Romper Stomper
by Geoffrey Wright
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DVD details
Actor: Alex Scott, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Leigh Russell, Russell CroweDirector: Geoffrey Wright
Cinematographer: Ron Hagen
Writer: Geoffrey Wright
Editor: Bill Murphy
Producer: Daniel Scharf
Producer: Ian Pringle
Producer: Phil Jones
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); German (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language); Vietnamese (Original Language)
Format: Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Avalanche, Lions Gate
DVD Reviews of Romper Stomper
DVD Review: Total War
Summary: 5 Stars
The best films about politicised maladjusted sociopaths are the ones where the director has the nous to follow his exploitation instincts rather than his leaky morals, and concentrate on the maladjusted rather than the politicised.
That is to say: scratch the surface of Russell Crowe's 'Romper Stomper' character, Hando - a deeply rotten, misguided Australian fascist - and you'll find another deeply rotten, misguided Australian fascist waiting for his turn with the knuckleduster.
Oh but Hando is a man of letters; a man for our time.
Only he and his cretinous, sheep mentality cohorts can see the end of the world - and it's approaching with slanty eyes, a wok full of money and the ignoble intention of de-Aryanising their blatantly bogus pure-blood world.
They respond magnificently: this is Rourke's Drift or the Bastille all over again. Restaged in dismal 90's Melbourne and played out with pool-cues, rice-flails, bottles and knives.
You can't help cheering. The violence (and let's be straight here; that alone is 'Romper Stomper's nub) doesn't half get that blood pumping. Better than a chemical jump-lead any time...
We begin with the brutal beating of 3 Vietnamese kids riding skateboards at a Lynchian hissing and steam-obscured railway station. A camera-eye view of their euphoric last ride - straight into Hando and his club (literally) of fine men and women who proceed to punch and kick them 'til they can't move anymore.
The bravery epitomised here is worthy of honours: those skateboarding Asian children appear an appalling threat to Aussie culture - particularly the sobbing girl - who gets held down by two gallant upholders of Melbourne's heritage, and punched in the face by another.
From here on in, most of the rest of 'Romper Stomper' is a running battle between the electrifying Crowe's skinhead platoon of the free, and the overwhelming, fierce, all-conquering Vietnamese invaders.
They skirmish with other insurgents along the way: a couple of gay hippies find the sharing of social airs-and-graces with Hando painfully futile; and inevitably the police, who simply love skinheads and start shooting them straight away.
The razors-edge climax sees Hando and his not-so-trusty fight-lieutenant Davy fight a sea-side showdown over a scatty, highly dangerous sex-kitten who's been playing them off against each other throughout the film.
By this time Hando is off the deep end. Killing indiscriminately; eyes bulging; ranting all over the place.
Insultingly stereotypical - but brilliant fun all the same.
'Romper Stomper' is a highly contentious movie but I won't see why. It glamorizes violence, a tried and tested ratings winner, and something I approve of whole-heartedly. It presents as noble and intellectual, bone-headed fascists bent on social self-destruction and the preservation of a way of life that doesn't exist anyway. There's profanity, explicit sex, callous humour, and a roaring Nazi-punk soundtrack.
So the problem is...?
Crowe is splendid as the charismatic but declining Hando - sanity steadily ebbing away - holding on to his twisted ideals to the last.
He reads from 'Mein Kampf' and it turns your blood to ice.
I'm sure I'm not alone taking his side in the final battle with boring, conscientious Davey - and like hey - all it takes is a blue-tinted sex-session with a hot nymphette to drive all that nasty Nazism to the hills.
I really think so.
The point:
'Romper Stomper' is a gripping action thriller about amusingly sarcastic mad-men wearing shaven heads and Crombie overcoats, hitting on minorities and getting wasted. If you can find deep political issue or even satire here - you're doing well.
It is NOT 'A Clockwork Orange' - it IS all about counterfeit sensationalism and cynical controversialism. (!)
It would be greedy to expect more...
More Romper Stomper reviews:
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Description of Romper Stomper
The burning intensity of Russell Crowe (L.A. Confidential) first lit up screens as a hate-filled, Mein Kampf-spouting skinhead in this brutal Australian drama. Crowe glowers from under his deep-set eyes as Hando, the creepy but charismatic leader of a racist gang who declares war on the Asian immigrants pouring into Melbourne. His rage erupts in violent attacks on the local Vietnamese community, but when his victims fight back his gang breaks up, and Hando flees the city with his best buddy Davey (Daniel Pollock) and redheaded hellion Gabe (Jacqueline McKenzie), a rich girl runaway who turns the dynamic duo into a splintered love triangle. Writer-director Geoffrey Wright's matter-of-fact treatment of this subculture eschews social commentary for visceral immediacy. His portrait of white supremacist punks living like squatters on the fringes of Australian society is powered by coiled anger and simmering frustration, which finds its outlet in brutal fights and murderous rampages (the intense violence earned the film an NC-17 rating). The lack of moral position may bother some people, especially in light of Wright's sympathetic treatment of particular members of Hando's racist army, and the cold, hate-driven violence is sometimes hard to watch, but his vivid characters and richly drawn world create a compelling drama for adventurous filmgoers. --Sean AxmakerBestsellers in DVD
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