Utu is a 1983 New Zealand war film about the New Zealand Wars. Co-written and directed by Geoff Murphy, the films stars Anzac Wallace, Bruno Lawrence, Tim Eliott, Ilona Rodgers, Wi Kuki Kaa and Merata Mita, and depicts the story of a Māori warrior who sets out on a quest for "utu" (revenge). Inspired by the events of Te Kooti's War, the film is set in 1870 in the North Island and has been described as a New Zealand Western.
Geoffrey Peter Murphy was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, director, and screenwriter best known for his work during the renaissance of New Zealand cinema that began in the second half of the 1970s. His second feature Goodbye Pork Pie (1981) was the first New Zealand film to win major commercial success on its soil. Murphy directed several Hollywood features during the 1990s, before returning to New Zealand as second-unit director on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Murphy was also a scriptwriter, special effects technician, schoolteacher and trumpet player at different times. He was married to Merata Mita, a film director, actor, writer.
Goodbye Pork Pie is a 1981 New Zealand comedy film directed by Geoff Murphy, co-produced by Murphy and Nigel Hutchinson, and written by Geoff Murphy and Ian Mune. The film was New Zealand's first large-scale local hit. One book described it as Easy Rider meets the Keystone Cops.
Temuera Derek Morrison is a New Zealand actor who first gained recognition in his home country for playing Dr. Hone Ropata on the soap opera Shortland Street. He garnered critical acclaim for starring as Jake "The Muss" Heke in the 1994 film Once Were Warriors and its 1999 sequel What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?.
Sir Howard Leslie Morrison was a New Zealand entertainer. From 1964 until his death in 2009, he was one of New Zealand's leading television and concert performers.
David Charles Lawrence known as Bruno Lawrence was an English-born musician and actor, who was active in the industry in New Zealand and Australia.
Warren Lee Tamahori is a New Zealand film director. His feature directorial debut, Once Were Warriors (1994), was a widespread critical and commercial success, and is considered one of the greatest New Zealand films ever made. Subsequently, he has directed a variety of works both in his native country and in Hollywood, including the survival drama The Edge (1997), the Alex Cross thriller Along Came a Spider (2001), the James Bond film Die Another Day (2002), the political biopic The Devil's Double (2011), and the period drama Mahana (2016).
River Queen is a 2005 war drama film written and directed by Vincent Ward and starring Samantha Morton, Kiefer Sutherland, Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison and Stephen Rea. The film garnered mixed reviews but performed well at the box office in New Zealand.
Live Wire is a 1992 American action film directed by Christian Duguay, written by Bart Baker, and starring Pierce Brosnan, Ron Silver, Ben Cross, and Lisa Eilbacher.
Once Were Warriors is a 1994 New Zealand tragic drama film based on New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling 1990 first novel. The film tells the story of the Heke family, an urban Māori whānau living in South Auckland, and their problems with poverty, alcoholism, and domestic violence, mostly brought on by the patriarch, Jake. It explores the detrimental effects of the colonisation of New Zealand suffered by Māori, and the survival of Māori culture against all odds.
Michael J. Horton is a film editor who works primarily in New Zealand. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers that was directed by Peter Jackson.
Tony Barry was an Australian actor and activist best known for his television and film roles.
Bunny Te Kokiri Miha Waahi Walters was a New Zealand singer who had a number of New Zealand hits during the 1970s. He is best known for the hits "Brandy" and "Take the Money and Run".
Pork Pie is a 2017 New Zealand road comedy film written and directed by New Zealander Matt Murphy and produced by Tom Hern. The film is a remake of the 1981 movie Goodbye Pork Pie, the first New Zealand film to win a substantial local audience. The remake stars Dean O'Gorman, James Rolleston and Ashleigh Cummings as a trio of accidental outlaws who travel the length of New Zealand in a stolen orange New Mini. The film was scored by Jonathan Crayford.
Robert William Nigel Hutchinson was an English-born New Zealand film producer and commercial director best known for co-producing the 1981 film, Goodbye Pork Pie, with Geoff Murphy. Hutchinson also made a small cameo in the classic New Zealand film as a dairy farmer. He produced other films and television commercials, most recently Home by Christmas in 2010.
Occupation is a 2018 Australian science fiction action film, directed and written by Luke Sparke, with additional dialogue by Felix Williamson. The film was produced by Carly and Carmel Imrie, of SparkeFilms.
The Justice of Bunny King is a New Zealand film directed by Gaysorn Thavat and starring Essie Davis and Thomasin McKenzie. The film was Thavat's feature directorial debut. It premiered on 29 July 2021.
John Charles was a New Zealand film composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He created a number of musical works for the New Zealand cinema of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, including compositions for films such as Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu, The Quiet Earth, A Soldier's Tale or Spooked.
