Jimmy Dickson
Tony Bishop	...	Ross Percy
Baxter Cannell	...	Dion Percy
Murray Davidson	...	Bank Manager
Dave Dudfield	...	AOS / ATS Officer
Nick Duval-Smith	...	Brian Wilson

Storyline

Ordinary people find extraordinary courage in the face of madness. On 13-14 November 1990 that madness came to Aramoana, a small New Zealand seaside village. It came in the form of a lone gunman with a high-powered semi-automatic rifle. As he stalked his victims the terrified and confused residents were trapped in the village for 24 hours while a handful of under-resourced and underarmed local policeman risked their lives trying to find him and save the survivors. By dawn 13 people lay dead. This is a true story.

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Taglines:

From the last place on earth comes a true story of courage and survival.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

New Zealand

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 October 2006 (New Zealand)

Also Known As:

24 horas de furia

Filming Locations:

Otago, New Zealand

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$728 (USA) (19 October 2007)

Gross:

$728 (USA) (19 October 2007)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Condor Films, Dendy Films, Desert Road Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min 100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Cole is wearing a T-shirt that says: "Save our beach. Stop the smelter." This refers to the late 1970s proposal to build an aluminum smelter at Aramoana, which would have destroyed the township and threatened a local wildlife reserve, and met with a lot of resistance from residents.

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Goofs

As David Gray is seen walking through the main city centre, vehicles passing and parked on the side of the road are shown to have their rectangle shaped registration labels on the bottom left of the inside of the windscreen. This system was not implemented by Land Transport New Zealand until 1996. Before this, registration stickers were small and placed on the outside of the top middle of the windscreen.

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Quotes

Garry Holden's Mother: No crime in being eccentric, or they'd lock up half the Spit.

User Reviews

Sets the pulse racing!

I went to see this having read a couple of books on the subject several years ago, including the one on which the film is based.

Wasn't sure what to expect as there's been a lot of hype & media publicity surrounding this film.

I must say I certainly wasn't disappointed.

This is an excellent film. I haven't seen director Sarkies' other film Scarfies but I was impressed with this. No doubt he's headed for bigger things if this film is any indication.

Take a bow Mr Sarkies, you've already got the NZ Film Awards sewn up.

This is the kind of film you don't see too often, shocking and extremely tense, but without relying on the graphic violence and bloodspatter far too prevalent in mainstream films these days. Add to that this is a true story and there's plenty of attention to detail.

A few other 'bigger' directors could take note from this that the audience aren't all idiots. They can figure out what's happening without squibs going off left, right and centre and spent cartridges ejecting from the chamber in slow motion.

As the cinema sat in silence, I swear I could hear my own heart pounding at times as my blood pressure went through the roof. A great movie going experience not felt too often.

I wasn't sure if If I was watching a reenactment or remastered old news footage as the specialist Police moved in on the town. It looked very authentic.

In spite of his dastardly deeds, one couldn't help but feel a tad of sympathy for the bad guy who is portrayed as a sad, lonely dysfunctional person who's mental health gradually deteriorates. More good work by the director and certainly different from the norm.

It wasn't perfect though, the pacing of the film seemed a bit out of kilter in a few places, while I thought some of the acting in the film was brilliant at times, but not quite so at others.

The up close gun fire as well probably fell a little bit short in the decibel department and could possibly use a touch up.

That aside, on a global scale it's a small budget film so any shortcomings are excused.

I give it an 8 because I'm a very tough marker, with a 10 being nearly impossible.

Given the subject matter, I don't think I could call this entertaining, but it sure is an experience & somewhat unforgettable, enough to make a grown man cry.

In short, see this film!