Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

Critics Consensus

A raucous, fast-paced celebration of the Ozploitation films that came out of Australia in the 1970s and 1980s.

95%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 63

80%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 2,380
User image

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! Photos

View All Photos (12)

Movie Info

Filmmaker Mark Hartley explores Australia's hidden genre in this documentary that casually casts aside "official" film history to celebrate the demented genius of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, and the exciting wave of little-known but supremely entertaining films that entertained adventurous Australian filmgoers throughout the 1970s and '80s. Every film student worth his or her weight in celluloid has seen Breaker Morant and Picnic at Hanging Rock, but what about the lesser-known gems that didn't make the film-school textbooks? In his forward to Tim Lucas' book Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark, director Martin Scorsese states, "We have to keep resisting the idea of official film history, a stately procession of 'important works' that leaves some of the most exciting films and filmmakers tucked away in the shadows." In this documentary, director Hartley explores the films forgotten by "official film history" with the comprehensive eye of a true film buff. As a child watching such films as Snapshot and The Man from Hong Kong, Hartley immediately recognized how wildly disparate they were in tone and execution from the films that comprised Australia's traditional film library. Appearing like American genre films that just happened to be shot in Australia and cast with Australian actors, these so-called "Ozploitation" flicks flourished in the wake of relaxed censorship laws down under. Yet despite constant chatter about the "new wave" of Australian cinema, financially successful films like The Man from Hong Kong and Patrick that were popular both at home and abroad were never mentioned, sneeringly dismissed as "genre" films rather than Australian films. Perhaps in the wake of such successful Australian films as Wolf Creek and Undead -- and looking ahead to such films as the slasher shocker Storm Warning and the eagerly anticipated remake of Long Weekend -- curious filmgoers are finally prepared to discover what they've been missing all these years. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Watch it now

Cast

Phillip Adams
Phil Adams
Russell Boyd
Christine Amor
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Blanks
Cassandra Delaney
Broderick Crawford
Everett De Roche
Richard Franklin
Rebecca Gilling
Antony I. Ginnane
Deborah Gray
Gregory Harrison
Dennis Hopper
Harry Humphries
Anthony I. Ginnane
Stacy Keach
Ted Kotcheff
Barry Humphries
John D. Lamond
George Lazenby
Vincent Monton
Philippe Mora
Judy Morris
Russell Mulcahy
Grant Page
Steve Railsback
Cheryl Rixon Davis
John Seale
Lynda Stoner
Quentin Tarantino
Jeremy Thomas
Jack Thompson
Sigrid Thornton
Brian Trenchard-Smith
Roger Ward
Simon Wincer
Susannah York
View All

News & Interviews for Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

Critics Consensus: Funny People Is Ambitious But Uneven
View All

Critic Reviews for Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

All Critics (63) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (60) | Rotten (3)

  • This is as insightful a glimpse into a country's cinema as you're likely to see at this running time.

    Aug 20, 2009 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Wesley Morris

    Boston Globe
    Top Critic

  • It's all very foul, and completely entertaining.

    Aug 14, 2009 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Peter Hartlaub

    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic

  • Not Quite Hollywood is jammed with well-preserved clips of the Aussie movies that started pushing the limits after censorship was essentially dropped in 1971.

    Aug 14, 2009 | Rating: 3/4

    John Hartl

    Seattle Times
    Top Critic

  • If Not Quite Hollywood is not quite convincing, it is quite entertaining.

    Aug 13, 2009 | Rating: 3/4

    Joe Williams

    St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Top Critic

  • What's cool and always kicky is seeing a country's irreverent movie trash being treated with such, well, reverence.

    Aug 7, 2009 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Joe Neumaier

    New York Daily News
    Top Critic

  • All in all, this is a celebration of Australian exuberance, a national ethic of adventurousness and enormous charisma.

    Aug 7, 2009

    Desson Thomson

    Washington Post
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (63)

Audience Reviews for Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!

  • Aug 03, 2016
    Great documentary about some amazing films out of Australia. Great presentation. Amazing content.
    Brandon S Super Reviewer
  • Feb 14, 2013
    Not Quite Hollywood is a terrific documentary about the Ozploitation genre. The Australians didn't have a film industry, but in the late 60's to early 70's there was a boom in the Australian film industry, and a plateau of films made their way in Australian Drive In theatres. These movies were extreme in nudity and violence and would attract a fallowing. These films set the standards for something great, and in turn, the Aussies were able to carve their niche in the filmmaking world. This is a must see documentary for film fans everywhere and it features great interviews with Australian film makers, fans of the genre like Quentin Tarantino and James Wan and actors Jamie Lee Curtis , Stacey Keach and Dennis Hopper. This film is insightful and tells a terrific story of this truly unique film industry that is more insane than the American film industry. I've seen some truly great documentaries, but Not Quite Hollywood is really one of the best documentaries I've seen in quite some time. The film goes through the various genres from the first few low budget schlock flicks that relied on nudity and crude content to more stylized picture that had better storylines, intense stunts and above better acting. The filmmakers being interviewed discuss how the Aussies influenced their work and how they enjoyed these thrilling, obscured films. Tarantino is prominent here, and I personally feel he's one of the best directors working today and I also feel he's a highly knowledgeable film expert. Now I really loved this film and I highly recommend this film to every cinema fan. This is insightful and you will be very happy that you saw this. From start to finish this film is pretty insane as you hear the stories from the Aussie filmmakers discussing their body of work. A documentary definitely worth seeing and is highly engaging from start to finish.
    Alex r Super Reviewer
  • Feb 21, 2011
    Not only does it celebrate a lesser-known world of international cinema, it also pays homage to its creators without without too much ego-stroking, and introduces new audiences to Australian cinema. It's a very well done documentary and a truly entertaining movie in its' own right. I had no idea Australia had a kung-fu market. As most sexploitation films seem goofy to me, the ones featured here don't really seem to offer much more, but was excited to make a list of high-octane films to watch in the near future. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view&current=nqh-dead-end-drive-in.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/nqh-dead-end-drive-in.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
    El Hombre I Super Reviewer
  • Jan 25, 2011
    Thoroughly enjoyable look at the history of Ozploitation films. Added so many movies on to me want-to-see list it's not even funny. Even if you don't like the subject matter, it's hard to dislike the enthusiasm of those involved.
    Steve K Super Reviewer
See all Audience reviews

Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

News & Features