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:

"I never killed anyone that didn't deserve it."

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Rabiah arrived at the "Chopper" audition early and was rehearsing with an acting friend outside; 30 minutes later he was swooped on by a 15-man SWAT team. Apparently in the scene he was testing for he gets shot, so true to the "Method", he went through the action. A lady driving by saw what she thought was a real shooting and called it in. It took director Andrew Dominik and casting agent Gregory Apps to explain what was going on. A week later Rabiah got the call and got the part. He was quoted as saying to the director, "How much reality do you want?".

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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

Chopper: [to Downie] I've never, I don't think I've ever been as bloody insulted as I am right now. I'm sittin' here confessing to a fucking murder, I've known you since I was a fucking pup, right? And you've got the fucking audacity to drag this cunt here...
Detective Cooney: [Chuckles] Sort out your boy, will you?
Chopper: ...And you look at me like I'm a fucking idiot!

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Movie Portrayals of Real Life Bad Guys (2013)

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Soundtracks

Don't Fence Me In
Performed by Frankie Laine
Composed by Cole Porter
© 1944 Warner Bros. Inc. (ASCAP). All rights reserved
Courtesy of Prestige Records (UK) Limited
Licensed from Rajon Entertainment Pty Ltd

User Reviews

The Portrait Of A Sociopath

Like many of the best films, CHOPPER isn't about one thing, and it doesn't tell one story. It's a film about life on the fringes of society, about the lasting effect of growing up in an unstable, violent environment; it's about mental illness and the less glamorous (and thus in film rarely depicted) aspects of the life of a gangster and career criminal. Most of all though, it's one of the most fascinating character studies I've ever seen with a tour-de-force performance by Eric Bana that is never less than superb. This was only the debut feature by director Andrew Dominik, but it's the meticulously crafted masterwork of a driven artist that deserves to be mentioned together with the best debut films by directors of his generation (it would take him 7 years to confirm with his sophomore film, the excellent THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (2007) that he wasn't a one-hit wonder). Once you've seen this raw, shocking, at times darkly funny portrayal of a sociopath you'll understand why it single-handedly launched Eric Bana's international career. A truly excellent film. 9 Stars out of 10.

In case you're interested in more underrated masterpieces, here's some of my favorites:

imdb.com/list/ls070242495

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 2000 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Chopper

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,044, 15 April 2001

Gross USA:

$236,185

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$238,471

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