Dark Age (film)

Dark Age is a 1987 Australian horror adventure film[2] directed by Arch Nicholson, produced by Antony I. Ginnane and starring John Jarratt.[3]

Dark Age
Theatrical film poster
Directed byArch Nicholson
Produced byBasil Appleby
Screenplay bySonia Borg
Based onNumunwari
by Grahame Webb
Starring
Music byDanny Beckerman
CinematographyAndrew Lesnie
Edited byAdrian Carr
Production
company
Distributed byEmbassy Home Entertainment
Release date
July 10, 1987
Running time
91 minutes
Country
  • Australia
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$4.8 million[1]

Plot

Steve Harris (John Jarratt) is a ranger who has been assigned to deal with a massive saltwater crocodile that's been attacking and killing people in the Northern Territory. He finds himself at odds with the local Aboriginal community, who believe the crocodile should be preserved since it contains the spirit of their past. Steve must develop a plan to respect the wishes of the Aborigines and also protect the residents threatened by the crocodile.

Cast

Production

The film was part of a two-picture deal between executive producer Antony I. Ginnane and Hollywood studio RKO which also included The Lighthorsemen. Shooting took place five weeks in Cairns and one week in Alice Springs, starting 22 April 1986.[4]

The plot shares many similarities to Jaws and contains homage shots such as the shot involving a shooting star.

Release

The movie was never seen in Australia theatrically and took a long time to be seen on DVD.[4]

Reception

Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews gave a positive review, calling the film "well-produced and acted, and an intelligent environmental adventure film results."

Quentin Tarantino spoke enthusiastically of the film in the documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!, commenting "You could re-release Dark Age in 2,000 screenings and people would go see it." In 2009, Tarantino hosted a screening for it in Sydney.[5]

Filmink later said "The phenomenal box office success of Jaws meant producers inevitably looked towards Australia’s deadly fauna as a source of inspiration... In hindsight, it’s actually weird that more films about killer animals weren’t made in the 10BA era." [6]

See also
  • List of killer crocodile films

References
  1. "Australian Productions Top $175 million", Cinema Papers, March 1986 p64
  2. Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p34
  3. "Memories of Arch Nicholson". Filmnews. New South Wales, Australia. 1 March 1990. p. 5. Retrieved 16 May 2020 – via Trove.
  4. David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p302-303
  5. "Dark Age Q & A" Popcorn Taxi 2009 Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine accessed 1 November 2012
  6. Vagg, Stephen (29 February 2020). "Top Ten 10BA Knock Offs". Filmink.


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