horror express , a.k.a pánico en el transiberiano in spain ( panic on the trans-siberian express ) , is a 1972 spanish-british science fiction-horror film produced by bernard gordon and gregorio sacristan , directed by eugenio martín , that stars christopher lee , peter cushing , alberto de mendoza , silvia tortosa and telly savalas .

the screenplay was written by arnaud d'usseau and julian zimet ( credited as julian halevy ) .

horror express

you can get the blu - ray / dvd combo of horror express through amazon .
horror express is a superb horror film that is brimming with entertaining characters . sometimes it goes overboard by providing a bit more backstory than is essential to the film’s plot . but it’s idiosyncrasies like that , which give horror express its character .
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a horror’s who’s - who makes up the cast for horror express , including christopher lee , peter cushing , and yeah , telly savalas . who loves ya , baby ?
if you have somehow overlooked horror express , this is a staple in any horror fans video library . if you don’t already own it , you would be well served to pick yourself up a copy . horror express is a great opportunity to see peter cushing and christopher lee team up .
chaosium ' s horror on the orient express : old vs . new | midwest geek events | united states | geeks a gogo
utilizing the unique setting of a trans - siberian express train , horror express generates a claustrophobic atmosphere , exploited by the skills of director eugenio martin . dark lighting is effectively employed throughout , enhancing the creepiness of the ambiance .
show me a horror classic and i’ll show you a movie with excellent execution , regardless of the originality of the plot line . nothing particularly original happens in horror express , but everything is done so well , from the conception of the beast , to the acting , effects , camera work , and music , that the movie achieves rank as a classic . horror express is an example of how a horror movie should be made – attention modern filmmakers .
a spanish - british co - production , eugenio martin’s horror express compensates for its low budget with unfettered plot twists and an eerie , snowbound period atmosphere .
there are few films that fit the title of ‘cult favourite’ better than eugenio martín’s horror express ( 1972 ) . despite being one of the best spanish horror films of the 1970s , horror express didn’t make much of a splash in the domestic market , but even today cult fans recognise it for what it is : a colourful , fast - paced monster movie filled with oddball characters and equally loopy plot twists .
well - written , gory , and flat out scary , horror express is a true genre classic from the 1970s . if only they still made movies like this one .
there are defining moments in every horror connoisseur’s life , movies which strike a chord or deliver a particularly memorable scare . horror express ( 1972 ) haunted me as a child , and i find as an adult that this cult favorite still brings the chills .
an anthology of four horror stories revolving around a mysterious rental house in the uk .
a fossilised alien comes to life on board the trans - siberian express and wreaks murderous havoc among the helpless passengers . horror , starring peter cushing , christopher lee and telly savalas .
rather than face a blank page , i decided that i’d just record my two cents about horror express on my iphone . listen here or download the file at the internet archive .
we provide reviews and recommendations for horror movies . we like all horror but focus heavily on lesser - known 80s titles as well as foreign , independent , cult and b movies .
horror express is worth a watch , but it’s no night of the living dead . in fact , with so many threads and themes running through the story , it’s difficult to say what it is .
at least as much science fiction as horror , horror express has become a favorite in both genres and deservedly so . it ' s fast - paced , inventive , and wholly entertaining . lee , an explorer and anthropologist , has discovered the frozen body of the evolutionary
missing link
in china and is transporting it on the trans - siberian express , circa 1906 . en route . . . read more
chaosium scooped 2 ennie awards at gen con this year for the new horror on the orient express campaign set - - including a silver award for best production value , and a gold award for best adventure .
great review . horror express has always been one of my all time favorites . the lee / cushing interplay you delved into was a supurb backdrop to the making of the film . well done ! thank you .
thriller on the express : people are trapped with an alien on a train that ' s travelling through russia .
the deadly mantis showed us that the life of a palaeontologist is one of intrigue , romance , and unstoppable monsters . horror express does nothing to dispel this notion , so that presumably means it can only be true .
this barebones , arbitrarily assembled package of hammer horror films is redeemed by the gorgeous aural / visual restorations .
since horror express is in the public domain , you can watch it in many places around the internet . i’m embedding the best hd version that i’ve found on youtube . it’s also available in a nice transfer on fandor .
geeks a gogo stopped by the chaosium booth at gen con last month and got a glimpse of the new edition of their classic horror on the orient express campaign for their ever - popular call of cthulhu roll playing game .
while the spanish produced “horror express” is a film that started out as a guilty pleasure , that spark of enjoyment has since grown into appreciating it as true classic of the early 70s . true horror fans will need little to take a ride on the “horror express” beyond the colorful blu - ray box art and the towering names of christopher lee , peter cushing , and telly savalas . viewers who delve deeper into this hammer studios copycat effort , however , will find a treasure trove of reasons to put this unfortunately obscure film on their list of favorites from the period .
spoiler warning . if you are intending to play an investigator entering the world of the orient express , read no further .
. it ' s been a long , long wait indeed for horror fans , but this one was definitely worth it .
a 1972 movie that starred horror favorites , christopher lee and peter cushing , as well as telly savalas of kojak fame , horror express is a decidedly unusual production . what starts out as a regular movie of the monster kind quickly mutates into a story involving mysterious deaths ; the preserved body of an ancient , bigfoot - like humanoid , a disembodied alien , and finally , zombies .
is a spanish horror production starring peter cushing and christopher lee , meaning it has a lot of elements that should make horror fans geek out . perhaps not surprisingly , all of those elements come together to form a cool little alien / creature feature , and i mean that in every sense of the word . situated on a trans - siberian express in the dead of winter , this is a chilly euro - horror thatís probably given people the wrong impression since it ' s been found on public domain sets for years .
considering how ravenous it is , the answer is obvious , though the characters do come up with an interesting method of dispatch . before that moment comes , though , horror express has a great climax thatís reminiscent of a zombie flick . director eugenio martin didnít dabble in horror a whole lot , but he certainly could have if this is any indication . featuring a nice mix of gore and atmosphere ,
we provide reviews and recommendations for all things horror . we are particularly fond of 80s , foreign , independent , cult and b horror movies . please use the menu on the top left of the screen to view our archives or to learn more about us .
as for pacing , horror express is very effectively executed : all of the exposition is quite natural and is revealed along the way rather than tacked on at an inappropriate time . this aids the film in developing a fast pace that keeps the viewer engaged for the duration .
whether you ' re a veteran that wants to relive the adventure of your youth , or a new comer , who wants to finally get their badge of honor for making it through this adventure to tell the tale - - you should check out the new horror on the orient express .
handled properly , a movie featuring such a wide and varied body of themes might work . unfortunately , horror express is not quite the creature - feature it could have been . that’s not to say it’s awful , but it’s certainly not great either . rather , it languishes in some middle realm of a less than satisfying kind .
so , if you ' re a veteran gamer like me , who struggled to keep his copy in good condition for the past 20 - something years , the 2nd edition of horror on the orient express is a fine investment . the set is sturdier , and of higher quality , but with the same great story you remember .
editing , and text displayed like this , is by mike lay . it is a ( long ) discussion of the
horror on the orient express
campaign and how it might be improved . any comments , criticisms and plaudits should be directed mike lay . if you do use this page , please tell me how it pans out !
ugh , while the author christopher challis might be a texan , rare horror is located in freezing alberta right there along with you , dan . glad you liked the review !
this spanish production is one of the most entertaining and well - plotted horror films of the 1970s , boasts great acting , plenty of gruesome gore and % u2014best yet % u2014telly savalas .
at first glance , horror express seems a fairly typical creature feature , where the filmmakers keep the beastie out of sight as long as possibly , primarily to cover up the subpar makeup and effects work . but , if nothing else , horror express cannot be faulted for playing it safe . come to find out that some disembodied alien energy force has possessed link , taking over what skills and intellect its cro - magnon brainpan allowed it , forcing it to kill in order to avail itself of more evolved capabilities . and we can say “evolution” in mixed company here , since the film rather charmingly includes a scene where lee espouses the virtues of darwin’s theory in typical brusque , stiff - upper - lipped fashion , right before slicing into an eyeball to reveal the images trapped within its viscous fluid . with these shades of un chien andalou , you might suspect a subterranean surrealist agenda at work , burrowing mole - like beneath the silly surfaces of the film , but you’d be sorely mistaken . the best that can be said for horror express is that it doesn’t take itself at all seriously , and it isn’t too proud to steal outright what other films politely borrow .
nowadays , there are really only two things to be concerned about when traveling by train : lateness , and sitting too close to the stubbly guy who smells like urine and crazy . compare that with two movie legends , a homicidal caveman and a bat - poopy insane telly savalas , and you ' ll see that the horror express is a ninety - minute ride not to be missed .
“horror express” is a sadly forgotten video gem that i can’t recommend enough – classic performances by icons lee and cushing , with savalas entertainingly playing himself as always , and a plot that is a clear forerunner to john carpenter’s classic “the thing” , taking the best of its howard hawks precursor while leaving the 50s cheese on the cutting room floor . the english language track is dubbed , but luckily our three main stars did their own voice recordings so it’s barely noticeable . unfortunately , there are no english opening or end titles , but the film doesn’t suffer because of it . “horror express” is not a perfect film , but i’m not ashamed to admit it’s one of the movies that i most often let play on my television as i fall asleep . as bizarre as it might sound , there is great tranquility to be found lying comfortably on my bed while lee and cushing deliver classic dialogue . if you haven’t seen “horror express , ” pick up a copy of the blu - ray by severin and let yourself fall in love with it like i have . you won’t regret it . you might just find yourself putting it on late at night and letting it run as sleep takes hold .
a british / spanish horror film from the year 1972 , starring peter cushing , christopher lee and telly savalas . it is loosely based on the novella who goes there by john w . campbell .
my group consisted of five players , all quite experienced . in general they rated
horror
as one of the best campaigns they had played - not the best , but one of the best . . .
a fossil of an ape man is discovered in the mountains of manchuria by a british expedition . the fossil is taken to trans - siberian express , where the alien creature within it awakens , and starts causing havoc onboard the train .
incidentally , don ' t mistake this page for pointless criticism . i like
horror
- i have run it twice , and i think it is a classy campaign . i would not bother otherwise . . .
is one of the most unusual and memorable outings for frequent screen pair peter cushing and christopher lee , whose friendly antagonism here makes for a memorable team indeed . the very definition of both a great popcorn movie and a
thinking man ' s
horror / sci - fi opus , this gem actually possesses the ability to cross over and appeal far beyond die hard fans of european horror . directed with a skillful and stylish hand by eugenio martin (
despite its low budget , “horror express” is quite atmospheric and impressive from a production standpoint due to it being shot cheaply in spain , with the train comprising the majority of it’s locations . wonderful early 20th century costumes are worthy of note , not to mention the star power of lee , cushing , and savalas . while genre fans are used to seeing cushing / lee pairings , i would argue this picture is their best pairing . allies rather than enemies this time around , watching two brilliant horror icons play off each other in this manner is a rare treat . fans will know of course that off - screen , lee and cushing were the best of friends , one of the reasons why they worked together so often . what is less well known is that “horror express” is the first film that cushing made after the death of his beloved wife , and as such , he almost backed out of the production last minute , but was convinced to go through with it by his great friend lee . watching with this in mind , there are some genuinely touching moments between the two , where lee’s support for his friend comes through in what was the most difficult time of his life .
in 1906 , on a train racing through siberia , christopher lee and peter cushing are engulfed in nightmare when a frozen missing link comes to life . also known as
pánico en el transiberiano
/
panic on the trans - siberian express
horror express has a lot working in its favor . but one thing that always disturbs me is that in the scenes where the audience can see out the window it is obvious that the train is in a stationary position . while it’s typical to shoot on a soundstage , rather than a moving train , it still would have been nice to see obvious errors like that corrected . the fact that the train isn’t moving is so blatantly obvious that it proves a bit of a distraction .
i absolutely love this film . saw it as a kid on tv and it freaked me out that first time , but i had to see it again . i distinctly recall the channel that showed it would run it on a semi - regular basis to the point where there was some sporting event rained out and during the delay , horror express popped up like a crazy babysittin’ relative . thanks for making me grin like a clown who’s found a discount on slightly used rubber chickens !
the orient express is not a regular coc campaign , it relies heavily on the weird european feel to make it different from other campaigns . it is also too linear and has too few red herrings . nothing that cannot be fixed , however . . .
horror express is a classic 1970s creature feature . it pits christopher lee and peter cushing against an evil entity of unknown origins . the duo balances one another out quite nicely . it’s always a pleasure to see them teamed up and this is no exception . there’s plenty of witty dialogue to be found in the film’s 90 - minute runtime . for example : when the train inspector suggests that lee or cushing might be the monster , cushing’s character responds by saying , “monster ? we are british , you know ? ”
is a delightful afternoon horror movie . certainly , the bleeding eye imagery is memorable , the cold atmosphere palpable and the entire effort moves along at a clip pace . sure the plot is convoluted as hell - but this is a ride you never mind taking .
this is a great film , brilliant review as well . watched this recently , still one of my fave horror films . peter cushing , christopher lee , and telly savalas are great in this . great period setting , make up effects , and costumes as well .
an english anthropologist has discovered a frozen monster in the frozen wastes of manchuria which he believes may be the missing link . he brings the creature back to europe aboard a trans - siberian express , but during the trip the monster thaws out and starts to butcher the passengers one by one .
horror express opens in full - on action mode with a helicopter - mounted aerial shot tracking a sled - dog team across the barren tundra of remotest siberia . inside a soundstage - y ice cave , anthropologist alexander saxton ( lee ) discovers a figure frozen into place since the last ice age , a half - simian humanoid he takes to be something like the missing link . now all he has to do is figure out a way to smuggle it out of imperial russia and whisk it back to the v & a in tea - cozy london . crating the critter up and sneaking it on board the trans - siberian express turns out to be just what the doctor ordered , as long as that doctor isn’t dr . wells ( cushing ) , saxton’s chief rival and fellow at the royal society , who catches on quick to saxton’s scheme and insists on “accompanying” him on his trip .
for new gamers , you ' ve finally got a chance to earn your orient express merit badge by playing through this classic adventure . this boxed set used to be hard to come by before the release of 2nd edition , but now is the time to delve into this ancient artifact of the gaming world .
an english anthropologist has discovered a frozen monster in the frozen wastes of manchuria which he believes may be the missing link . he brings the creature back to europe aboard a trans - siberian express , but during the trip the monster thaws out and starts to butcher the passengers one by one . written by jonathon dabell
shortly after the turn of the 20 th century , a scientist ( christopher lee ) stumbles upon the fossilized remains of what he thinks may be the missing evolutionary link . he plans to transport his find by train but once onboard the fossil appears to come to life . it escapes from captivity and begins killing passengers . when it does so , it wipes the memories of its victims . now , it’s up to the scientist and a doctor he met on board ( peter cushing ) to unravel the mystery behind the creature’s origins . together , they attempt to save the lives of everyone aboard the horror express .
an archeologist packs a frozen caveman head into a crate to ship it from china to europe , but it comes to life and starts killing passengers on the trans - siberian express . with christopher lee , peter cushing , and telly savalas . this hammer - style mix of old world elegance and goofy - assed pseudoscience makes for a tolerable ride .
that’s when a platoon of the military becomes involved ; led by savalas’ crazed captain kazan , they board the express and prove to be just about as deadly as the body - jumping extraterrestrial . the creature’s ethereal form first secretly takes over father pujardov and , after he is shot and killed , enslaves the mind of a police officer , inspector mirov .
set in the 1920 ' s , horror on the orient express is an epic adventure that takes players across the european continent , encountering mysery and danger along the way . it ' s a legendary adventure among gamers , it ' s known for taking weeks or months of time to complete - - and every player agrees that it ' s worth it in the end . the original adventure was published in 1991 , and came in a boxed set that contained maps , game pieces , a poster , several books , and player handouts . the new edition contains the same intricate adventure , and even adds some new things , such as a prequel adventure set in the gaslight era ( 1890 ' s ) , and a modern - day sequel adventure .
the result ? a fun , hybrid horror / science fiction flick . . . directed with flair by eugenio martin and with a script by arnaud d ' usseau and julian halevy that is so outrageous , you can ' t help but be entertained . with those two classy stars on board , along with telly savalas camping it up . . . who cares ?
tyler doupe ' is the managing editor at wicked horror . he has previously penned for fangoria mag , rue morgue mag , fearnet , fandango , contv , ranker , shock till you drop , chillertv , comingsoon , and more . he lives with his partner , his dog , and cat hat . follow him on twitter @ funwithhorror and connect with him on facebook .
christopher challis is an army veteran of seven years who is a recipient of the bronze star medal , as well as the combat action badge , and has served in operation iraqi freedom in iraq and operation enduring freedom in afghanistan . prior to his military service , christopher owned the largest independently owned video rental and sales store in western pennsylvania that specialized in rare horror and science fiction films . in addition , he is a collector and expert in the field of horror and sci - fi pop culture collectibles to include autographs , posters , action figures , and much more . christopher currently resides in texas with his wife and daughter , where they wish the temperature would occasionally drop below the boiling point in the summer . you can follow christopher at @ thechrischallis on twitter .
excited by the nature of the groundbreaking find , saxton wastes no time in securing the utterly frozen monster and loading it aboard a train – the trans - siberian express , which travels from moscow to vladivostok . unfortunately , for those aboard the train , the monster doesn’t remain dormant for long . in quick fashion , the beast escapes from the confines of its crate , and the train is tormented by a series of mysterious murders .
horror
is one of the largest campaigns produced by chaosium for their
call of cthulhu
game . it is based around the famed
orient express
railway service that transports passengers from paris to constantinople in opulence and avoids minor details like having to deal with border guards . given the nature of the background , it comes as no surprise that the plot is in places quite
rail roaded
( grin ! ) . this can be a benefit - the keeper knows where his players are going next , and this reduces the amount of preparation required for a session . the downside to this is that , without some forethought , the players can completely derail the story by refusing to toe the line and use the train . hopefully , between us , peter and i will help keepers survive the actions of their players . . . . .
however , what makes the film so charming is cushing and lee’s heartfelt chemistry . in this case , they both play good guys—rival paleontologists who reluctantly join forces to battle an ancient evil . the film even throws in the occasional cheeky nod to the actors’ hammer horror legacy . for instance , when a fellow passenger insinuates that cushing might actually be the film’s demonic creature , he’s utterly scandalized : “monsters ? we’re british , you know ! ”
and production was already in progress when cushing arrived in spain to tell bernard gordon that he felt unable to commit to the project as he was still in deep mourning for his wife who had recently died . however , christopher lee , a close friend of cushing , assured the producer and director that he would handle the situation and obviously coaxed his fellow co - star into making the movie to everyone ' s relief . the teaming of the two iconic hammer horror actors gives
bearing in mind that horror express remains in the public domain , as well as severin ' s claims to have gone back to original 35mm negatives for their remaster , it has to be said that the blu - ray presentation is a very mixed bag . on the one hand , the film looks as good as it probably ever will . on the other , the quality ranges from decent to shabby . artifacts aplenty , flickering , color variability , scratches , and shimmer all play a predominant role , as does a bounteous assortment of compression issues . clarity , though , is fairly well defined , and color density is adequately presented . for sound , you ' ve got a choice between spanish dolby digital stereo ( without the option for subtitles , alas ) and english dolby digital mono , which effectually isn ' t a choice at all , unless you happen to speak spanish fluently . on the english - language track , hiss and high - end squawk abounds , though dialogue is usually clear enough , even with voices that were obviously dubbed .
big bad ensemble : the alien creature is the dominant threat and the reason for the
horror
part of the title , but the cossack officer captain kazan does manage to become something more than a mere asshole victim to the creature by menacing the passengers and expressing his desire for a scapegoat by good ol ' cold - blooded torture . though he and his men do pull an enemy mine with the two main characters and the other passengers once they find out who the creature is , not that it helps much . . .
opens in a remote , snow - covered region of manchuria , where professor alexander saxton ( christopher lee ) , discovers the frozen corpse of an ape - like creature which could be an important anthropological find . attempting to smuggle the humanoid specimen out of russia and back to london on the trans - siberian express , saxton encounters resistance to his plan when his scientific rival , dr . wells ( peter cushing ) , boards the train and tries to view his top secret cargo . once the prehistoric carcass thaws , however , it proves to be very much alive and capable of sucking brains dry through its deadly stare , accumulating the sum intelligence of its victims . soon the creature escapes its crate through wells ' meddling and begins to systemically work its way through the car claiming new bodies as saxton and wells join forces with the other survivors to stop it .
this horror science - fiction thriller , a cult favorite , takes place in 1907 . professor caxton ( christopher lee ) , a fossil - hunter has discovered some sort of pre - human creature frozen in ancient manchurian ice . he is traveling to london with his find on the trans - siberian railway and is horrified to discover that his frozen man is missing , and corpses and zombies are appearing all over the train . it turns out that the frozen specimen is an alien with some unusual powers . the combined forces of professor caxton , his rival dr . wells ( peter cushing ) , and a cossack captain ( telly savalas ) are needed to save the world from this monstrous being . skillfully told , with a good dose of humor , this film also features the train which appeared a year before in nicholas and alexandra .
archeologist sir alexander saxon ( a mustached christopher lee ) makes an ancient frozen discovery high in the himalayas . while attempting to freight his specimen across the continent and back to britain , lee encounters rival scientist dr . wells ( the great peter cushing ) . before long , mayhem and murder ensues on the train and somehow lee’s ancient discovery is culprit . what follows is a cross between “murder on the orient express” and “the thing from another world” with a dash of “kojak” mixed in for good measure . i only mention the later because the legendary telly savalas shows up briefly as a russian police captain to collect his paycheck for about 15 minutes of screen time . the mystery continues to unfold , the body count rises , and the train races on while cushing and lee put their professional rivalry aside to try and stop the creature . along the way they encounter a variety of colorful characters , including a rasputin - like monk , a polish countess , and a police inspector . once the unfrozen creature’s motives become clear , only one question remains : can it be stopped before the runaway train reaches civilization ?
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
movies and tv shows are certified fresh with a steady tomatometer of 75 % or higher after a set amount of reviews ( 80 for wide - release movies , 40 for limited - release movies , 20 for tv shows ) , including 5 reviews from top critics .
it helps to have christopher lee and peter cushing along for the ride as rival anthropologists .
the flick is delightful , spooky , and sleazy fun and should not be missed by anyone . do not hesitate a second .
entertaining parade of classic character actors like telly savalas , christopher lee and peter cushing battling an alien creature reminiscent of who goes there ? / the thing ' s main antagonist , but on board a transsiberian , a setting which i love , even though the plot isn´t much of a novelty .
this was a lot of fun . some cheeseball moments and weighty exposition , but overall enjoyable !
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in 1906 , in china , a british anthropologist discovers a frozen prehistoric creature and must transport it to europe by train .
jermaine fowler and omari hardwick of sorry to bother you take us back in time to the worst jobs of their careers .
want to share imdb ' s rating on your own site ? use the html below .
a victorian - age scientist returns to london with his paleontological bag - of - bones discovery from papua new guinea . unfortunately , when exposed to water , flesh returns to the bones . . . see full summary »
aboard a british train , mysterious fortune teller dr . schreck uses tarot cards to read the futures of five fellow passengers .
a collector comes into possession of the skull of the marquis de sade and learns it is possessed by an evil spirit .
when a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate , detective sherlock holmes is hired to investigate .
victor frankenstein builds a creature and brings it to life , but it behaves not as he intended .
in the early 20th century , a gorgon takes human form and terrorizes a small european village by turning its citizens to stone .
baron frankenstein escapes from the guillotine and goes to germany . there , he names himself dr . stein and plans to restart his experiments by using parts of dead bodies .
in order to secure a job at a mental institution , a young psychiatrist must interview four patients inside the asylum .
christopher lee stars in the amicus production of
dr . jekyll & mr . hyde
where the names have been changed to dr . marlowe and mr . blake . lee as dr . marlowe experiments with intravenous . . . see full summary »
vampire hunter van helsing returns to transylvania to destroy handsome bloodsucker baron meinster , who has designs on beautiful young schoolteacher marianne .
during the production there was only one set available for the interior of the train cars . all of the scenes for each train car had to be shot at once and then the set would have to be reconstructed for the next train car .
after the guards check the room with two sleeping children , we see a door open in the compartment and in the background we can see the quivering eyes of the kids pretending to sleep .
: that box of bones , madame , could have solved many of the riddles of science . if the theory of evolution is confirmed , if the science of biology is revolutionized , if the very origin of man is determined . . .
: i have heard of evolution . it ' s . . . it ' s immoral !
: it ' s a fact . and there ' s no morality in a fact .
an intriguing idea of a
spirit
of pure evil with the ability to jump from body to body aboard a trans - siberian train . well done considering budget constraints , and claustrophobic . lee and cushing are fine , but it ' s telly savales who chews the scenery to good effect . he is an unexpected treat as a bullying cossack officer and good counterpoint to lee and cushing as civilized gentlemen . don ' t expect a slick hollywood production and you won ' t be disappointed . i watched this on late night tv spookfests everytime it was on during the late 70s and saw something new each time . it ' s something like a cross between hammer and argento , and a little bit of corman , too .
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the enterprise didn ' t start out on a happy note . cushing ' s devoted wife helen had died of emphysema in january of 1971 . even as he arrived in spain to begin work on this film , cushing was reluctant to take on the role .
that lee , cushing and producer bernard gordon got together the night before the first day of shooting .
lee immediately began a verbal filibuster of anecdotes designed to place cushing at ease and not give him a chance to mention his intended desertion .
at the close of his monologue , lee said his good night , adding simply , ' okay peter , see you at work tomorrow . ' cushing was over the crisis without ever having said a word .
the following report to the royal geological society by the undersigned , alexander saxton , is a true and faithful account of events that befell the society ' s expedition in manchuria .
as the leader of the expedition , i must accept responsibility for its ending in disaster . but i will leave to the judgement of the honorable members , the decision as to where the blame for the catastrophe lies .
china , 1906 . professor saxton ( christopher lee ) and his men come across the fossilized remains of an ancient man , frozen in a cave . it ' s a wonderful discovery and they immediately put the find in a wooden box , secured with a chain and padlock .
at a train station in peking , the professor tries to board one of the trains headed for russia but his reservation is nowhere to be found . while trying to get a ticket , he is surprised to see an old rival , dr . wells ( peter cushing ) and his assistant miss jones ( alice reinheart ) . they specialize in the study of bacteriology and have been collecting specimens in the far east .
dr . wells needs two private compartments for the trip to moscow , along with space for three crates with animals . although the train is booked up , he bribes the conductor . . . much to professor saxton ' s consternation .
meanwhile , a chinese thief on the platform has unlocked the key to the crate protecting saxton ' s discovery . a worker later discovers the man ' s corpse next to the crate and covered by a cloth , with only the whites of his eyes visible .
back at the ticket office , dr . wells ' bribe enrages professor saxton and he knocks everything off the ticket agent ' s desk . it ' s all for naught because an officer shows up and tells saxton that he has been given orders to find the professor and make himself useful . with this , the professor is immediately given a ticket and is treated cordially .
as saxton is about to board the train , he finds a bearded rasputin - like monk named pjardov ( angel del pozo ) praying over the body of the dead thief .
whatever you have here is unholy and must be destroyed ,
the monk says . . . pointing to the crate .
the white eyes of the corpse shock everyone and inspector mirov ( alberto de mendoza ) asks the professor what is in the box .
fossils
is the answer he receives . the inspector is suspicious and wonders if there is anything valuable , such as gold , that the professor is trying to transport out of china .
per saxton ' s orders , several officers lift the crate onto the train . but not before pjardov has drawn a cross on the sidewalk with a piece of chalk . he tries to do the same on the side of the box but it mysteriously is not visible .
while in the storage car of the train , the professor hears a strange roar come from inside the crate . he opens it but there doesn ' t appear to be anything usual . dr . wells is curious .
he inquires ,
what are you going to astound the scientific world with this time
? saxton tells him he ' ll read about it in the society ' s annual report . dr . wells can ' t believe it ' s just a fossil because he too heard something live in the crate .
countess irina petrovski ( silvia tortosa ) of poland , enters the storage area and asks the baggage man to store her valuable in the safe . her dog is agitated by the professor ' s
fossil
but saxton tells her not to worry . he seems taken by her beauty but doesn ' t let her get near the crate .
on the way to his cabin , professor saxton finds a chess piece belonging to a passenger who is an engineer . he gives it to him but the engineer has a question . he wants to know why pjardov ' s chalk didn ' t write on the side of the crate .
hypnosis , yoga . . . these mystics can be very convincing ,
saxton tells him . meanwhile , dr . wells is up to his old tricks . he bribes the baggage handler and asks him to take a peek inside the crate to find out what is in it .
a beautiful , secretive woman named natasha ( helga line ) pays a visit to dr . wells ' cabin and is obviously upset . saxton appears and the doctor and he soon realize they are to share the same cabin . natasha doesn ' t have a ticket and makes it clear she wants to travel with them as well .
that evening , the baggage handler rigs a panel off the crate to take a look . he catches a glimpse of the fossilized being and temporarily leaves the storage room . suddenly , the creature sticks its arm out of an opening and picks the padlock open .
the worker returns with a light and he tries to keep the creature from escaping . however , when his eyes lock with whatever is inside the box , the man ' s eyes begin to turn white and bleed .
pjardov continues to warn people but he comes across as a lunatic . in the luxurious cabin occupied by count maryan petrovski ( georges rigaud ) and his wife , the monk notices the little dog is still upset . as the countess plays the piano , the three of them take note of an eerie melody wafting through the train .
inspector mirov finds the crate with some screws missing . that ' s not the only thing missing . . . the baggage man is nowhere to be found .
he summons both dr . wells and professor saxton to the storage area , where the doctor confesses that he was curious and that he asked the missing man to take a look at the mysterious archeological discovery .
with strange things occurring , the inspector asks saxton to open the crate . in defiance , the professor throws the key out the window . mirov is angry and he orders konev ( jose jaspe ) , one of his officers , to break the chain and padlock with an ax .
the baggage man ' s body is inside .
what was in there ?
asks a shaken dr . wells . again , the professor says it was a fossil . but this time he ' s more specific .
something ancient , something part ape , part man . dr . wells is beside himself .
are you telling me that an ape that lived 2 million years ago . . . got out of that crate , killed the baggage man and put him in there . . . then locked everything up neat and tidy and got away ?
the answer is obvious . the inspector gives orders to find the creature and destroy it . of course , he wants it kept quiet . no one wants the passengers to panic , after all .
the search begins . several officers make the rounds of the compartments . one of them stumbles upon the creature and is killed . the other finds his body and the door in one of the cars open . it appears the creature has fled the moving train and jumped out into the snowy terrain .
dr . wells dines with natasha and tries to take his mind off the fact that there is an ancient , intelligent being loose on board . the engineer , who recognizes natasha from having met her at the governor ' s palace , joins them .
she denies ever having seen him . dinner is served and the doctor is taken aback by the sight of a boiled fish . its eyes are completely white .
the inspector enters the dining room and tells dr . wells that one of his officers is dead and he would like his help with the autopsy . with the aid of miss jones , they cut open the top of the corpse ' s head with a scalpel and hacksaw .
there is something odd about the man ' s brain . it ' s been drained and the memory has been removed . after the autopsy has been completed and they have left the room , the creature re - enters the train .
professor saxton is having dinner by himself in his cabin . the countess stops by and asks about his missing
box of bones .
that box of bones could have solved many of the riddles of science ,
he tells her . this riddle pertains to the evolution of man , a concept she finds immoral .
) .
probably ,
he says . he also admits to not caring very much about the lives of the murdered men .
natasha sneaks off to the storage car and opens the safe . after removing the valuable belonging to the countess , she is pounced upon by the creature and strangled . the creature then picks up the jewelry and appears to examine it .
dr . wells tries to find natasha and when he opens the door to the storage car , the beast yanks at his arm . wells breaks free and the inspector arrives just in time to shoot the ancient man . but not before he ' s gazed into the fiery red eye of his target and is nearly killed himself .
professor saxton checks in on inspector mirov and asks about natasha . the engineer finally recalled that she was an international spy . saxton says that he and wells performed an autopsy on her . . . and her brain was completely smooth and erased of all memory , like the other victim .
the professor tells him his theory about the creature stealing memories from its victims . in short , it absorbed their brains through their eyes . hence , this explains how the creature was able to pick the lock in the first place after killing the thief at the station . . . and its odd interest in the countess ' s valuable after strangling natasha .
inspector mirov questions the count and countess . count petrovski reveals that he has invented a steel that is
harder than a diamond .
that is what natasha was looking for and what spies from several countries are after .
the formula , he says , is safe in his head . the countess asks about natasha and is told that both she and the creature are dead .
the beast is not dead ,
pjardov tells them .
satan lives . . . the unholy one is among us ,
he adds . he begins a prayer and almost on cue , a candle goes out and a drawing of jesus falls to the ground .
saxton ( with the help of dr . wells and miss jones ) removes an eyeball from the creature . they extract liquid from it and under a microscope , they see an image of the last thing it saw . . . the inspector ! somehow , it retained the visual in its eye . there are other images too - including several of ancient dinosaurs . . . and earth as seen from space !
the countess and pjardov join them and they are assured that the danger is over . but pjardov isn ' t buying it . when the lights temporarily go out , he steals the creature ' s eyeball and takes off .
miss jones enters the baggage car to try and find him . what she sees instead is inspector mirov . after revealing to him that the countess , saxton and wells are the other people besides herself who have seen the creature ' s images , miss jones realizes that mirov has started to evolve into a creature himself .


goldstone is a 2016 australian crime thriller film written and directed by ivan sen. it is a sequel to mystery road and stars aaron pedersen , alex russell , jacki weaver , david wenham and david gulpilil in his final film role .

goldstone ( film )

goldstone is thrilling . goldstone is moving . goldstone is unforgettable . ivan sen and aaron pedersen’s jay swan are the indigenous cinematic heroes we deserve .
a full house greeted the vision splendid film festival organisers on opening night , when goldstone was premiered .
goldstone movie review : the battleground for australia ' s soul | daily review : film , stage and music reviews , interviews and more .
alex russell as the straight - as - a - die cop in goldstone .
‘a gorgeous film to watch , but a better one to think about’ : aaron pedersen and alex russell in ivan sen’s goldstone . photograph : transmission films
an improvement on the first film in a number of ways and the first film was a nice bit of work in itself , but this one moves along better and is generally a tighter film all around .
although it has a sporting theme , the heath davis - directed movie was more about what happens to sports stars when the cheering ends and was voted best film at the kiwi international film festival and las vegas independent film festival .
indigenous detective jay swan arrives in the frontier mining town of “goldstone” on a missing persons enquiry .
greg dolgopolov quizzes renowned australian film maker ivan sen at breakfast with the stars .
in 2011 ivan completed his feature toomelah , which was selected for the cannes international film festival 2011 – un certain regard . the world premiere of the film at cannes received a standing ovation . the film won the grand prix at the pacific meridian film festival 2011 and the unesco prize at the asia pacific screen awards 2011 .
goldstone is a bunya productions film in association with screen queensland and screen australia . it will be distributed in australia and new zealand by transmission films , with international sales by arclight films .
throughout the late 1990s ivan sen worked on numerous short films , before making his feature film debut with beneath clouds in 2002 . it won ivan global acclaim , screening at the 2003 sundance film festival and winning the premiere first movie award at the 2002 berlin film festival and the 2002 best director award at the australian film institute awards .
in 2008 ivan commenced production on his experimental second feature dreamland . it screened in competition at the 2010 busan film festival in south korea and in the brisbane and melbourne film festivals .
it’s a gorgeous film to watch , but a better and bigger one to think about . the key to unlocking this hugely ambitious genre hybrid – a classic australian film and a masterpiece of outback noir – is understanding that goldstone is a country , not a town , and its name is australia .
the open - air royal theatre , nearly unique in australian movie folklore , was packed out on friday when the latest film to be shot around winton , goldstone , was screened for the festival’s opening night .
qut bachelor of entertainment students nicole pinto and rhiannon cooper worked as interns at the film festival .
ivan sen ' s goldstone has many similarities with his earlier film , mystery road , including crime , racism and long - range shootouts . but the strongest theme of all - - in both films - - is hopelessness .
i was originally annoyed with how obvious the script is . i was won over . i loved how goldstone somehow , or purposely , might be the a near complete australian film . those birds eye view shots ! ! !
the film was shot under challenging conditions in the outback western queensland settlement of middleton , population three .
aaron pedersen ( left ) and david gulpilil in outback thriller goldstone , ivan sen ' s follow - up to mystery road .
vision splendid festival artistic director greg dolgopolov and longreach ' s nicole bond share their thoughts on goldstone after the opening night screening .
the commodity of truth is the intangible element pursued throughout - as bullets fly , dollars exchange hands and expectations are realised . the personal resolutions are the most effective and sen uses aerial shots to offer different perspectives - as well as to accentuate the isolation and vast nature of the setting . the best thing about the film is the mood , which resonates throughout ; sen ' s stamp is firmly all over the film , as director , screenwriter , editor , cinematographer and composer . goldstone was the opening night film at the 2016 sydney film festival .
image as method : ethnography – photography – film – sensation – perception
is a two - day symposia presented by the society of fellows in the humanities . the symposia is organized by fellow brian goldstone , lecturer in anthropology .
ivan sen directed mystery road and goldstone at winton and was made a member of winton ' s walk of fame during the festival .
it ' s like this film was written with a checklist of film noir narrative - wise , but everything is so heavy - handed and half baked . there was no mystery , every turn had been explained before it…
the sun is hot , the motives are cold and the film is blazingly noir as indigenous detective jay swan ( aaron pedersen ) returns for another investigation of outback moral rot in multi - hyphenate helmer ivan sen’s socially conscious , supremely accomplished procedural thriller “goldstone . ” a standalone sequel to his breakthrough “mystery road” ( which opened the sydney film festival [ … ]
keeping bar patrons happy at the vision splendid film festival opening night after party were keisha peachey and kate moran .
later this week audiences will be able to view outback horror film red billabong before its national screening in august .
in the magnificent , big - thinking goldstone , which played opening night at this year’s sydney film festival , writer / director ivan sen combines two genres we never really had , to make one film no australian should miss . it is a “spiritual sequel” to 2013’s mystery road , meaning the protagonist is the same but it works perfectly fine as a stand - alone story .
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happy winton faces at the film festival opening night were lorraine entriken , paul nelson , sash whitehead and lyn fraser .
in 2015 ivan directed his latest feature goldstone starring aaron pedersen , alex russell , jacki weaver , david gulpilil , cheng pei pei and david wenham .
indigenous detective jay swan arrives in the frontier town of goldstone on a missing persons inquiry . what seems like a simple light duty investigation opens a web of crime and corruption . jay must pull his life together and bury his differences with young local cop josh , so together they can bring justice to goldstone .
main roads minister mark bailey , pictured with staff kate griffiths and anna jabour , represented premier annastacia palaszczuk at the film festival .
this list collects every film from the starting list that became they shoot pictures don ' t they ' s 1000 greatest films . this…
sen writes , directs , edits , photographs and scores his films , imbuing the tech package with a vision at once accessible and tangibly personal . adding to the symbiotic nature of the package is the return of the principal production crew from the first film . “goldstone” is nothing if not a focused , unified piece .
as tough and grizzled as a young humphrey bogart , aaron pedersen excels in the role of swan , adding the right dash of devil - may - care insouciance to the part , while sen surrounds him with a wild assortment of baddies to flesh out his film , turning goldstone into a piece of intelligent and provocative entertainment .
beautiful and engrossing , goldstone is classic noir set against the dusty backdrop of the australian outback . a selection at the 2017 seattle international film festival ( siff ) , the thriller features a strong cast of characters and intense bursts of violence , even if its plot is ultimately less sophisticated than you’d hope . full movie review »
synopsis : indigenous detective jay swan ( aaron pedersen ) arrives in the frontier town of goldstone on a missing persons enquiry . what seems like a simple light duties investigation opens a web of crime and corruption . jay must pull his life together and bury his differences with young local cop josh ( alex russell ) , so together they can bring justice to goldstone .
goldstone is an australian outback western noir . it ' s the sequel to mystery road . and , once again , another adventure in the life of jay , played by aaron pedersen .
the scales eventually fall from the young cop’s eyes , and he joins forces with swan in a shootout that , like so much in goldstone , mimics a similar moment in mystery road . the white sidekick here is a more central character than hugo weaving was in the first film , but this time he’s not the one doing the saving . josh’s awakening is triggered by may ( michelle lim davidson ) , a chinese girl whose ambiguous relationship to the young cop makes for some of the film’s most delicate passages .
reviewed at sony pictures theatrette , sydney , australia , may 17 , 2016 . ( in sydney film festival — opener . ) running time : 109 min .
ivan has subsequently written and produced a number of award winning documentaries . his documentary yellow fella screened in un certain regard at the cannes film festival in 2005 .
indigenous detective jay swan arrives in the frontier town of goldstone on a missing persons inquiry . what seems like a simple light duty investigation opens a web of crime and corruption . . . . see full summary »
inema itself began with the western : 1903’s the great train robbery , which most scholars believe to be the first film to tell a fictitious story . but although australia has no shortage of rugged outdoors people and harsh picturesque terrain , australian cinema never had an equivalent style of film - making . the closest we’ve come is western - ish productions such as
saw the movie today and was totally impressed with the acting and the scenery . i would like to know the name of the gorge in the film . great australian movie .
keep your comments focused on the film . don ' t post randomness / off - topic comments . jokes are fine , but don ' t post tactless / inappropriate ones .
this film is not good . in fact , it ' s really , really bad . i ' ve read various glowing reviews of it and i simply cannot fathom it .
he’s in even worse shape in goldstone , sullenly monosyllabic and heavily off the wagon . the first time we meet him , he’s getting pulled over and thrown in the tank by josh ( chronicle ’s alex russell ) , the only policeman in goldstone , an outback town that consists of the local mine , the pub , the police station , the mayor’s office and the local aboriginal community , none less than a drive away from each other .
mr bailey said winton , which has taken on the nickname of hollywood of the outback , was now an important part of the film world , something it should be proud of .
what elevates goldstone above its genre roots is sen ' s assured direction and his uncanny ability to set the right tone , strike the right notes , and not just have fun with his material but also deal with key issues .
it is again directed by ivan sen , and produced by david jowsey and greer simpkin , through bunya productions . the production will return to winton in queensland state and see the construction of a goldstone town in middleton , queensland .
it ' s an effective , engaging film , avoiding the expected resolutions for a more authentic result , while engaging us in the issues of how we live together in this old land .
all the way from boulia to enjoy the film festival were bec britton and her boys , jake , zack , beau and jase , catching up with festival public relations consultant krista hauritz .
loved the camera work and overall feel of the film . i thought the jacki weaver and david wenham characters were a bit comic book shallow . best acting award goes to the queensland outback .
goldstone belongs to a suite of australian films that contemplate land ownership in memorable ways , from 1932’s on our selection to 1950’s bitter springs and even 1997’s the castle . but it has more weight than any of them , because the film’s spiritual roots hark back to the traditional owners of the land . in a small but moving role david gulpilil plays a man who cannot be bought ; his soul is connected to the ground and the sky .
in 2013 ivan completed mystery road starring aaron pedersen , hugo weaving , ryan kwanten , tasma walton and jack thompson . mystery road had its international premiere with a “special presentation”at the 2013 toronto film festival .
the film opens with a shot of the wide , expansive outback , a thin road runs through jagged , rocky , dry land , the red dust painting the yellow and brown dirt , but it just looks dull . everything looks dull , random drone - shots inexplicably punctuate the film for about three seconds , any shot that could have some impact it robbed by the editing which feels frenetic and messy .
indigenous detective jay swan arrives in the frontier mining town of “goldstone” on a missing persons enquiry . what seems like a simple “light duties” investigation soon opens into a web of crime and corruption implicating the local mayor , mining boss and aboriginal land council .
goldstone is a sequel to mystery road , and one of the reasons why i even watched mystery road in a first place . i mean , i was planing to watch mystery road , eventually . but i really liked the trailer for goldstone and wanted to watch it soon then later , and since it was a sequel to mystery road , i naturally watched that one first . although , with the exception of the main character and similar tone , these two movies are not really connected in any other way . well . . . same as mystery road , goldstone is another atmospheric and dirty australian noir - western thriller about the people from dry and desolate australian outback , place where the time has stopped . this time , indigenous detective jay swan arrives…
as well as being able to watch goldstone , starring aaron pedersen as indigenous detective jay swan , which was largely filmed around the tiny town of middleton , west of winton , audiences were treated to the gladstone - filmed rugby league movie , broke .
movies highlighting corrupt mining practices and rugby league players tossed on the scrap heap – both talking points in australian society today – played to rapturous audiences at the third annual vision splendid film festival at winton on the weekend .
there were plenty of people on hand to celebrate the opening night of the vision splendid film festival , including vivienne johnson , trevor love , festival director mark melrose , member for mount isa rob katter and daisy hatfield .
local mp rob katter was also present on the opening night , saying winton’s welcoming ways were a large part of the reason the film industry was attracted to the region and contributing to the success of the fledgling festival .
faults and all , goldstone dramatises some unpalatable themes with power and clarity , and seems likely to be remembered as one of the key australian films of its era . perhaps swan ' s next adventure should take the form of a tv miniseries along the lines of jane campion ' s top of the lake ( which goldstone resembles in some respects , and not just because both co - star wenham ) . this would allow sen to use an ensemble cast to its full potential and explore his themes in a more detailed , less diagrammatic way .
ivan sen’s 2013 feature mystery road introduced jay swan , an aboriginal detective investigating the murder of an aboriginal girl found with her throat slit on the side of a highway . returning to his hometown after a stint in the city , swan was side - eyed by the locals and patronized by his white colleagues , but still managed to clean house . the director returns to that time - honored set - up in goldstone , opening this year’s sydney film festival , though his hero is barely recognizable .
by the end of the weekend , attendance numbers at winton’s vision splendid third annual film festival were 35 per cent up on last year’s figures , confirming for organisers and backers that they were building a well - recognised brand .
in the series to date there are constant references to wild dogs on the fringes of the town in mystery road and goldstone . where the dogs added another layer to the enigma of mystery road , it feels as if pedersen’s jay has become the embodiment of that wild dog .
pedersen’s swan is impossibly good . it’s almost hard to even reconcile how we are looking at the same character from mystery road because he is so different in the opening stanzas of the film . once you get a sense of what has happened between mystery road and goldstone you begin to fathom his actions as misguided coping mechanisms . it’s a sensation , it’s heartbreaking , it’s subtle , it’s engrossing . you’re hanging on every gesture , on every word , on every movement , and sen’s lens is a sponge .
indeed , goldstone the town makes dungatar , in last year ' s the dressmaker , look like an attractive holiday destination . it ' s hardly a town at all , just a collection of demountables and shacks , filmed by sen in wide shots that emphasise their isolation in the landscape .
two - time oscar nominated actress jacki weaver has joined the cast of “ goldstone , ” an australian outback thriller that shoots later this month . the picture is a follow up to 2013 picture “mystery road , ” that opened the sydney festival and played at the toronto festival the same year .
ivan sen’s goldstone is impossible to shake . from the first minute , the amazing , blaring score ( composed by sen – damned impressive overachiever that he is ) comes at you with images layered across the screen from the 1800s australian gold rush era . the pictures , filled with the hardened faces of those extracting “the colour” from the earth , are evidence of post - colonial exploitation . aboriginals “civilised” in western clothing ; chinese migrants being used as cheap labour . the red dirt blankets the foundations of modern australian civilisation : gold , exploitation and invasion . goldstone is the battleground for australia’s soul .
ivan sen shoots goldstone exquisitely . the epic landscape that dwarfs you ; you can’t help but feel like there is an eternity between locations ; like the cars are just insects stirring up these dirt corridors . he shoots so meticulously , emphasising the scope and isolation , and at no point in this desolate wasteland do you feel like it’s not alive . every frame is just rippling with something and you can’t help but feel like the dust has settled over the past . stirring up that dust is uncovering not only the seedy underbelly of what is actually happening in goldstone but what is happening in contemporary australia .
swan visits goldstone to track down the whereabouts of a missing young chinese woman . in the first scene he is behind the wheel and pissed as a fart . the horse swan rides into town on is the back of a divvy van , after being apprehended by young local cop josh ( alex russell ) .
goldstone opens with a series of 19th century photographs from rural australia which show the tripartite racial structure of the time . one of those racial groups is chinese ( in magnificent cultural dress replete with hair in single plaid to the waist ) so they were likely taken during the goldrush . ivan sen moves his camera over and into the photos , bringing them to life with extra dimension as we see the faces of its white miners and blackfella lackies , their aboriginal children dressed uncomfortably in victorian vestments whilst asian faces look out from the shopfronts and doorways of their laundries and boarding houses . it ' s a haunting prefiguration of the three cultural forces at play as goldstone settles into its contemporary setting . …
two - time oscar nominated actress jacki weaver has joined the cast of “goldstone , ” an australian outback thriller that shoots later this month . the picture is a follow up to 2013 picture “mystery road , ” that opened the sydney festival and played at the toronto festival the same year . it is again directed by ivan sen , and produced [ … ]
people change but the system remains more or less the same , sen seems to be saying . but in that “less” there is something special , even sacred : the bit in life that says there’s something worth fighting for . what a lot to think about ; what a hell of a film .
sen’s cinematography ( in addition to writing and directing his films he also shoots , edits , scores and sometimes produces them ) avoids the kind of orange - baked , hot , gluggy glaze popularised after 1971’s wake in fright . goldstone’s colour grading is sharp and crisp , its visual makeup – replete with seamlessly integrated aerial drone footage – grandiose , but wired in small details .
our family doesn ' t go to the movies until we go online and check out your assessment of a given film . i think this is the best christian media review website that i ' ve found , and i recommend it to my family and friends . keep up the good work !
there ' s deep social commentary in goldstone . mainly , focusing on the treatment of the aboriginal people . greed and the desire for power at all cost are other themes , too . i love how jay is an aboriginal policeman . you know , a black man in a white man ' s world . we also have a white cop , and his moral code is put…
the story twines together the themes of exploitation versus care , of corruption versus honesty and of the past versus the present . indeed , the film begins with a montage of archival black and white photos from goldfields in the 19th century , featuring aborigines , asians and whites , to frame the story within the reach of the past .
spot on . not since “wake in fright” has a film so powerfully captured a key part of the underbelly of the australian psyche and combined it with such a strong sense of place . . pedersen’s return to his “country” is a brilliant counterpoint to the outback oz culture depicted . all this and a well told great yarn as well !
on second watch the flaws stand out more - editing that never lets a shot breathe and the , i don ' t know how to say it , the inaccessibility of the lead ? can ' t imagine what it ' s like without having seen the first film and got a sense of the man . maybe it works better ?
after an effective sequence comprising sepier snapshots depicting the early life of the mining pioneer , the film hones in on the isolation of the setting : an evocative canvass of pink , ochre , taupe and dune . there is nothing romantic or ethereal however , in the way josh ( alex russell ) , the young local cop pursues the speeding vehicle with its intoxicated driver , detective jay swan ( pedersen ) . this is the film ' s central relationship in which two flawed individuals struggle to find themselves . josh is sinking deeper and deeper into the corruption of big business in the goldmines , while jay becomes drawn to finding a connection with his aboriginal roots and his spiritual side .
i agree totally . saw it at the sydney film festival and it was my favourite . beautifully written , shot and directed . exciting , funny , always compelling and ultimately incredibly moving . and extraordinary acting all round . weaver is fabulous and pedersen is a revelation ( i doubt we will see better performances anywhere this year ) but the whole cast is wonderful .
as swan moves up the local chain of command , such as it is , he’s met with a wall of indifference , derision and outright hostility . the boss of the furnace creek metals group mining company ( david wenham ) offers him a morning beer but little information , while goldstone ’s mayor , the relentlessly cheerful yet ominously brittle maureen ( jacki weaver ) bakes him an apple pie but warns him in no uncertain terms to lay off the meddling .
the film will receive a $ 530 , 000 ( us $ 407 , 000 ) of direct support from screen quensland , which expects to see a $ 2 . 15 million ( us $ 1 . 65 million ) of ‘queensland production expenditure’ from the filming process . it also received direct funding of a $ 1 . 17 million through the screen australia indigenous unit .
comprising five panels on two consecutive evenings , and including a photography exhibition and film screening , this symposium is an attempt to explore and elaborate on the possibility that , as anthropologist lisa stevenson puts it , what gives images their distinctive power is their capacity to “express without formulating” – their tendency , in other words , to “ drag the world along with them . ”
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as in david milch’s deadwood , sen uses the mining industry as the petri - dish of western civilisation in the tiny ( and fictional ) goldstone . miners being squeezed to work ungodly hours and industry ( booze and prostitution ) spawning in their wake . that prostitution is human trafficking of chinese migrants , who are required to pay for their passage to australia by servicing the miners . pei - pei cheng’s mrs . lao plays the stone - faced madam and instrument of fear for the mining company .
in la rose meets herbie , who she entices to represent the act and be their official manager . she flirts with him and dangles the prospect of a romantic engagement between them both , ( “small world” ) . herbie works hard with the girls and creates a new act , getting boys into it and setting up “baby june and her newsboys” . whilst june is the focus of the act , louise is left at the back and is a lot shyer than her sister . the act enjoys some success , but as time goes on vaudeville begins to wane and the girls get older , but the act stays the same . life on the road is becoming tough , and rose has the girls living in hotel rooms alongside the boys from the act . herbie brings mr goldstone of the orpheum circuit to meet rose , and she works hard to secure a contract with him , ( “have an eggroll mr goldstone” ) . louise is feeling forgotten , and sits alone on her birthday with her pet lamb ( “little lamb” ) .
then there’s the ranch , where chinese girls flown in via the mine are forced into prostitution to pay off debts . sen opens the film with colonial images of early chinese settlers , and the widening of the pic’s gaze to include the dehumanization of chinese as well as indigenous characters makes its indictment of leadership all the starker . josh has had a “f—ing bypass ,
spits swan , “like the whole f—ing country . ”
great follow - up to mystery road . this is a solid austrailian western / neo - noir film . interesting characters , beautiful cinematography , and some tight action scenes . without giving anything away , there is a great shootout , that is filmed in a very realistic manner . bullets and shells penetrate aluminum siding and vehicles like you would expect in a real gunfight . this added such an enjoyable degree of tension . highly recommended .
this superior sequel to mystery road brings back the laconic aboriginal police detective hero jay swan ( aaron pedersen ) , this time investigating a disappearance in a remote queensland mining town . pedersen ' s performance in the earlier film was stone - faced to a fault , but life hasn ' t been kind to swan over the last few years : his hair has lengthened , his once neatly - trimmed beard is ragged and greying at the edges .
it ' s a setting australians will recognise from the movies if not from direct experience – and like the dressmaker , the film is so packed with familiar faces it becomes an echo chamber , as if sen were holding a dialogue with many precursors at once . jacki weaver essentially reprises her crime matriarch role in animal kingdom as the town mayor , who wears bright red lipstick , bakes apple pies and delivers thinly - veiled threats with a motherly simper .
as the stakes inevitably increase and jay and josh’s frenemy relationship leads to a degree of collaboration – the former goading the latter for allowing awful things to happen on his watch – sen dishes out action with unerring patience . by the time a car chase scene arrives , it has the weight of an already great film behind it . there’s a shoot - out too , but every shot matters and every bullet counts ; your body can almost register the impact .
as unruly , headstrong cops go , jay swan ( aaron pedersen ) is up there with the best of them , but he ' s no dirty harry . hard drinking harry , maybe , sloshed when we meet him as he drives towards goldstone and his destiny , pulled over by the young smalltown cop , josh ( alex russell ) and put on the wire bed in the lock up to sober up . pedersen ' s unkempt hair , bleary eyes and speechless stupor belie his steadfast determination to clear up the case of missing mei . as we would hope . . .
it doesn ' t take long for swan to sniff out various scandals that eventually seem like facets of the one problem : the trafficking of asian women , a deal being rushed through to expand the mine , the smuggling of grog into a supposedly dry community . though the villains are obvious from the start , the film is not about pinning the blame on individuals but about sketching a diagram – realistic in outline if not in its pulpy details – that tells us something about australian society as a whole .
i found this sequel superior to the first , mystery road , but i ' m not really sure why . . . perhaps i liked the development of the additional law man in the isolated , outback town with a dark secret turning goldstone into a quasi buddy - movie about two men unsure whether or not they can trust the other in their world of deceit . i ' m not overly familiar with either of the two male stars but jackie weaver co - stars as another wicked women . . . a role she mastered in her ( first ) oscar - nominated performance in animal kingdom . her eyes . . . oh her eyes !
• “overture” – orchestra • “may we entertain you ? ” – baby june and baby louise • “some people” – rose • “some people” ( reprise ) – rose • “small world” – rose and herbie • “baby june and her newsboys” – baby june and newsboys • “mr . goldstone , i love you”– rose , herbie , ensemble • “little lamb” – louise • “you’ll never get away from me” – rose and herbie • “dainty june and her farmboys” – june and farmboys • “ broadway ” – june and farmboys • “if momma was married” – june and louise • “all i need is the girl” – tulsa and louise • “everything’s coming up roses” – rose
ivan sen has become a mature and important filmmaker , making his films auteur - like , even shooting the pictures and composing the score . a touch of robert rodriguez , perhaps , down to the flinty stories of outback struggles for heroism . but sen ( or is it ivan zen ) also injects a crucial element of aboriginal cultural in a way that expands the texture of the story and imbues the film with its spiritual incense , much aided by a minimalist ( and with minimal but memorable screen time ) david gulpilil as jimmy the elder .
when first seen here , jay swan is a mess . gone is the trim , alert , well - groomed lawman of the first film , with his flashy firearm and ominously clonking cowboy boots . in his place is a puffy , straggly - haired , unfocused and thong - shod drunk driver who is promptly pulled over and cited by local cop josh waters ( alex russell ) as he approaches the frontier mining outpost of the title ( a fleeting reference to his dead daughter , who was very much alive in “mystery road , ” suggests a probable cause of his dissolution ) .
once again the town is run by crooks . they’re even broader here than in the earlier film , emboldened by their isolation and the obeisance of the callow josh . as the mayor , jacki weaver trots out the coquettish menace for which she was so garlanded in animal kingdom , though the bug eyes are starting to pall . david wenham’s mine foreman is hardly less mustache - twirling . both are in cahoots with tommy ( the chant of jimmie blacksmith ’s tom e . lewis ) , who presides over the aboriginal land council , where he’s well greased to keep the local elders in check .
this jay swan is very different from the self - controlled detective of mystery road . he is now a scruffy vagrant , arrested for drunk driving in the first scenes of the film . holed up in a two - bit outpost in the middle of nowhere , he is looking , it soon becomes apparent , for a chinese migrant woman who has disappeared . things start to get interesting when he has a series of encounters with the locals : the young , sharply turned - out town cop , the head of a mining company , and the town ' s brassy mayor . swan stirs things up as he digs deeper into his investigation , uncovering an unsavoury mess of nepotism and crime .
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australian auteur ivan sen ' s new feature is a complex and stylish outback noir that reflects on australia ' s history with a compelling tale of its present .
jay visits the tree and finds the small comb and then drives off to the mountain in the distance . the shadow of the tree has moved through an angle of around 40 - 45 degrees , indicating a much longer passage of time than is shown on - screen .
: no , i mean blackfella black . near as i could tell , anyhow .
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likewise , as much as vision of an akubra - wearing gumshoe detective might appeal , down under noir films were never a thing . in the 1940s and 50s , when guys like humphrey bogart wooed dames and dry - gulched cronies , australian cinema was languishing , or just about to : it produced on average just two features a year from 1952 to 1966 .
in his own drunk - as - a skunk way , weeping pathos from his pores thanks to another exemplary performance from star aaron pedersen , the protagonist – detective jay swan – is like clint eastwood’s man with no name , riding into town to upset the status quo .
authorities who run the titular out - woop - woop place , including the mayor , maureen ( jacki weaver , again in frozen - smile stink - eye mode ) , have some kind of racket going on . exactly what it involves will be revealed in time . suffice to say the last thing they want is a brave outsider upsetting their ecosystem of corruption .
aaron pedersen , ‘weeping pathos from his pores’ , and jacki weaver in ‘frozen - smile stink - eye mode’ , as jay and maureen . photograph : transmission films
in vintage noir fashion , it all begins with a girl . and like virtually any western , it is – save for a couple of prickly supporting characters – a male - oriented affair . sen paints a picture of a viciously sexist society where women , in particular sex workers , are stripped of their rights and their identities , and traded like commodities .
when maureen visits josh at the pub , wielding a freshly baked cake , you can tell by the serpentine hiss in weaver’s voice that he ought to pay attention . a new mine - expansion project is under way , she explains , and it’s worth serious bucks – hundreds of millions of dollars . there’s a slight complication though : it requires “blackfella approval” .
swan is the recipient of numerous lines like “keep your head down” and “don’t rock the boat” , which you just know is going to have the opposite effect .
sen’s environmental messages arrive at a time when coal seam gas exploration is a key election issue ; meanwhile , corruption allegations involving mining companies and land councils make it clear the story cannot be brushed aside as mere fiction .
opening images of sepia - toned photographs from the gold rush are crucial . the social and political commentaries underpinning sen’s story paint a picture of a nation that has always , since settlement , prioritised money over land , and has never understood – as midnight oil might have put it ( before its lead singer became part of the problem ) – something as precious as a hole in the ground .
when josh suggests to jay there is no point rebelling , because when the dust settles the dirt of corruption will remain , jay takes solace in his belief that at least the dirt will be a little thinner .
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aaron pedersen , alex russell , jacki weaver , cheng pei - pei , david wenham , david gulpilil , michelle lim davidson , tom e . lewis , ursula yovich , michael dorman , steve rogers , aaron fa’aso , kate beahan , max cullen , gillian jones .
sen’s unique accomplishment with these two films , unequalled in contemporary aussie cinema , is his daringly idealistic intention and crystal clear success at balancing the demands of contemporary genre filmmaking with , in this case , the ongoing hot - button issues of aboriginal relations ( sen is himself of mixed indigenous / european heritage ) , human trafficking , the human greed behind corporate corruption and cultural destruction .
it isn’t long before everyone in what passes for a town knows he’s arrived and is looking for a chinese woman who has gone missing . a visit to the local aboriginal community leads jay to the fenced - off border of the furnace creek gold mine , where he finds evidence of asian women being flown in and out of the compound . after swan’s trailer at the forlorn diggers rest motel is shot up by a mysterious group of bikers , josh moves swann to a remote cabin . the visitor believes the local is on the take , and they argue .
the head of the local aboriginal land council , tommy ( tom e . lewis ) , is clearly corrupt and is thus of no help at all . only local elder jimmy ( indigenous icon david gulpilil , most recently seen in “charlie’s country” ) is sympathetic to swan’s cause , taking him on a magical canoe trip to a deep gorge where ancient rock art begins a kind of spiritual awakening for the detective .
meanwhile , outraged at jay’s accusations of corruption , josh begins an investigation of his own , visiting the local brothel where the madam , mrs . lao ( martial arts queen cheng pei - pei ) , reluctantly displays the women working there . these include may ( michelle lim davidson ) , who is chafing to leave but must learn to trust josh — and he her .
when a local hermit gives jay the missing girl’s passport , it triggers a chain of events that leads to swan and josh storming furnace creek in a breathtaking shootout that rights many of the wrongs while handily eclipsing the climactic gun battle in “mystery road . ”
there are western tropes aplenty on display , but swan’s determination and demeanour here is also reminiscent of raymond chandler’s pdescription of his iconic gumshoe creation philip marlowe : “down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself mean , who is neither tarnished nor afraid . he is the hero ; he is everything…”
sen wrote the role specifically for pedersen , who in turn modelled much of the character’s mannerisms on his director . the supporting performances are uniformly strong , with all the actors locked tightly into their genre functions ; weaver’s slightly deranged take on mayor maureen provides both spice and a dollop of macabre humor .
production : ( australia ) a transmission films ( in australia ) release of a screen australia , screen queensland , arclight films , transmission films , dark matter presentation of a dark matter , bunya production . ( international sales : arclight films , beverly hills / sydney . ) . produced by david jowsey , greer simpkin . executive producers , craig deeker , scott otto andersen , oliver lawrance , trevor kennedy , gary hamilton .
crew : directed , written , edited by ivan sen . camera ( color , widescreen ) , sen ; music , sen ; production designer , matt putland ; costume designer , vanessa loh ; sound ( digital 5 . 1 surround ) , nick edmond ; sound designer , thom kellar ; re - recording mixer , sam hayward ; stunt supervisor , reg roordink ; visual effects supervisor , craig deeker ; visual effects , clint dodd ; associate producer , aaron pedersen ; assistant director , richard mcgrath .
with : aaron pedersen , alex russell , jacki weaver , cheng pei - pei , david wenham , david gulpilil , michelle lim davidson , tom e . lewis , ursula yovich , michael dorman , steve rogers , aaron fa’aso , kate beahan , max cullen , gillian jones .
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what seems like a simple “light duties” investigation soon opens into a web of crime and corruption implicating the local mayor , mining boss and aboriginal land council .
in 2012 ivan was awarded the prestigious byron kennedy award , for “his unique artistic vision and for showing , by his resourceful , multidisciplinary filmmaking , that telling stories on screen is in reach of all who have something consequential to say” .
the sequel to australian director ivan sen’s impressive crime thriller mystery road continues the adventures of rugged and laconic indigenous detective jay swan ( aaron pedersen ) , who uncovers some seriously shady dealings in the middle of the outback while investigating the disappearance of a chinese migrant worker .
ivan sen is one of the most interesting younger talents in australian cinema , but also one of the most erratic . his 2013 detective story mystery road was an ambitious misfire , making awkward use of genre convention as if striving to win over the audience that bypassed toomelah , a frightening portrait of a new south wales aboriginal community that remains his best feature to date .
slouching and squinting , rolling one cigarette after another , he has the air of a man who ' s long ceased active involvement in life . but appearances deceive : more vividly than before , swan embodies an archetype out of a western , the mysterious stranger who sets about cleaning up a society where corruption holds sway .
the great indigenous actor david gulpilil turns up all too briefly as a tribal elder , with tom e . lewis from the chant of jimmie blacksmith as a more pragmatic representative of the same community . david wenham is the hard - nosed mine overseer , with sun - baked skin and wire - rimmed glasses that ( intentionally or not ) make him look like jimmie blacksmith director fred schepisi .
while sen has grown more comfortable with the mystery - thriller format , the plot logistics aren ' t managed as efficiently . swan periodically recedes from view , as josh ( alex russell ) , the straight - arrow local cop , undertakes a mostly separate inquiry of his own . the ending depends on a crisis of conscience on the part of one of the supporting characters , not linked in any direct way to swan ' s arrival .
sen remains a highly rhetorical director , prone to cut to a sudden aerial shot in the middle of a scene or frame a quasi - romantic encounter all in close - ups . frankly , he does himself no favours continuing to serve as his own editor ( or worse , composing his own lachrymose music ) . but he has moments of genuine stylistic audacity : the shifts between drastically dissimilar spaces have an almost science - fiction quality , as when swan sneaks onto the mine site or steps into a van that operates as a one - woman brothel .
jacki weaver is a machiavellian mayor and david wenham a hard - nosed mine overseer .
in any case , there aren ' t many australian filmmakers whose future work i ' m keener to see .
michelle lim davidson ( utopia ) plays may , who works at outback brothel called the ranch .
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jay arrives in this town looking for an asian girl , who was reported missing via hotline by maria ( ursula yovich ) . seconds into his time on the mission , on the outskirts of town , you get a sense immediately that something has drawn him to this place beyond the case .
the supporting cast do a great job of rising to pedersen’s performance . jacki weaver is back to her calculating , manipulative best . weaver , just as she did in animal kingdom , has an ability to capture you in her gaze and make the amoral sound trivial . she’s a great female character groomed by greed of the area’s power brokers . david gulpilil’s performance presence is immeasurable . he’s like the living spirit of australian indigenous actors . the moment he encounters jay , it triggers a haunting recognition . david wenham seems intent on taking unassuming looking characters — johnny is doppelgänger for my 3rd grade teacher in this case — and making them callous slime - bags .