The Life of Harry Dare

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The Life of Harry Dare
Directed byAleksi Vellis
Written byGerald Thompson
Produced byTerry J. Charitsis
Starring John Moore
Nicholas Hope
CinematographyGeoffrey Hall
Music byDavid Hirschfelder
Production
companies
Release date
1995
Running time
90 min
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish

The Life of Harry Dare is a 1995 Australian film about an aboriginal detective. [1] Directed by Aleksi Vellis it stars John Moore as the titular Harry Dare who is searching for his missing Kombi Van. [2]

Contents

Cast

Production

The Life of Harry Dare was filmed in Adelaide. [3] It was first screened in 1995 in the leadup to that years AFI awards but at the time did not have a set commercial release. [2] In July 1997 it was released into a single theatre [4] before getting a further run in Sydney. [3]

Reception

In the leadup to the 1995 AFI awards the Age's Jim Schembri called it "an exceptionally funny film about an aboriginal man's obsession with a Kombi van." [5] After its 1997 release he gave it 3 stars saying "By skillfully fusing several race-related elements into a light comedy without making light of them, Harry Dare shows that being entertaining does not necessarily mean being vacuous." [6] Robert Drewe of the Sydney Morning Herald says it is "pretty hard to classify. At times it seems like a tough urban drama, at others more a bitter-sweet comedy." [7] David Stratton commenting on The Movie Show gave it 3 stars and says the film "doesn`t in the end make the most of some intriguing ideas, but nevertheless it`s engaging entertainment." [8] Adrian Martin gave it 2 stars finishing "Neither a full-blooded social satire nor a cute Aussie version of Ghost Dad (1990), The Life of Harry Dare dwells in that frustrating middle-ground where so many Australian films go to die." [4]

Awards

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References

  1. Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p101
  2. 1 2 Cook, Margaret (2 October 1995), "Quirky look at a traditionally sensitive issue", The Age
  3. 1 2 Hessey, Ruth (22 August 1997), "Who Dares wins", The Sydney Morning Herald
  4. 1 2 Martin, Adrian (July 1997), "The Life of Harry Dare", Film Critic: Adrian Martin
  5. 1 2 Schembri, Jim (10 November 1995), "Angel Baby thrives amid barren crop", The Age
  6. Schembri, Jim (25 July 1995), "The importance of being Ernest", The Age
  7. Drewe, Robert (21 August 1997), "Who dares doesn't always win", The Sydney Morning Herald
  8. Stratton, David (6 September 1995), "Life of Harry Dare, The", The Movie Show, SBS