Scarfies

Last updated

Scarfies
Scarfies.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Robert Sarkies
Written by Duncan Sarkies
Robert Sarkies
Produced byLisa Chatfield
Starring Willa O'Neill
Neill Rea
Ashleigh Seagar
Taika Cohen
Charlie Bleakley
Jon Brazier
Mark Neilson
CinematographyStephen Downes
Edited by Annie Collins
Distributed by Becker Entertainment
Release date
  • 5 August 1999 (1999-08-05)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryNew Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million

Scarfies (released as Crime 101 in the United States) is a 1999 New Zealand black comedy film set in the southern university city of Dunedin. The film's original title comes from the local nickname for university students, scarfie, so called because of the traditional blue and gold scarves worn by students during the city's cool winters in support of the Otago Rugby Football Union.

Contents

Plot

Scarfies starts off as a light comedy centred on a group of five students who get together after moving into a flat that is seemingly abandoned, but still has the power on, making it a free but filthy accommodation.

The inadvertent discovery of a large crop of marijuana being grown in the basement leads to euphoria among the students. Dreams of financial freedom among them overtake paranoia about the ethics and the risks, and the students foolishly sell the entire crop for $50,000 (as much as $200,000 less than it is worth). When Kevin, the crop's owner appears, the students fear for their lives and lock him in the basement. Events unfold against a backdrop of the city's biggest sporting event for years, the final of New Zealand's national rugby championship.

Cast

Production

Despite the deliberate use of shots focusing on the city's dowdier and darker elements, much of the film's photography and soundtrack is an homage to the city, including the use of several Dunedin sound songs in the soundtrack (top local band The Clean even make a cameo appearance during the film).

The film initially had a small production budget of $250,000, but later received an additional $1.6 million in funding from the New Zealand Film Commission. [1]

Reception

Scarfies was well-received, described as "...the most outlandishly entertaining New Zealand film for years...", [2] and did well at the box-office. [3]

Soundtrack

  1. Save My LifeBike
  2. Outer Space3Ds
  3. George Headless Chickens
  4. DoledrumsThe Chills
  5. Let There Be LoveJPS Experience
  6. Tally HoThe Clean
  7. SuckLove's Ugly Children
  8. Cactus CatLook Blue Go Purple
  9. Gaze – Bike
  10. Randolph's Going HomeShayne Carter and Peter Jefferies
  11. Death and the Maiden The Verlaines
  12. She SpeedsStraitjacket Fits
  13. Grey Parade – JPS Experience

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Nun Records</span> New Zealand independent record label

Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by The Guardian as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringing global attention to the Dunedin sound, a cultural and musical movement in early 1980s Dunedin, which gave rise to modern indie rock.

The Dunedin sound was a musical and cultural movement in Dunedin, Otago, in the early 1980s. It helped found indie rock as a genre. The scene is associated with Flying Nun Records an independent label

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunedin</span> City in Otago, New Zealand

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. The city has a rich Māori, Scottish, and Chinese heritage.

The Verlaines are a New Zealand rock band from Dunedin. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carisbrook</span> Former stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand

Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. In 1922, Carisbrook hosted the very first international football match between Australia and New Zealand. The hosts won 3-1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand humour</span>

New Zealand humour bears some similarities to the body of humour of many other English-speaking countries. There are, however, several regional differences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Bannister (musician)</span> Musical artist

Matthew Bannister is a Scottish-born New Zealand musician, journalist and academic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Clean</span> New Zealand indie rock band

The Clean was a New Zealand indie rock band formed in Dunedin in 1978. They have been described as the most influential band to come from the Flying Nun label, which recorded many artists associated with the "Dunedin sound", and one of the first bands to be described as "indie rock".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Straitjacket Fits</span>

Straitjacket Fits formed in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1986 and were a prominent band in the Flying Nun label's second wave of the Dunedin sound.

Look Blue Go Purple were a New Zealand alternative rock band from Dunedin, active from 1983 to 1987, recognised as part of the "second wave" of the Dunedin sound. Their first official show was at The Broome Valley Festival on 5 March 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Kevin's College, Oamaru</span> Integrated co-educational secondary school in Oamaru, New Zealand

St Kevin's College in Oamaru, New Zealand, is a Catholic, coeducational, integrated, boarding and day, secondary school. It was founded by the Christian Brothers in 1927 for boys and became a co-educational school in 1983 after the Dominican Sisters closed down St Parick's College, Teschemakers, Oamaru. St Kevin's College became a state integrated school in 1983. The Christian Brothers ceased to be on the teaching staff of the college in the late 1990s but remained the school's proprietor, and so appointed representatives to the college board, until 2019 when they transferred the ownership of St Kevin's College to the Bishop of Dunedin.

The Jean-Paul Sartre Experience, later renamed JPS Experience after the estate of Jean-Paul Sartre threatened a lawsuit, were an indie rock band on New Zealand's Flying Nun Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taika Waititi</span> New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian (born 1975)

Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian. He is known for directing quirky comedy films and has expanded his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award, as well as two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.

King's High School is a state single-sex boys' secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the city close to the boundary between the suburbs of South Dunedin, St. Clair and Forbury, next to the parallel single-sex girls' school, Queen's High School. Both schools share several facilities, including the multimillion-dollar Performing Arts Centre which opened in 2006.

Duncan Sarkies is a New Zealand screenwriter, playwright, novelist, stand-up comic and short story writer.

<i>Boy</i> (2010 film) 2010 New Zealand film

Boy is a 2010 New Zealand comedy-drama film, written and directed by Taika Waititi. The film stars James Rolleston, Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu, and Waititi. It is produced by Cliff Curtis, Ainsley Gardiner and Emanuel Michael and financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. In New Zealand, the film eclipsed previous records for a first week's box office takings for local production. Boy went on to become the highest-grossing New Zealand film at the local box office. The soundtrack to Boy features New Zealand artists such as The Phoenix Foundation, who previously provided music for Waititi's film Eagle vs Shark.

Super City is a television comedy series from New Zealand starring Madeleine Sami and directed by Taika Waititi. Season 1 premiered on the TV3 network in 2011. The series was picked up by the American Broadcasting Company in 2012. It opened with a 24 percent share of the 25–54 age bracket, placing it 11th place on TV3's rating table for the week. The second season, directed by Oscar Kightley, premiered on 26 July 2013.

The 2000 Nokia New Zealand Film Awards were held on Saturday 1 July 2000 at the St James Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand. The awards were presented by the New Zealand Academy of Film and Television Arts and sponsored by Nokia New Zealand. This year saw the introduction of the $5000 Nokia New Zealand Film Awards Scholarship.

<i>What We Do in the Shadows</i> 2014 film by Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement

What We Do in the Shadows is a 2014 New Zealand mockumentary horror comedy film written and directed by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi and the first installment in the What We Do in the Shadows franchise. The film also stars Clement and Waititi, along with Jonathan Brugh, Ben Fransham, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Stu Rutherford, and Jackie van Beek. The film's plot concerns several vampires who live together in a flat in Wellington.

References

  1. "Scarfies: The Film That Gave Taika Waititi His Big Break". Critic – Te Arohi. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
  2. Baillie, Russell (31 July 1999). "Scarfies". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  3. Beston, Anne (26 February 2005). "Audiences spooked as film flops". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 7 November 2011.