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Simply A Masterpiece

I'll tell you why so serious

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Australia in the 1850's. Irish miner Daniel Morgan (an electrifying live-wire performance of remarkable intensity and conviction by Dennis Hopper) is forced to become a highway robber out of total necessity. After serving six years hard time in a brutal prison, Morgan gets released and vows revenge on those who wronged him. Assisted by his loyal and amiable Aborignine best buddy Billy (a wonderfully engaging portrayal by David Gulpilil), Morgan becomes a legendary outlaw who's a folk hero to the people and a vehemently hated wanted criminal by the police. Writer/director Phillipe Mora does an expert job of relating this potent, gripping, and often exciting tragic tale of social barbarism and injustice: the brisk pace rarely let's up for a minute, the tone is appropriately tough and gritty, there's a vivid and flavorsome evocation of the Australian outback setting, the jarring outbursts of abrupt and savage violence pack a wicked punch, and the bold and provocative central theme of racism is tackled in a gutsy and confrontational manner. Hopper's fiery impassioned acting in the lead role is nothing short of astounding; Hopper really shows this volatile and unpredictable man in a warts and all fashion (the film scores extra points for depicting the rougher aspects of Morgan's character in an admirably stark and unsentimental way), yet still manages to make Morgan a sympathetic person. The supporting cast is likewise excellent, with stand-out contributions by Frank Thring as ruthless Superintendent Cobham, Bill Hunter as the vicious, determined Sergeant Smith, Jack Thompson as the shrewd, compassionate Detective Mainwaring, Michael Pate as the cocky Superintendent Winch, and Robin Ramsey as jolly photographer Roget. Mike Molloy's sumptuous widescreen cinematography offers plenty of striking shots of the beautiful Australian landscape. Patrick Flynn's moody score also hits the spot. Among the most memorable moments are Morgan's mistreatment at the hands of his foul fellow inmates in jail (these scenes are extremely harsh and harrowing to behold), a barmaid attempting to seduce Morgan in a saloon, and Morgan crashing a posh diner at a mansion. The friendship between Morgan and Billy is genuinely touching. Well worth seeing.

Australia, in the 1850s. An Irish man Daniel Morgan starts off as gold-seeking immigrant who turns to robbery and gets sentenced to 12 years prison time. This is where the going gets truly tough and scars his mind. After a couple years he gets released. After befriending an aboriginal named Billy, he becomes a bushranger with an ever-growing bounty looming over his head. The two go out of their way to seek those prominent figures for turning him into what he is and for pushing him to the brink of self-destruction. On his trail is the determined Detective Mainwaring, which puts even more pressure on the cracking mind of Daniel "Mad Dog" Morgan.I heard of the film before, but never had the chance to see it until just recently when I managed to pick myself up a copy of the film. Those who believe this to be a sorely forgotten Australian gem, do make a valid point and I'll be jumping onto the bandwagon too. Cult Aussie director Philippe Mora makes his directorial debut with an interestingly odd, exploratory and rampant curio piece of an Australian bushranger folk legend. It doesn't feel like your basic outlaw movie, as hounding the picture is a socially minded lashing of corrupt power taking away the respectability of a lone and misunderstood figure (Daniel Morgan). We watch the spiralling depiction of a fazed man fighting a society who thinks they are better accustomed and more civilized than him because of his actions against them (but that's far from the case). I didn't think it was going to be as harrowing and potently involving as it was, but this is very much largely thanks to spellbinding method actor Dennis Hopper's (who fell out favour with Hollywood at the time) multi-layered performance as Mad Dog Morgan. His erratic changes in mood (from being placidly polite to passionately quick tempered) are very successfully timed and indeed convincing. One of his best.Leading the way is a strong Australian support cast with their characters getting enough time to shine. David Gulpilil is a good choice as Billy and has a budding rapport that works along with Hopper's character. Frank Thring stands out as the aggressively bull-headed Superintendent Cobham and a poignantly stern Jack Thompson makes the most of his small role as Detective Mainwaring. Also lurking on screen with tip-top (and some quirky) performances are John Hargreaves, Wallace Eaton, Bill Hunter (who chews up the scenery) and Bruce Spence ticks in with a blink and you'll miss it spot. These are very human characters and cast do a fine job in bringing that to the screen. Mora has crafted a roughly violent tale that skews between cheekiness and a spiritual foray in a well up drawn period. The story jauntily breezes by to begin with then falls into some patchy holes when it can drag, but never gets dull or loses its bitingly ironic edge. It seems to be more complex in its character's reactions than the basic narrative lets on. Mora smoothly plays along with his stylish filming techniques and has a gifted eye for short spurts of flair and (at time surreal) images. No more than some of the well mounted photography by Mike Molloy focuses on the vastly stunning backdrop of the untamed Australian wilderness and accompanying the action is an diversely roaring music score that fits right in with the style Mora's going for."Mad Dog Morgan" is an overlooked Australian rarity of the 70s, which is hard not to be highly fascinated by its boldly rough and evocatively baseless treatment of the stirring material.

CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS Once again, Dennis Hopper gives an over-the-top performance as Daniel Morgan, the infamous outlaw of the the 1860s. MAD DOG (as the film was also known) is highly evocative of the colonial era: frontier lands with few townships but individual homesteads, extreme parochialism and an uneasy relationship between free settlers and ex-convicts. The dirge begins on the NSW Goldfields where our Irish protagonist falls out with his fellow diggers and seeks company with the out-cast Chinese instead. Whilst smoking opium in a Joss House, a group of aggrieved and racist miners beset Morgan and his compatriots; burning the house to the ground. Morgan runs to the bush and becomes a highwayman: eventually being sentenced to the gaols. As the magistrate reveals, severe sentences are necessary to build the colony's roads.In gaol, Morgan is brutalized and maltreated by both guards and fellow prisoners. Upon his release, he finds himself in old ways and later makes an aboriginal companion. The duo continue to harass (mostly) the squatters and large-lot landowners along the Riverina in New South Wales and Victoria. Morgan is eventually shot and killed by a loose coalition of police officers and privateers. The authorities generally are portrayed as equally corrupt and invidious as Morgan. The bulk of the police-force, for instance, are recently released prisoners or prison-wardens looking for easy money. The Governor of Victoria (played deliciously by Frank Thring) subscribes to the belief that a mastermind criminal like Morgan must have "the physical attributes of a gorilla" and a "throw-back to primitive man" - forgetting his own monolithic presence and bulging forehead.Australia is presented as the penal colony it really was: "a melting pot of racial, social, and economic tensions" - and so film is quite a macarabe and episodic one. While evocative of the mood, a far amount of artistic license has been taken in the history. Surprisingly absent from MAD DOG MORGAN are accounts of sadist and barbaric acts committed by Morgan, including the ungentlemenly murder of two policemen shot in the back. Looking back, MAD DOG MORGAN contains a guest-list of Australian actors which now can be somewhat distracting (Yes, that is Alf Stewart from "HOME AND AWAY" as the Scottish Telegraphist.)

This movie is typical Australian because the landscape has its part of the scenes, it is a protagonist. It is similar to the American Midwest but at the same time it is so different because there is more variety. It is in the most hot parts of Australia that Daniel Morgan will be rescued by a bush-man. He became a horse-thief, element in the story which is not explained well because he already had left prison for three years. We only see the developing of his character at the end of the movie when he invites himself into the family Mcpherson. Why did he become a bandit? He does not lack courage but will he be caught alive? His life in the wilderness is only slightly developed with his bush-comrade who saved his life; the beginning of the story shows him confronted with Australian justice which had no equity at all. The prison system will almost kill him morally. In a scene in a tavern he confesses to a woman that he only knew one women in his life: his mother.