226 Mad Dog Morgan

[MichaelB]

MAD DOG MORGAN
(Philippe Mora, 1976)
Release date: 21 March 2022
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK Blu-ray premiere)

Pre-order here.

Based on the true story of Dan Morgan – the infamous Australian outlaw once described as ‘the most bloodthirsty ruffian that ever took to the bush’ – Mad Dog Morgan provides the perfect showcase for the unique star quality of Dennis Hopper (Night Tide, The Last Movie).

After witnessing a bloody massacre of Chinese workers on Australia’s goldfields, Morgan turns to a life of crime, becoming a bushranger and the scourge of the vicious authorities – and, ultimately, a local legend – leaving a bloody legacy in his wake.

Nominated for two Australian Film Institute Awards, including one for director Philippe Mora (The Beast Within), Mad Dog Morgan is a brutal and uncompromising slice of Ozploitation.


INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• New restoration from a 4K scan of the interpositive by Powerhouse Films
• Two presentations of the film: Mad Dog Morgan, the 103-minute director’s cut; and Mad Dog, the 95-minute UK theatrical version
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with writer-director Philippe Mora and film critic Jake Wilson (2019)
• Audio commentary with writer-director Philippe Mora (2009)
• To Shoot a Mad Dog (1976): behind-the-scenes documentary, produced and directed by David Elfick, and featuring extensive interview footage with actor Dennis Hopper
• Hopping Mad (2019): Mora reflects on the making of Mad Dog Morgan
• That’s Our Mad Dog: A Conversation with Dennis Hopper (2009): retrospective interview with the legendary actor, conducted by Mora
• ‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interview Excerpts (2008): over an hour of outtakes from Mark Hartley’s acclaimed documentary on Australia cinema, featuring Mora, producer Jeremy Thomas, camera operator John Seale, and actors Jack Thompson, Roger Ward and Graeme Blundell
• Mad Country: Shooting Locations Revisited (2019) with optional audio commentary by Mora
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Tara Judah, Philippe Mora’s pre-production notes on Mad Dog Morgan, archival interview with Mora and producer Jeremy Thomas, Mora on the making of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• Limited edition exclusive poster
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 2,000 copies for the UK (4,000 copies for the world)
• All extras subject to change

#PHILTD226
BBFC cert: 15
REGION FREE
EAN: 5060697920680

[MichaelB]

Incidentally, "improved English subtitles" in this instance means a much more accurate rendition of the original full-blown Strine that's featured so gloriously on the soundtrack. Previous DVD and Blu-ray editions significantly toned down some of the more colourful expressions, presumably lest they be too confusing to non-Australian ears, but we feel that their meaning is contextually clear enough without requiring the assistance of anything other than an optional written transcription.

[M Sanderson]

A very welcome release. This seemed like the type of film Indicator might release, and glad the rumours were true.

[yoloswegmaster]

New restoration from a 4K scan of the interpositive by Powerhouse Films

Was a new 4K restoration from the interpositive done for this release? The Australian Blu-Ray from 2019 is also claiming to be using a 4K restoration from the interpositive.

[MichaelB]

Final specs:

Was a new 4K restoration from the interpositive done for this release?

Yes.

The Australian Blu-Ray from 2019 is also claiming to be using a 4K restoration from the interpositive.

It can't be the same one, unless they did it at Final Frame in London in 2021, then got in their time machine to release it back in 2019. It might be the same scan, along the lines of the Criterion and BFI Red Desert originating from a common source (I don't know either way), but Final Frame's extensive restoration work is unique to the Indicator release, as is the presentation of both the Mad Dog Morgan and Mad Dog cuts. I can also confirm first-hand (since I did them myself) that the hard-of-hearing subtitles were extensively revised from previous releases.

[MichaelB]

Mad Beaver Morgan.

[MichaelB]

CineOutsider.

[therewillbeblus]

This is a film soaking in disorder, from the jarring violence intruding in on a deliberately undeveloped non-starter narrative in the riveting opening scene to the ensuing self-reflexively incoherent narrative trajectory, editing pieces together like The Last Movie's film-within-a-film might be if translated using that movie's grammar. I can't say this is an objectively 'good' movie, but I can't say that about The Last Movie either, and yet I'm affectionately drawn to both for their remorseless devotion to an eccentric vision that defies rhythmic expectations of character, story, or even intra-scene evolution, in favor of poetic flavors of emotional chaos.

I enjoyed how the de-romanticized characterization is neglected the cinematic centricity usually prescribed in order to effectively engage with the idea that heroic glamorization is a falsehood, that we are all expendable and non-special, peripheral and often banal characters even in our own narratives. The scene where Mad Dog crashes a party amusingly has all the guests putting their heads in their hands, apathetically responding to his vapid ramblings, bored and disgusted at him rather than scared and shaking in their boots, or engrossed with interest, over some 'evocative presence' he beholds!

The abrupt gory violence partners well with this evisceration of the 'hero' in its blunt realism- which is not to say that the violence is "realistic" but that it's used without emphasis on its function as a tool for pleasure or establishing expected setting conditions for the audience. It's never sustained as a predictable inclusion of action, instead coming and going with a swift blow, to be returned to whenever the narrative appropriately calls upon it to take an unassuming prisoner. That's not to say this film refutes all linearity or cueing action- but it plays with these ideas irregularly, up until a climax that fits both the traditional biopic and irreverently subverts it, along with the notion of human life having intrinsic objective value.

SpoilerShow

As Morgan's enemies prepare to kill him, they stop and raise their eyes from their gun scopes to surprisingly declare, "He's not even looking around!" thus cementing him as the star of his own movie here, yet also commenting on his stupidity before returning to the sights and shooting him dead, without any provision of opportunity for even an introverted dose of existential glamour. What a wry taunt, giving this man the time of day to meditate on the end of his life, call him an idiot, and then rob him of a 'proper', cathartic finish. As they prepare his body for chopping, "Don't forget the scrotum" are the last words of the film- talk about dehumanization-imitating-decharacterization! The subsequent Aboriginal eulogy is brief, and the final image of Hopper's face is comically no more than a blip- I don't think you could try any harder to remind the audience how little we matter, that we are all dust in the wind.

[MichaelB]

A quick heads up - despite not being in the sale and indeed only being released earlier this month, this has turned out to be a surprise bestseller (like the Dennis Hopper-starring Night Tide before it), and they don't anticipate it sticking around for long.

There will of course be a standard edition afterwards, but without the box, the book or the poster - it'll just be a basic Amaray case affair.

[Drucker]

Thank you for the heads up. I was going to sit out the sale but now you've lured me in.

[EddieLarkin]

I've never felt the need to be a completionist for all Indicator releases, figuring that the extra £6-8 I'd spend buying before sales, for titles that are total blind buys or of limited personal interest is a bit expensive when "all" it gets you is a booklet and an alternative cover. But I have managed to snag all the box sets and "mini box" releases (which overall both feel like they offer better value at their non-sale prices), so this pre-warning is much appreciated. I was lucky enough to have happened to pre-order Night Tide, which I recall is the only one so far that sold out so quickly that Indicator didn't even get chance to warn people.

[Finch]

Deep Discount still has the US edition for $21.99. That's before you figure in the 15% MADNESS discount, and it's in stock.

[therewillbeblus]

Deep Discount still has the US edition for $21.99. That's before you figure in the 15% MADNESS discount, and it's in stock.

Is the US edition the same LE?

[Finch]

The photo is of the LE.

[MichaelB]

There is only one edition at present. There are minor cosmetic differences between the US and UK packaging, purely to do with localised barcodes/BBFC issues, but the contents are otherwise identical. Most crucially, the machine-readable side of the US and UK discs is the same down to the tiniest bit - and they’re region-free.

[swo17]

The UK Limited Edition of MAD DOG MORGAN is now sold out at our website and out of print.

There are still some UK copies available at Amazon.co.uk, click here.

Plus copies of the US Limited Edition (identical to the UK edition in terms of content) can be purchased from various outlets, including:

Diabolik, click here

Amazon.com, click here

Critics Choice, click here

We anticipate that all these stocks will sell out soon. Please don’t hesitate to pick up your copy.