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:

"When they shoot me, I hope they get my good side"

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

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

Mark Brandon Read suggested that Eric Bana play Chopper, after seeing him in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal (1993).

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Goofs

At Tanya's house you see the car lights are on as Chopper goes to her front door. When he comes back and beats the car in frustration - they are off.

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Quotes

Detective Downie: [about Neville] So you took him to the hospital?
Chopper: No, I didn't take him to the bloody hospital. Now tell me this, right? Why would I shoot a bloke - BANG - and then put him in the bloody car and whiz him off to the hospital at a hundred miles an hour? It defeats the purpose of having shot him in the first place. What's more, it's bloody insulting, it's bloody insulting. I mean, am I the only bloody standover man in the country who provides a medical plan for some of these characters?

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Connections

Featured in 20 to 1: Magnificent Movies (2006)

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Soundtracks

Release the Bats
Performed by The Birthday Party
Written by Nick Cave (as Cave) / Mick Harvey (as Harvey)
(Mute Song/Mushroom Music Pty Ltd)
Courtesy of The Birthday Party Pty Ltd

User Reviews

Amazing Performance By Eric Bana!

CHOPPER (3+ outta 5 stars) Nifty little character study of a notorious Australian criminal... well, notorious in his own mind, at least. The jury is still out on how much of the autobiographical details of the life of "Chopper" read are real and how much is fake... but it does make a compelling story either way. Eric Bana gives a great performance in the lead... nothing else I've ever seen him in prepared me for how good he really is. The character he plays is nasty, repellent, scary, ill-tempered... and still full of charisma. After a violent stint in prison (his motto appears to be "do unto others before they do it unto you") Chopper is sent back out into society. With no other skills besides his knowledge of crime, Chopper offers himself to the local police as a special undercover agent. They, of course, want nothing to do with his boneheaded scheme but he pretends that they do anyway. Inflicting pain (on himself *and* others) seems to be what he is best at and he gets plenty of opportunities to show his stuff. Amusing though it may be at times, the movie is not a glorification of violence... the ferocity and suddenness of it keeps the audience constantly on edge.