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Movies / On DVD / Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly

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Ned Kelly (2004)

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55 %
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Reviews Counted: 53

Fresh: 29

Rotten:24

Average Rating: 5.7/10

Consensus: More depth about the legendary outlaw would be welcome, but as it is, Ned Kelly is a reasonably entertaining Western.

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Genre: Westerns

Theatrical Release: Mar 26, 2004 Limited

Synopsis: Reteaming for the first time since their breakthrough film Two Hands, director Gregor Jordan and actor Heath Ledger bring moviegoers the true story of their brave and iconoclastic countryman – Irish-Australian legend Edward “Ned”... Reteaming for the first time since their breakthrough film Two Hands, director Gregor Jordan and actor Heath Ledger bring moviegoers the true story of their brave and iconoclastic countryman – Irish-Australian legend Edward “Ned” Kelly. In the latter part of the 19th century, Australia is still largely untamed. The former penal colony’s first-generation Irish immigrant population lives in poverty. Having already experienced police brutality and the death of his father, bushranger Ned (Heath Ledger) is wrongfully imprisoned on the trumped-up charge of stealing a horse. Emerging a few years later, in 1874, Ned is hardened but vows to stay straight. Rejoining his widowed mother and younger siblings, he makes money for his family as a champion bare-knuckle boxer. He also toils as a farmhand on the estate of an English landowner – with whose beautiful wife Julia (Naomi Watts) Ned shares a mutual attraction. But the British colonial system and its Victorian English enforcers remain prejudiced against Australia’s working people, and the struggling Kelly family is no exception. When, in 1878, a bullying police officer is rebuffed by Ned’s younger sister Kate and targets the family for harassment, Ned and his mother are unjustly charged with attempted murder. Ned is determined to avenge his family’s name and strike back against his people’s oppressors. While hiding in the bush, he forms a loyal Gang that includes his best friend and first lieutenant Joe Byrne (Orlando Bloom). A chance encounter with the police culminates in shots ringing out, and three officers are killed. The Kelly Gang is forced to go on the run. They blaze a trail through the Outback, robbing banks to fund themselves as well as to recover immigrants’ land deeds, and giving police the runaround. The Kelly Gang’s reputation as invincible outlaws grows, as does nationwide support from their immigrant countrymen. To the masses, Ned is a hero. To lawmen and the establishment, he is the most wanted man in Australia. £8,000 is offered for his capture – at the time, the highest reward the world had known. When the authorities bring in the formidable Superintendent Francis Hare (Geoffrey Rush), and an army of police, with carte blanche to capture and/or kill the outlaws, Ned strategizes a risky showdown at the Glenrowan Inn. It is this event which will seal his fate – and his legend. [More]

Starring: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush

Starring: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffiths, Kerry Condon, Russell Dykstra, Joel Edgerton, Laurence Kinlan, Peter Phelps

Director: Gregor Jordan

Director: Gregor Jordan
Screenwriter: John Michael McDonagh
Producer: John Michael McDonagh, Nelson Woss, Lynda House
Composer: Klaus Badelt
Studio: Focus Features

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Release:

Jul 27, 2004

[DVD Details]
 
 

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • DTS 5.1 Surround - English
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Featurettes - 1. "Ned Kelly in Popular Culture"
  • 2. "The Real Kelly Gang"
  • 3. "Artist to Feature Comparison"
  • Trailers - 1. Theatrical Trailers

Text/Image Galleries:

  • Poster Campaign

Reviews for Ned Kelly

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Ratings Image

Much as late 19th century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly was a charismatic figure who won the adulation of the Irish immigrant masses there, Heath Ledger as that romantic revolutionary of the film's title breathes astonishing vigor into the role.

Full Review Source: WBAI Web Radio | comment Comment
05/26/07
Prairie Miller
WBAI Web Radio
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Ratings Image

Director Jordan fails to deliver a film worthy of such mythical figure.

Full Review Source: Draxblog Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/16/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

The story might have more resonance with Australians, since compared to American folk heroes Ledger's Ned Kelly comes off as a bit square and self-serious.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

[A] tricky film, punctuated by bursts of staccato surrealism and bitter humor...

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
09/08/04
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
Ratings Image

Rises above its own shortcomings through Heath Ledger's electric embodiment of Ned.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
08/08/04
Erica Abeel
Film Journal International
Ratings Image

Ned Kelly suggests that not only do you not need anything of interest to watch, but you don’t even need to see it at all.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/28/04
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Ultimately, Jordan's vision is so murky that Ned Kelly remains as foreign to us as wombat stew.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
05/14/04
Janice Page
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
04/24/04
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com
Ratings Image

A ride that doesn't take us far enough.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
04/14/04
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
Ratings Image

Details such as the film's stark Victoria locations and the clunky suits of steel armor the Kellys fashion for the climactic showdown root things in a distinctive time and place, allowing viewers to experience the familiar storyline in a fresh way.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
04/03/04
Michael Tunison
Boxoffice Magazine
Ratings Image

A hefty dose of Australian history and legend, magnificently enhanced by a landscape that serves as more than just travelogue.

Full Review Source: FilmStew.com | comment Comment
03/30/04
Susan Michals
FilmStew.com
Ratings Image

If Ned Kelly is supposed to be an anti-hero to root for, his speeches border on parody and his cause is really unclear.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
03/29/04
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
03/28/04
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire
Ratings Image

This is a traditional western, not a great one...

Full Review Source: Greenwich Village Gazette | comment Comment
03/27/04
Eric Lurio
Greenwich Village Gazette
Ratings Image

Offers a couple of well-filmed showdowns and lots of pretty landscapes, but you need more than scenic views and stylish action to chronicle a life, especially one as controversial as Kelly's.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
03/26/04
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A leaden retelling of the legend of Australia's Jesse James that has understandably been sitting on the shelf for a couple of years.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
03/26/04
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A handsome, action-packed biographical drama with a credibility gap wider than the screen.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
03/26/04
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Ledger, talking into his chest for much of the film in an apparent effort to lend gravity to his performance, is pretty stiff, but so is Jordan's direction.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
03/26/04
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Latest News for Ned Kelly

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