Everyone knows Mad Max, right? It's the heartwarming story of how a violent Australian B-movie transcended its humble origins and became a cult sensation the world over, shoehorning Mel Gibson's career as an action star. What about the other dozens of Australian B-movies, though? Outside of its native country, these movies are largely ignored. Enter Not Quite Hollywood, a new documentary celebrating these so-called "OZploitation" movies.
The doc interviews the many people involved with some of the best of these daring and raucous movies... and Quentin Tarantino. Go figure. The official website lists the interviewees involved, and it's hilarious to me that Tarantino is just there, listed as "Fan". He is the king of championing obscure cinema, after all (it also helps that he really can't shut up about his love for genre pics, which makes him a great subject for documentaries). There are other recognisable Hollywood talents featured, though, such as Dennis Hopper, Jamie Lee Curtis and Happy Feet director—and bonafide Aussie—George Miller. They talk about the movies they're involved in, some of which I've been wanting to see for a long time, and the cultural movement in general.
I hope this doc gets a lot of attention, if only to get some of these movies released on DVD here in the States.
Watch the trailer for Not Quite Hollywood either below or here (Warning: NSFW). In a really cool gesture, the video page also has the trailers for twenty-one OZploitation movies. Have fun watching them all. I recommend Pacific Banana.
