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 & 10 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:

cricket the sport | two word title | loss of wife | widower | family relationships | 

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Taglines:

Man's first step on the moon nearly stumbled on earth

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie is actually based on a true story, the name of the real director of the Parkes antenna was Dr. John Bolton.

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Goofs

There was no US ambassador to Australia in July 1969. William H. Crook had resigned in 1968 but stayed on until April 1969. Walter Lyman Rice was not appointed until September 1969.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Cameron: Excuse me sir, I'm afraid you've come in the wrong way.
Cliff Buxton: I'm sorry...
Cameron: Yeah, this is the old entrance. The visitors' center's back out and around to the left.
Cliff Buxton: Right well, I'll wander over then.
Cameron: Well worth it. Been through 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 At the Movies: Episode #9.1 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Afrikaan Beat
(1962)
Written by Bert Kaempfert
All rights administered by D Davis & Co. Pty Ltd
Licensed by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Limited
Performed by Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra
Courtesy of Polydor International Hamburg
Under license from Universal Music Australia Pty Limited

User Reviews

Aussie humour at its finest, in a gentle, joyful piece of comedy.

At a time when the comedy genre is saturated with the crude, lewd and unsophisticated toilet humour of the U.S ('See Spot Run', 'The Animal', 'Say It Isn't So'), it's encouraging to watch a film that really makes you laugh out loud without wanting to cringe at the same time. Like it's antipodean predecessor 'Priscilla...', 'The Dish' takes the best aspects of Australian culture and the Aussie persona and uses them to create the finest comedy of the year so far. Much of the humour is brutally honest, delivered in the kind of relaxed, conversational style which has become an Aussie trademark. Paired with a homegrown cast (headed by a wonderfully understated Sam Neill) and filmed on location at the satellite receiver station in South Australia, the film feels refreshingly natural and unconstructed.

This sense of cultural identity gives 'The Dish' a surprising depth for such an uncomplicated film. Rather than resorting to the contrived, exaggerated Australian image of Paul Hogan, it revels in its roots without a hint of self-consciousness or compromise. Such an intense warmth towards its small-town location and everyman characters is shown that it is impossible not to share it, and from that grows a wonderful sense of intimacy. Despite the global importance of Apollo 11's mission, a real sense of the importance of it to the community and the individuals therein is present throughout. An American film may have made this subservient to the moon landings - here, the two are intertwined on an equal footing, and you care equally about each.

And in that lies the secret of why 'The Dish' is such a damn good film. It's not the well-paced, extremely funny and well-delivered script, nor the quality of the acting, nor the great location or period soundtrack. It's because the film has a real sense of soul. It makes you want to care about it and it's characters. In mainstream film, that's a rare achievement indeed. Let's hope the Farrelly brothers are watching...

8.5/10

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 USA:

$70,612, 18 March 2001

Gross USA:

$2,552,992

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,575,074

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