Incident at Raven's Gate

Last updated

Incident at Raven's Gate
Encounter at Raven's Gate.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Rolf de Heer
Screenplay by
Based onan original screenplay
by James Michael Vernon
Produced by
  • Rolf de Heer
  • Marc Rosenberg
Starring Steven Vidler
CinematographyRichard Michalak
Edited bySuresh Ayyar
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byFilmpac Holdings
Release date
  • 29 April 1988 (1988-04-29)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetAU$2.5 million [1]

Incident at Raven's Gate (also released as Encounter at Raven's Gate) is a 1988 science fiction arthouse feature film directed by prominent Australian director Rolf de Heer.

Contents

The cast of Incident at Raven's Gate includes long-term Australian stage and screen actor Max Cullen as a policeman and Terry Camilleri as an astrophysicist attached to Special Branch, investigating unexplained radar signals in a remote South Australian country town.

Plot

At Raven's Gate, a farming property, enthusiastic hydroponicist Richard Cleary (Ritchie Singer) is trying innovative farming practices. He is also trying to accommodate his brother Eddie (Steven Vidler), newly out of jail and more interested in Richard's wife Rachel (Celine Griffin) [lower-alpha 1] than in working on the property.

Strange events on the property and a minor crime in the town attract policeman Taylor (Max Cullen) and Special Branch investigator Cummings (Terry Camilleri). Eddie has the misfortune to cross local cop Skinner (Vincent Gil), for dating the target of his affections, barmaid Annie (Saturday Rosenberg).

Tensions in personal relationships and mysterious events (bird kills, disappearing water supplies) build. Raven's Gate is assaulted by an alien force, and a number of deaths occur amongst the protagonists. [2] [3] The film closes with the stunned survivors Eddie and Rachel standing outside Raven's Gate homestead, newly restored by Special Branch, and the soundtrack playing the Easybeats' song "Friday on My Mind".

Cast

Production

Incident at Raven's Gate is a genre-crossing film: part thriller, part science fiction, and part psychological drama. [2] It was shot on location [1] and made in South Australia, with South Australian Film Corporation support, for a budget of A$2.5 million. [2] The filmmakers say only $1.1 million was spent on the actual film, and the rest were fees for executive producers, writers and producers. [1]

It was co-produced by de Heer and Marc Rosenberg, who wrote the script from a screenplay by James Michael Vernon. [2] It was filmed in South Australia's Riverland and Murraylands, and Carrington, New South Wales.

Critical reception

The movie achieved only limited release and did not receive the critical acclaim of many other de Heer films. [2] It nevertheless managed three nominations at the 1988 Australian Film Institute Awards. [4]

Other reviews

See also

Notes

  1. Also known as Celine O'Leary

Related Research Articles

<i>Bad Boy Bubby</i> 1993 Australian independent film

Bad Boy Bubby is a 1993 psychological absurdist black comedy film written and directed by Rolf de Heer, and starring Nicholas Hope, Claire Benito, Ralph Cotterill, and Carmel Johnson.

<i>The Cars That Ate Paris</i> 1974 film by Peter Weir

The Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film, produced by twin brothers Hal and Jim McElroy and directed by Peter Weir. It was his first feature film, and was also based on an original story he had written. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly, involved in profiting from the results of car accidents. The film is considered part of the Australian New Wave genre.

Terrance Camilleri is a Maltese-born Australian actor who has performed actively in both the United Kingdom and United States. He is best recognised for portraying Emperor Napoleon I in the blockbuster comedy film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989).

<i>Dingo</i> (film) 1991 Australian film

Dingo is a 1991 Australian film directed by Rolf de Heer and written by Marc Rosenberg. It is notable for marking Miles Davis' first and only speaking role in a narrative feature film.

<i>Ten Canoes</i> 2006 Australian film

Ten Canoes is a 2006 Australian historical drama/docudrama film directed by Rolf de Heer and Peter Djigirr and starring Crusoe Kurddal. The film is set in Arnhem Land in northern Australia, before Western influence, and tells the story of a group of ten men doing traditional hunting in canoes. A narrator tells the story, and the overall format is that of a moral tale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolf de Heer</span> Dutch-Australian film director, writer, producer

Rolf de Heer is a Dutch Australian film director. De Heer was born in Heemskerk in the Netherlands but migrated to Sydney when he was eight years old. He attended the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. His company is called Vertigo Productions and is based in Adelaide. De Heer primarily makes alternative or arthouse films. According to the jacket notes of the videotape, de Heer holds the honor of co-producing and directing the only motion picture, Dingo, in which the jazz legend Miles Davis appears as an actor. Miles Davis collaborated with Michel Legrand on the score.

<i>The Tracker</i> (2002 film) 2002 Australian drama film

The Tracker is a 2002 Australian drama film/meat pie Western directed and written by Rolf de Heer and starring David Gulpilil, Gary Sweet and Damon Gameau. It is set in 1922 in outback Australia where a colonial policeman (Sweet) uses the tracking ability of an Indigenous Australian tracker (Gulpilil) to find the alleged murderer of a white woman.

Dimboola is a 1979 Australian independent film directed by John Duigan about a country wedding reception. It is based on the 1969 play of the same name by Jack Hibberd and was principally filmed on location in Dimboola, Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Rosenberg (screenwriter)</span> American screenwriter and film producer

Marc Rosenberg is an American screenwriter and producer with professional roots in Australia. He has taught screenwriting and film production in the U.S., India, Norway, China and Australia. Rosenberg has contributed to "Film International Magazine" and written a screenwriting guide, "The Screenplay Tree: Story Structure Made Easy."

In Her Skin is a 2009 Australian drama movie written and directed by Simone North. The film is based on the true story of the murder of 15-year-old Rachel Barber, Ivan Southall's granddaughter, who went missing on March 1, 1999. It was later discovered that Barber was murdered by a former neighbour and family babysitter, Caroline Reed Robertson.

<i>Backroads</i> (1977 film) 1977 Australian film

Backroads is a 1977 Australian film directed by Phillip Noyce. Two strangers – one white (Jack), one Aboriginal (Gary) – steal a car in western New South Wales and drive around the coast. The original characters came from a story by Adelaide writer John Emery, with whom Noyce had worked on a short film. Australian reviews of the film were mixed, and it opened commercially in only one cinema.

<i>Robbery Under Arms</i> (1985 film) 1985 Australian film

Robbery Under Arms is a 1985 Australian action adventure film starring Sam Neill as bushranger Captain Starlight.

You Can't See 'round Corners is a 1969 Australian drama film directed by David Cahill and starring Ken Shorter and Rowena Wallace. The film is a theatrical version of the 1967 TV show You Can't See 'Round Corners. Both were based on the 1947 novel by Jon Cleary updated to the Vietnam War.

<i>High Rolling</i> 1977 Australian film

High Rolling is an Australian buddy comedy directed by Igor Auzins and written by Forest Redlich. Golden Globe Award winners Joseph Bottoms and Judy Davis are among the cast. The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Australian band, Sherbet. The film was released in Australia on 4 August 1977.

Antony I. Ginnane is an Australian film producer best known for his work in the exploitation field. He was head of the Screen Producers Association of Australia from 2008 to 2011. He has been described as "Australia's Roger Corman" or Australia's equivalent to Robert Lippert.

<i>Scobie Malone</i> (film) 1975 Australian film

Scobie Malone is a 1975 Australian erotic mystery film based on the 1970 novel Helga's Web by Jon Cleary and starring Jack Thompson and Judy Morris.

Kitty and the Bagman is a 1983 Australian film about gangsters in the 1920s. It was based on the rivalry of Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine.

<i>Midnite Spares</i> 1983 Australian film

Midnite Spares is a 1983 Australian action film starring Gia Carides, James Laurie, Max Cullen, Graeme Blundell, Bruce Spence, David Argue and Jonathan Coleman.

<i>The King Is Dead!</i> 2012 Australian film

The King Is Dead! is a 2012 Australian comedy drama thriller film directed by Rolf de Heer about a young couple who are tormented by the neighbour from hell.

Graham Tardif is an Australian screen music composer. He is the composer on ten feature films directed and written by Rolf de Heer. Their most acclaimed collaboration, The Tracker (2002), resulted in an APRA-AGSC Screen Music Award for "Far Away Home" as Best Original Song Composed for a Feature Film, Telemovie, TV Series or Mini-Series in 2002. The Tracker also provided wins at Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards and IF Awards for the pair.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Stratton, David (1990). The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry. Pan MacMillan. pp. 283–84. ISBN   9780732902506.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hawker, Phillipa (1995). Murray, Scott (ed.). "Incident at Raven's Gate". Australian Film 1978–1994: A Survey of Theatrical Features. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, Australian Film Commission and Cinema Papers.
  3. "Seldom Seen review: Encounter at Raven's Gate". Twitchfilm.net. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  4. "Incident at Raven's Gate: Information". vertigoproductions.com.au. Vertigo Productions. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.