Smash Palace

For the band, see Smash Palace (rock band).
Smash Palace
Directed by Roger Donaldson
Produced by Roger Donaldson
Larry Parr
Written by Roger Donaldson
Peter Hansard
Bruno Lawrence
Starring Bruno Lawrence
Anna Maria Monticelli
Greer Robson
Keith Aberdein
Desmond Kelly
Music by Sharon O'Neill
Cinematography Graeme Cowley
Edited by Michael J. Horton
Release dates
 30 April 1982
Running time
 108 minutes
Language English
Box office NZ $600,000 (New Zealand)[1]

Smash Palace is a New Zealand feature film, released in 1981. The film chronicles a former race car driver (played by Bruno Lawrence) who inadvertently helps ruin his own marriage, then kidnaps his daughter (Greer Robson). Lawrence's character runs a carwrecking yard in an isolated area of New Zealand's North Island. Smash Palace was the second feature directed by Roger Donaldson. Critical acclaim in the United States won him interest from Hollywood, and the chance to direct the first of a number of films financed outside of New Zealand, The Bounty.

The soundtrack was composed and performed by New Zealand-born singer Sharon O'Neill. Smash Palace has an R16 rating.

Synopsis

The film centers on the "Smash Palace" car wrecking yard known on the North Island Volcanic Plateau, where former racing driver Al Shaw (Lawrence) lives with his unhappy French wife Jacqui (Jemison) and daughter Georgie (Robson). Jacqui begins a relationship with Al's best friend, local police officer Ray Foley (Aberdein). After a violent argument she leaves Al, taking Georgie with her. Al takes Georgie and takes her into hiding, but shortly afterwards Georgie falls ill and the police catch up with Al when he tries to rob a pharmacy at gunpoint. Al ends up cornered in Smash Palace, and agrees to hand Georgie over to Jacqui, and exchange a female hostage over in return for Ray.

Cast

Production

The film was funded by the New Zealand Film Commission. When Donaldson first begun applied for funding he was turned down. On a second attempt he was once again denied funding, until veteran film maker John O’Shea pointed out that Donaldson’s earlier work Sleeping Dogs had been the reason the commission was founded. [2]

One of the conditions of the film’s eventual funding by the NZFC was that it be completed in time to screen at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival. This forced a tight schedule on the production team, giving only four months between the commencement of the shoot and the film’s premiere.[3]

Release & Reception

Although the film was completely New Zealand financed and shot, the film was first released in the USA. The expectation was that by initially releasing in the US the film would gain positive reviews from international critics, thus encouraging local audiences, prone to a dismissal of Kiwi product as amateurish, to go and see the film. The strategy worked, with the film proving hugely successful in New Zealand.[4]

The film won much acclaim for the performance of the late Bruno Lawrence, one of New Zealand's best-known actors. It was successful in its home land, and received positive reviews in the United States; Veteran critic Pauline Kael described it as "amazingly accomplished". Roger Ebert called it one of the best films of 1981, "so emotionally wise and observant that we learn from it why people sometimes make the front pages with guns in their hands and try to explain that it's all because of love". The New York Times picked it as one of its ten best movies of the year.[5]

At the 1982 Manila Film Festival, Bruno Lawrence received an award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Al Shaw.

As of October 2012, movie website Internet Movie Database rates the film 7 out of 10.

Location

Much of the film was shot on location at car dismantling business Horopito Motors, which has existed on the same site since the 1940s, in the former town of Horopito near Ohakune (39°20′41″S 175°22′43″E / 39.34474°S 175.37872°E / -39.34474; 175.37872). A scene from road movie Goodbye Pork Pie was also shot in the same location.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Mike Nicolaidi, "New Zealand", Cinema Papers, March 1986 p8
  2. ↑ Booth, Roger. Bruno: The Bruno Lawrence Story. Canterbury University Press, 1999, p. 203
  3. ↑ "Smash Palace". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  4. ↑ McDouall, Hamish. 100 Essential New Zealand Films. Awa Press, 2009, p. 178-180.
  5. ↑ Martin, Helen and Sam Edwards. New Zealand Film: 1912-1996. Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 78.
  6. ↑ "Car Yard a slice of New Zealand film history". Stuff (Fairfax Media). 10 August 2015.
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