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 | nasa | moon walk | satellite dish | australia | 

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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

Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station south of Canberra had a 26m dish and is referred to during the movie. It was actually Honeysuckle which supplied the first 8 minutes of footage of the moon landing before Parkes took over. You can see the flicker on the screen if you watch the original footage as they change receiving dishes. Sadly little is left of Honeysuckle TS which also controlled Skylab.

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Goofs

Archive footage of the ascent stage of the lunar module lifting off from the moon is not from the Apollo 11 mission. The first images of such a lift-off (showing an exterior view of the lunar module) were made using the camera mounted on the wheeled lunar roving vehicles, only carried on later Apollo missions 15, 16 and 17.

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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

John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins are credited by announcers in the flashback preceding the Apollo 11 flight.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

You've Made Me So Very Happy
(1967)
Written by Berry Gordy (as Berry Gordy Jr.) / Brenda Holloway / Frank Wilson / Patrice Holloway
© 1967 Jobete Music Co., Inc. & Stone Agate Music
All rights administered by EMI Songs Australia Pty Limited
Performed by Blood Sweat & Tears
Courtesy of Colombia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music licensing

User Reviews

What a Pleasant Surprise...

Once and a while a true surprise comes along. A film that is pleasantly surprising and enjoyable. Well, that's what "The Dish" is. It never takes itself too serious and never takes itself too lightly. It is just right.

It is centered around the true story of the largest satellite dish in the world, found in the middle of a sheep paddock in Australia. The dish, at one time, broadcast the Apollo 11 moon landing to the world, and this is the story of the problems the men who ran the dish went through.

Sam Neill and Patrick Warburton lead the group of four that manage the dish; the characters are all nice and pleasant and likable. No one is unlikable in this film.

Sam Neill is a great actor; I've liked him in films since "Dead Calm," but my real respect for his performances rose after he brought Dr. Allen Grant to life in "Jurassic Park."

Patrick Warburton, in my opinion, is one of the most underrated comedic actors in Hollywood. He always gets throwaway roles ("MIIB," "Big Trouble,"=etc...), but in this film he gets a leading role (sorta) and handles it excellently. He proves he really can act--serious or comedic--in films.

One thing that is so nice about "The Dish" is that it doesn't try to really prove anything extremely memorable. It's not trying to be the next big hit. It sticks to the facts while presenting some great actors and a twist of humor. And because of this, it is, possibly, one of the most pleasant film experiences I've had in recent years. Sometimes it's nice to sit back, relax and just watch a movie.

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