Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs 1977

5.70

Recluse Smith is drawn into a revolutionary struggle between guerrillas and right-wingers in New Zealand. Implicated in a murder and framed as a revolutionary conspirator, Smith tries to maintain an attitude of non-violence while caught between warring factions.

1977

Smash Palace

Smash Palace 1981

6.20

Al Shaw's life revolves around motor racing and his back country junkyard, the "Smash Palace". His French wife, Jacqui, doesn't appreciate the lack of attention due to Al's obsession with cars. When Al finds her in the arms of another man, he takes his daughter, Georgie and heads for the bush, desperately hoping to hold on to the only family he has left.

1981

Start Again

Start Again 1972

1

One of the earliest films made by Australian director Roger Donaldson (Sleeping Dogs), this curio chronicles the dawning of the Age of Aquarius in Aotearoa. The made-for-TV film features interviews with those who've swapped walk shorts for wigwams to "start again".

1972

Nutcase

Nutcase 1978

1

Evil Eva and her cronies threaten to blow their enemies sky-high by reactivating the Rangitoto volcano with a nuclear device. However, the goofy gang isn't all bad - they like to break into song and dance while holding the city for ransom. Who will save the city from destruction? Why a talented trio of kids, including a nutcase who has invented an antigravity machine. The police force, zonked out on Eva's drugged coffee, are made ineffectual.

1978

The River's Bed

The River's Bed 2017

1

Following disastrous floods, a vast construction project is in the process of revitalizing the Rhone by removing the concrete straitjacket, and instead enlarging the river's bed to promote river life. The filmmaker follows the development of this unusually inclusive project through its diverse protagonists, including hydrobiologists, fishermen, farmers, engineers and concerned citizens. Their divergent concerns permit a fuller and unbiased understanding of the complexity of such a project. As a result, this engaging and lyrical film is a journey that prompts a universal questioning of our past and future relationship with nature and territory.

2017