Australasian Cinema

home MASTER LIST inclusive list by date Australian Cinema (2008 unit) film details directors writers producers cinematographers New Zealand films NZ films by date top ten best films AACTA, AFI awards auteurs one-time directors endings couples bibliography links TYPES OF FILMS American art films Asian biopics books=>film bush cars children comedies coming of age crime diasporas disability docos exploitation Fremantle, WA gay horror/SF/fantasy indigenous Jewish metafilm music prison road films Russian shorts social realism sport surf Tasmania teenpics war WA westerns women's films

 

____Pitch Black____

Film Information:

Dimity Lyon

Director: David Twohy

Producer: Tom Engleman

Scriptwriter: Jim and Ken Wheat, and David Twohy (story by Jim and Ken Wheat)

Cinematographer: David Eggby

Editor: Rick Shaine

Production design: Graham Walker

Effects supervisor: Peter Chiang

Music: Graeme Revell

Main Cast: Rahda Mitchell – Caroline Fry

Vin Diesel – Richard B. Riddick

Cole Hauser – William J. Johns

Keith David – Abu al-Walid, aka Imam

Lewis Fitz-Gerald – Paris P. Ogilvie

Claudia Black – Sharron 'Shazza' Montgomery

Rhiana Griffith – Jack/Jackie

John Moore – John 'Zeke' Ezekiel

Production

Company: Universal Studios

Distributor: Australia – United International Pictures

America – USA Films

Running time: 108 minutes

Release dates: Australia – May 18, 2000

America – February 18, 2000

Video – November 8, 2000

Box Office: First week of release – AU$1 059 239

Second week, fell by 38% – AU$659 278

Third week – AU$254 113

Fourth week – AU$188 235 (Urban Cinefile Archives)

Links: Reviews -

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?Article_ID=3589

http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/021800pitch-film-review.html

http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/movies/p/pitch_black.html

http://www.salon.com/ent/movies/review/2000/02/18/pitch/index.html

On the internet there is a large number of resources for the film Pitch Black which I found all to be very helpful and informative. in fact I got carried away in the internet resources that I unintentionally neglected to search library texts as I should have. I do believe that it may be difficult to find information of this film in a text on Australian Cinema for the fact that not everyone would agree that it is an Australian Film. The internet is a great database for film reviews due to there being no boundaries on what people can write. I found an equal amount of positive and negative reviews the only problem is that not many professional critics publish their comments on the internet, the published texts are their avenue.
Synopsis:

In a not too distant future where the only way to travel is to be cryogenically frozen, a human transport ship has to make a crash landing on a desolate planet. A handful of survivors Fry (the pilot), Johns ( a bounty hunter) and a Riddick ( a convicted murderer) are just a few who must face the trials and tribulations of surviving this planet. With three suns night fall is non-existent, and water in high demand. It is on an expedition for food, supplies and desperately water they discover a deserted, untouched camp site. As they unlock the secrets to the deserted camp a total eclipse sends the planet into darkness. In a struggle for survival these people must band together and overcome their differences, recognise their strengths and tolerate their weaknesses to outsmark the ever luring Pitch Black.

A film that attempts to reconstruct the Alien saga, Pitch Black is a one hit wonder. The basic outline of the film focuses on the relationships that form between the lead characters. Similar to the Alien series there is a female heroine, Caroline Fry who is very similar to the famous Sigorney Weaver character of Ripley. Unlike alien this is not a military operation the people are civilians apart from the leading man Riddick who has been imprisoned for his war crimes, and the lawman who has been tracking him since his escape, Johns.

A civilian transport has to make a crash landing on a deserted planet after flying through an asteroid belt. On coming into the atmosphere Fry is challenged by the desire to save her ship and attempts to offload her cargo, the passengers. The co-pilot stops her in time, however the ship cannot be saved. It doesn't take long to find all the survivors and they work together to set up an area for them to camp in. among the survivors is a convicted murderer, Riddick, who escapes from his holding cell and is at first the biggest threat to the rest of the group. With the mysterious death of one of the survivors Zeke ( John Moore). Riddick is recaptured by Johns. Johns strikes a deal with Riddick and he becomes an extremely watched and mistrusted member of the group. On finding a transport ship at a nearby deserted camp they realise they must go back to the crash ship to take its power cells. As they reach the ship the planet falls into darkness as the planet experiences a total eclipse of its three suns. As the survivors work together to get back alive, it is the differences and clashes that each character experiences with each other that causes the most problems. Not only is it in total darkness but a pterodycl type alien inhabits this planet and has a taste for human flesh.

Pitch Black was released in a fairly quiet period in the cinemas. Alibrandi had only been in the cinemas for a few weeks but long enough for the initial hype to die down. In America however, Pitch Black was released at the same time as another big film for Pitch Blacks leading man Vin Diesel, the Boiler Room. In all the reviews gathered off the internet the first thing mentioned is that it must be Vin Diesel week. According to Urban cinefile Archives in its first week of release Pitch Black made AU$1 059 239. In the following week falling by 38% it made AU$659 278. In its third week of release however, a major blockbuster film hit the screens with Mission Impossible 2, making AU$254 113, also managing to hold onto 6th position for the most popular films for the period of June 1 – June 4 2000. In its fourth week slipping down to 12th position making AU$188 235. Pitch Black remained in the top 20 for 5 weeks grossing in that time something like AU$2 843 179.

The crew that worked on this film are somewhat of a family having worked together on a few other films before and after Pitch Black such as Below (2002) which was written by director David Twohy. David Twohy has an enormous filmography of films that he has written including Waterworld (1995), Terminal Velocity (1994) and Critters 2: The Main Course (1988). He has also done a lot of screen plays for films including Pitch Black (2000), GI Jane (1997) and The Fugitive (1993). However, David has only directed 4 films befor Pitch Black, and one being a TV movie The Arrival which is his initial attempt at the Sci-Fi genre and was quite successful with it. Interestingly producer Tom Engleman's only recognisable work is that of Terminal Velocity (1994). On the otherhand, cinematographer David Eggby has an enormous reservoir of popular work with titles such as Scooby – doo (2002), Daylight (1996), Lightning Jack (1994), Fortress (1993) and Mad Max (1979). With a cinematographer such as Eggby there would have been enormous pressure on this work to be up to the standards of his previous work. Pitch Black certainly blew audiences away with the cinematography and its computer graphics. It is amazing to see another way that Eggby could transform Coober – Pedy into an awesome landscape. Another member of the crew that has an interesting filmography is the effects supervisor Peter Chiang, who worked with Twohy on Below (2002) and has worked on other films including Captain Corelli's Mandolin (2001), The Tailor of Panama (2001), Elizabeth (1998), Labyrinth (1986), and Supergirl (1984). Quite clearly with an experienced visual crew such as this Pitch Black is expected to have a "pretty" label on it. Too bad most of the film is set in total darkness, the exporation of nice effects would be restricted to Riddick's vision and the vision of the monsters.

Pitch Black is a film that is targeted at a hollywood audience and is a film that can be defined either as a Hollywood film or Australian. This uncertainty is a problem that has been plaguing the Australian cinema mostly through the 1990's. Australian cinema has in the past attempted to reach the international audiences of America and Britain and in doing so has lost the distinctive characteristics that gives a film a certain Australian flavour. It was in the late 80's early 90's to present that the Australian cinema had produced films for export oversea's. Films such as Crocodile Dundee (1986), Muriel's Wedding (1994) and The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (1994) all show a side of Australian quirkiness that appealed to the overseas audiences however, it isn't just the Australian actors and humour that appealed to those audiences. The overseas audience included the film makers of the future, the australian landscape may have been an appealing aspect of these films.

Coober Pedy has repetitiously been used in films for its vast, dry and desolate appearance and therefore it is no wonder that it should be used in Pitch Black for the landscape. So many times it has been transformed into a wasteland all starting with Mad Max (1979), and with the same cinematographer David Eggby it is even less surprising that Coober Pedy would be the films location.

There is a trend in Australian cinema of present day, a more globalised acceptance of the norms in society. In many films today it is very difficult to tell the difference between and Australian film and a Hollywood film, it is usually through the actors and accents of those actors that it is possible. Pitch Black has an enormous cast of Australian actors which all do a fantastic job at convincing the audience that they are not australian. The leading female role, the heroine of the film is in fact Radha Mitchell who can be seen in the Australian Film Love and other Catastrophes and other australian films. Other Australian actors include Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Claudia Black and John Moore. It is a shame that Australia's finest actors tend to travel overseas and set up residency to make it 'big' in Hollywood. The question must be raised as to why this is? Unfortunately with recognition in Hollywood comes the prestige and the money. Hollywood is and international cinema and if an actor can 'make it' there then the whole english speaking world is likely to know who they are. If an Australian film gets high recognition in this international cinema then the whole of the Australian film industry gets known and most likely praised. Even Australian Directors and producters leave for tinseltown to make the big films, and they bring back to australia with them many techniques and stories of Hollywood. For a strange reason Australian Cinema is heading in the direction of Hollywood style films when it is quite clear that it is the quirky ones the films with that little bit extra different that get the applause.

There is many strands to the whole that makes the Australian cinema what it is and in recent years Australia is only being used for its location, with films such as Mission Impossible 2 and the Matrix as examples. Australia is still making quality films, don't get me wrong, the likes of Lantana, the Bank and the like. There are quirky films such as Better than Sex, however it seems that globalisation has ment that there are few differences between the Australian and American lifestyles. With our future film makers growing up on a diet of Hollywood films means that is what they are most likely to aspire to. One day the Australianness of films is going to fade away and it will be a very sad day in cinematic history, it is why we must hold on to what characteristic Australian cinema we have left. We are lucky that there are still a few years left in some of our greatest directors such as Baz Luhrman. With films such as Moulin Rouge (2000) there is a new direction for australian cinema with the future film makers in awe of such works, and the rest of the world.

It is hard to pinpoint exactly where to situate Pitch Black in the Australian National cinema as a medium sized English Language cinema. It is hard enough trying to determine whether it is an Australian film. Some say that an Australian film deals with australian issues and says something about the australian culture and way of life, certainly Pitch Black doesn't do this. Yet I am compelled to claim it as Australian as something of a trial or something new to play around with, the sci-fi arena. Sure there have been similar possibly more successful attempts, but it is the TV market that has benefited most from the sci-fi experimentation. Farscape is a prime example, it is not the greatest TV show in the world but it is Australian and explores this arena, which Claudia Black also stars in. On the Australian National Cinema Landscape Pitch Black is right on the outside, on the edge, bordering the Hollywood cinema.