Ground Zero (1987 film)

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Ground Zero
Ground zero film poster.jpg
Directed by Bruce Myles
Michael Pattinson
Written by Mac Gudgeon
Jan Sardi
Starring Colin Friels
Jack Thompson
Donald Pleasence
Music by Chris Neal
Production
company
Distributed by Hoyts Distribution
Release date
1 October 1987
Running time
109 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$7 million [1]
Box officeA$178,576 (Australia)

Ground Zero is a 1987 Australian action thriller film about a cinematographer who, prompted by curiosity about some old film footage taken by his father, embarks on a quest to find out the truth about British nuclear tests at Maralinga. It stars actors Colin Friels, Jack Thompson and Indigenous activist Burnum Burnum.

Contents

Production and cast

Ground Zero was produced in 1986 [2] and released in 1987. IMDb, and the DVD release of the film, both credit Michael Pattinson and Bruce Myles as producers, [3] but only Pattinson is named in other sources. [2] [4] Pattinson went on to direct several other Australian feature films, including Wendy Cracked a Walnut (1990), Secrets (1992), and The Limbic Region (1997). [5] Myles did not go on to other directing, but acted in numerous subsequent Australian films, including The Bank (2001). [6]

Ground Zero was made for A$7 million, and filmed on location in Coober Pedy and Woomera in South Australia, as well as in Melbourne. [4]

Sound for the film was created by a team including Roger Savage and Gary Wilkins, who had both worked on the Mad Max series of feature movies. [7]

Context of the film

In the 1950s, the British government had conducted a number of nuclear tests at a site called Maralinga in outback South Australia. It was subsequently demonstrated by medical evidence, witness statements and archive documents that during those tests, armed forces personnel and Indigenous Australians were exposed to nuclear fallout that affected their health and reduced their lifespan. This led eventually to a major inquiry, the McClelland Royal Commission, which reported in 1985. The inquiry attracted a lot of publicity, and ultimately a deal was struck with the United Kingdom to fund rehabilitation of the test sites. [8]

Ground Zero was made immediately following this inquiry. While fictional, it explores the idea that the exposure to radiation of Indigenous people and army personnel may have been deliberate, or known about at the time and concealed. The political topicality of the film at the time of its release was reflected in the profile of some of the actors involved: Colin Friels has played a number of roles involving social activism, most notably years later in the Australian television miniseries Bastard Boys ; Burnum Burnum was a long-time Indigenous rights activist; [9] while Jack Thompson had previously played a leading role in another film sharply critical of the British military: Breaker Morant.

Reception and legacy

Despite its success at the 1987 AFI Awards, reviews of the film were mixed. Pointing out that the film contained elements of both action thriller and political commentary, reviewers were unsure that it did either with great success. [4] [10] However, Janet Maslin, reviewing the film for the New York Times , wrote of "taut, clever conspiracy-theory thrillers, of which the new Australian film Ground Zero is a prime example". [11]

It was shown on Indigenous television station Imparja 'as a tribute' to Burnum Burnum after his death in 1997. [9]

Cast

ActorCharacter
Colin Friels Harvey Denton
Jack Thompson Trebilcock
Donald Pleasence Prosper Gaffney
Natalie BatePat Denton
Burnum Burnum Yami Lester
Simon Chilvers Commission president
Neil FitzpatrickHooking
Bob Maza Walemari
Beverley Dunn Commissioner #1
Alan Hopgood Commissioner #2
Peter Cummins Ballantyne, Australian veteran
Brian James Vice-Adm. Windsor
Bob Hornery Meteorologist
Steve Dodd Freddy Tjapalijarri
Alfred AustenAboriginal elder
Tommy Dysart British Veteran
Mark Mitchell Detective

Awards and nominations

AFI Awards, 1987

38th Berlin International Film Festival, 1988 [12]

Box office

Ground Zero grossed $178,576 at the box office in Australia. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maralinga</span> Region in South Australia

Maralinga, in the remote western areas of South Australia, was the site, measuring about 3,300 square kilometres (1,300 sq mi) in area, of British nuclear tests in the mid-1950s.

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The McClelland Royal Commission or Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia was an inquiry by the Australian government in 1984–1985 to investigate the conduct of the British in its use, with the then Australian government's permission, of Australian territory and soldiers for testing nuclear weapons. It was chaired by Jim McClelland.

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References

  1. "Australian Productions Top $175 million", Cinema Papers, March 1986 p64
  2. 1 2 Hall, Sandra (1992). Australian Film Index: A Guide to Australian Feature Films Since 1990. Port Melbourne: Thorpe.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. IMDb, Ground Zero. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 Gardner, Geoff (1995). 'Ground Zero', in Murray, Scott (ed.), Australian Film 1978-1994: A Survey of Theatrical Features. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, Australian Film Commission and Cinema Papers.
  5. Yahoo! Movies, Michael Pattinson film credits. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  6. Yahoo! Movies, Bruce Myles filmography. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  7. Cinephilia, Review of Ground Zero Archived 22 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 13 March 2009.
  8. David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p249
  9. 1 2 Norst, Marlene (1999). Burnum Burnum: A Warrior for Peace. Roseville NSW: Kangaroo Press.
  10. Hinson, Hal (30 September 1988). "Ground Zero (review)". The Washington Post . Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  11. Maslin, Janet (23 September 1988). "'Ground Zero (1987): A nuclear cover-up in Australia". The New York Times . Retrieved 16 April 2010.
  12. "Berlinale: 1988 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  13. "Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2010.