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:

R

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

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

Chopper: Why would I shoot a bloke BANG, then drive him to the bloody car and wizz him off to the hospital at a hundred miles an hour? It defeats the purpose of having shot him in the first place.

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Connections

Referenced in My Last Day (2010)

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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

An unusual, intriguing, entertaining bio-pic

In telling the story of Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read, one of Australia's most famous criminals, the script combined Read's own autobiographical bestseller with what actually happened, which makes for an interesting, sometimes confusing blend of reality and invention. That mix makes for a very interesting watch, even if there's not enough material for a satisfying film; it could have been a thirty-minute film and achieved about the same level of success, and it doesn't leave you with any clear notion of what you saw. Chopper doesn't quite work out as a biography or even a character study, but it's an intriguing document on violence and violent people, and about what makes the same people land in trouble again and again.

On top of that, it's also pretty entertaining. Eric Bana is terrific in the lead. Not being from Australia myself, I first became aware of Bana as a leading man in American mainstream films like Troy and Hulk, where he always struck me as dull and uncharismatic, but finding out that he was a successful comedian is his native country first makes a lot of sense after seeing his disturbing, layered and very funny performance as Chopper. It's difficult to call it a comedy - don't expect a crime farce like Snatch, because there's very little of that going on. But Chopper's character is outrageous enough to be entertaining throughout.

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