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:

From the creators of "The Castle"

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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

The film is set in the town of Parkes, in New South Wales, Aus., but was actually filmed in Forbes, which is a neighboring town a few miles down the road. The reason for the re-filming is because Parkes has changed over the last 30 years, but Forbes hasn't changed as much - Forbes still looked like a 1960s town, like Parkes did 30 years before.

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Goofs

Near end of film when high winds hit Parkes, a welcome banner stretching across the main street says "Welcome Prime MinAster", e.g., "Minister" is misspelled as "Minaster" on the banner.

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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 The Chase Australia: Episode #2.31 (2016)

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Soundtracks

Fly Me To The Moon
Written by Bart Howard
Performed by Frank Bennett
© Hampshire House Publishing Corp./The Richmond Organization USA
Used by permission of Essex Music Australia
Frank Bennett appears courtesy of EMI Music Australia

User Reviews

Very enjoyable

"The Dish" is a real crowd pleaser, which surpassed my initial expectations. I guess you could say that it falls into that little genre of world cinema known as the "regional comedy." Such examples might include "Cinema Paradiso" or "The Full Monty." It looks, quite lovingly, at the lives of several characters and their environment, providing subtle humour and a healthy dose of sentiment as well. What makes this film particularly interesting is its take on the first moon landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969. While usually covered in an American jingoistic mode of filmmaking, "The Dish" offers a fresh, outside perspective. How did the world view it? How were Americans viewed? The detached perspective of the Australians is the source of much humour within the film, culminating in a few scenes where the responsibility of providing a relay signal from Apollo 11 to Houston is placed fully upon the small band of dish operators in rural Australia. Perhaps the most profound thing about this film is that it is largely based on a true story.

With an all-round solid cast, led by Sam Neill and Tom Long.