Chopper (2000)

Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.

Director:

Andrew Dominik

Writers:

Mark Brandon Read (books), Andrew Dominik

Stars:

Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon, Vince Colosimo

12 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Vince Colosimo	...	Neville Bartos
Eric Bana	...	Chopper
Renée Brack	...	Television Interviewer (as Renee Brack)
Gregory Pitt	...	Prison Officer #1
Richard Sutherland	...	Prison Officer #2
David Field	...	Keithy George
Simon Lyndon	...	Jimmy Loughnan
Dan Wyllie	...	Bluey
Gary Waddell	...	Kevin Darcy
Andrew Dunn	...	Prison Officer #3
Caleb Cluff	...	Detective Creswell
Hilton Henderson	...	Detective Wyatt
Fred Barker	...	Gov. Beasley
Alan Close	...	Medical Officer
Carl Price	...	Brunswick Court Judge

Storyline

Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a murder sentence in prison. His book, From the Inside, upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | prison | criminal | arrogance | jealousy | 

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Taglines:

"Drugs are ruining crime"

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 2000 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Chopper - A kegyetlen

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,044, 13 April 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$234,259, 22 July 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC),Mushroom Pictures,Pariah Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Cinevex)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Somewhere over the Rainbow", the original song to accompany the opening credits of "Chopper", was written especially for The Wizard of Oz (1939). Curiously, in L. Frank Baum's original stage version in 1903, the Tin Man was referred to as (Mick) Chopper.

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Goofs

Despite having his right ear cut off in prison, Chopper's right ear remains visibly intact throughout the movie.

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Quotes

Jimmy Loughnan: [Chopper holds a gun to Jimmy's face] Mark, Mark, Mark, no! You're being fucking paranoid!
Chopper: Well, just because I'm being paranoid doesn't mean people aren't trying to kill me.

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Great Aussie Movies (2006)

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Soundtracks

Stuck on You
Performed by Rose Tattoo
Written by Angry Anderson (as Anderson) / Leach / Cocks / Wells / Royal
(© 1977 J Albert & Son Pty Ltd)
Courtesy of Albert Productions

User Reviews

Chop, chop, chop, little Chopper chops

Thruth and fiction blend in a fun and in some places gross story about the most known criminal of Australia, Mark "Chopper" Reed. Now, I am not Australian, nor have I read Choppers books, so I really can't say how accurate this movie is to towards it's sources but what I can say it does work quite well as a movie.

And as it is stated in the film, the story isn't a salute towards crime, so it doesn't try to be truthful to the max

Chopper (Eric Bana) is a man with a dream: to become most notorious man of Australia. This he tries to achieve by doing crimes, looting and murders but not drugs. He also exaggerates his stories, so no-one actually knows what he has done and in what extent. This give possibilities to tell same stuff from the point of view of other occupants.

Good film, mostly because of brilliant acting by Bana. Defintly his best movie (as an actor) to date.