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:

Never let the truth get in the way of a good yarn.

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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

An important shot of Chopper walking down the street towards the camera, in slow-motion, and with everyone else in the shot out of focus is filmed in exactly the same manner as a similarly important shot of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver (1976).

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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 Cooney: We know you didn't shoot the Turk.
Chopper: I just told you I shot the Turk.
Detective Downie: They've picked up the bloke that did it.
Chopper: What fucking bloke that did it? *I* did it.
Detective Downie: No, Homicide have picked up the guy, right? They've even got the murder weapon.
Chopper: What murder weapon?
Detective Cooney: .410 shotgun.
Chopper: [Pulls out his shotgun] Here. This bloody .410 shotgun.
Detective Downie: Put it away, Mark. Just put the bloody thing away. This thing's a .410. Fine, it's a .410. There's a fucking million .410s out there. That's not the .410 that did it.
Chopper: [...]

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Connections

Referenced in A Weekend with Chopper (2001)

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Soundtracks

Forever Now
Performed by Cold Chisel
Written by Steve Prestwich
(© 1982 Big Bang Music Publishing Pty Ltd)
All rights administered by EMI Music Publishing Australia Pty Ltd)
Courtesy of Warner Music Australia Pty Ltd

User Reviews

Great acting by Eric Bana lifts this above your average gangster flick

I want to start by saying that I hate gangster movies. I thoroughly dislike being asked to identify with murderers and criminals and to treat organised criminals as "anti-heroes". With this in mind I was quite surprised to find that I really enjoyed "Chopper".

As previous reviewers have said, this is essentially a character study rather than a story. The reason it works so well is that Mark Brandon Read is a compelling character beautifully impersonated by Eric Bana. Anyone who's ever seen an interview with Read himself can appreciate what a close impersonation Bana achieves; his sudden guffawing laugh and light-hearted way of talking about his really unpleasant deeds being perfectly copied. The movie manages to do what I'm sure Read himself has achieved in real life - it tricks you into liking him before revealing that his hair-trigger temper and propensity for paranoia and violence make him a dangerous person to be around. The thing that keeps you watching is Chopper's jovial nature but also his unpredictability. In circumstances where other gangsters would have gone on a killing spree, Chopper just shrugs and takes it in his stride. But likewise, in throughly innocuous circumstances, his paranoia can kick in at any moment and send him on a violent outburst.