Having gathered the above plot-line from the previews did not deter a huge Sydney crowd packing out the cinema for one of the first advance screenings of *The Dish*. They had post-Olympic expectations of Rob Sitch's film, and were prepared to forgive a cast that included actors from *SeaChange* and *GP*, and Sam Neill [the latter is a lot to forgive].
They were not disappointed. For those of us who were toddlers or not even born when man walked on the moon [I was two at the time, crawling round in front of a black and white telly just a few miles from Forbes and Parkes where much of the filming was done], watching *The Dish* was just like being there in 1969.
Actual [ABC] footage has been combined with an appropriate, upbeat sound track, and the comic script, superbly executed, has gags for the slowest to the quickest-witted. Sam Neill is almost warm, and the continuity stands up to scrutiny. If *The Dish* seems sometimes overstated to the Australian audience, it may seem underdone to the American block-buster audience.
The fact that it is internationally marketable [Working Dog deny that they filmed for an international market] was not at the expense of its success here. It has avoided the eternal dusk that *The Crossing* (filmed not far away about ten years previously) fell prey to, and the devices used to explain Australian slang fit fairly seamlessly into the dialogue. The Australian putting on an American accent is most hilarious.
Good entertainment.
They were not disappointed. For those of us who were toddlers or not even born when man walked on the moon [I was two at the time, crawling round in front of a black and white telly just a few miles from Forbes and Parkes where much of the filming was done], watching *The Dish* was just like being there in 1969.
Actual [ABC] footage has been combined with an appropriate, upbeat sound track, and the comic script, superbly executed, has gags for the slowest to the quickest-witted. Sam Neill is almost warm, and the continuity stands up to scrutiny. If *The Dish* seems sometimes overstated to the Australian audience, it may seem underdone to the American block-buster audience.
The fact that it is internationally marketable [Working Dog deny that they filmed for an international market] was not at the expense of its success here. It has avoided the eternal dusk that *The Crossing* (filmed not far away about ten years previously) fell prey to, and the devices used to explain Australian slang fit fairly seamlessly into the dialogue. The Australian putting on an American accent is most hilarious.
Good entertainment.