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:

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

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. (Flash version)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 May 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Antena

Filming Locations:

Crawford Productions, Box Hill, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$70,612, 18 March 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,252,970, 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

Parkes is in New South Wales and would receive news broadcasts from Sydney, but the newsreader shown, Sir Eric Pearce, broadcast from Melbourne. The clip was obtained from his personal show-reel.

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Goofs

During the classroom scene at the beginning of the movie the first student describes the moon landing and a battle with aliens which involves Lasers. Whilst Lasers had been invented, their commercialisation and popular use was not yet prevalent. A more appropriate term would have been Ray Guns.

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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

John Glenn (III), Neil Armstrong (I), Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (II) are credited by announcers in the flashback preceeding the Apollo 11 flight.

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Episode #9.1 (2012)

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Soundtracks

Spanish Flea
Written by Julius Wechter
© Almo Music
Used by permission of Rondor Music Australia
Performed by Herb Alpert & Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass
Courtesy of A&M Records
Under license from Universal Music Australia Pty Limited

User Reviews

This funny and touching true story shows what NASA always hopes would never happen

The thing I enjoyed most about this film, aside from Sam Neill's performance is that the people were depicted just as people are really apt to be like. The mayor of Parks reminds me so much of small town pols that I have known. And the festival air they all strive for when a significant event happens in their little corner of the world. But it also points the nightmare that anyone working with technology faces with downright terror, that something will go awry at exactly the wrong time. The fact that the film is a good family film, mostly, serious but also funny is what makes this such a special film. If you haven't seen this little gem, rent it as soon as you can.