I recently saw this documentary on TV, for the first time since I saw it in the cinema in 1987. I was afraid that it would have dated terribly, but I was thrilled to discover that it's still a fantastic piece.
The most surprising thing was that not one act was a dud. All their songs and incredible live performances are excellent, although I guess the director Richard Lowenstein chose the best from a series of concerts around Australia.
The doco is tightly edited, and well balanced between backstage interviews and live music. The crowd interviews are a lot of fun, too - especially the woman pleading with the doco makers to smuggle her over the fence, and another woman saying she just came along for something to do, not to see any particular band.
What I love most about this doco is that it strives to steer clear of cynicism, which would be an easy trap to fall in to. Sure, this is a very commercial tour and doco, but these are our Australian musical heroes and Lowenstein keeps that in mind.
The doco of course shows Michael Hutchence at his absolute peak as lead vocalist with INXS. He really was a natural showman with an underrated great voice that shows up well when he duets with Jimmy Barnes.
Barnes has a tight band and obviously thrives off live performance, although his voice often is below par, especially when he tries to shout.
I'm Talking were also a tight and professional band, who veered from ska to reggae to pop to funk. This doco shows how energetic and devoted Kate Ceberano was in her lead vocals, but gee, how young was she? It can't have been easy for a teenager to face those huge crowds.
For me the stand-out of the whole doco is the Divinyls. Chrissy Amphlett is so charismatic, frenetic and just funny. She blows you away with her talent. She really was a performance artist as well as a singer.
Mental As Anything took part in all the Australian Made concerts, yet they're not in the movie. Evidently something went terribly wrong with their agreement with the filmmakers. I wonder whether, some day, their footage can be included. They were an excellent and much loved band.
And it's of course very sad that so many young, brilliant artists like Amphlett, James Freud, Greedy Smith, David McComb and Michael Hutchence have since died.
But this film is an incredible wonderful tribute to them all.
Review of Australian Made: The Movie
