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Chopper (Movie)
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The story of Chopper is not as compelling as the performance in the movie of Eric Bana, the actor who portrays Chopper. American audiences will be at a disadvantage on both points, since both Chopper and Bana are distinctly Australian properties, virtually unknown in the States. Mark "Chopper" Read is a best-selling author and convicted murderer. He has a colorful personality and a dark sense of humor that pervades his autobiography From the Inside. Bana (The Castle, Black Hawk Down) is a wildly popular comedian, whose rise to stardom came with a Saturday Night Live-type sketch comedy show in Australia. He went seriously against type by taking the role of Chopper.
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Mark "Chopper" Read is a best-selling author living in Australia, and is something of a national hero. The question is "why?" He's ... a convicted murderer who claimed to be one of the worst serial killers in that country's history. This doesn't make for good publicity for the land down under.
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For Australians concerned about the image that Chopper shows to the world, a finger of blame can be pointed at some of the comments that followed the release of Crocodile Dundee in 1986. For Geoffrey Barker of the Melbourne Herald, Crocodile Dundee reinforced negative international perceptions that "Australians are gauche, provincial and philistine". It was due to such comments that the Australian industry started making movies that were intent on criticising the Australian character. As a consequence of people like Mr Barker expressing their prejudices, and directors like Stephan Elliot creating movies to appeal to such prejudices, 20 years later the stereotypes that Australia is showing to the world is an eclectic mix of ex-cons, serial killers and homosexual transvestites. In comparison, a good natured crocodile wrestler doesn't look so bad after all.
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The true-life story follows Mark "Chopper" Read (Eric Bana), one of Australia s most notorious criminals, who dreams of making a name for himself as a legendary crime figure. The son of a devoutly religious mother and domineering father, he s been in and out of jail since he was 16. The former soldier is part showman, part violent psychotic. He got his nickname for cutting the toes off his enemies. He attempts to spring his best friend Jimmy Loughman from a maximum-security prison by kidnapping a judge at gunpoint, and uses a gun loaded with blanks. While he publicizes his criminal escapades during the 70s and 80s in books and on TV, Read s own life careens into absurdity.
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Mark "Chopper" Read is just another thug before he sets out to make a name for himself as Australia's most infamous criminal. From murdering other criminals to lopping off his own ears, Read will do anything to gain recognition.
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Biopic of famous Aussie criminal Mark "Chopper" Read is highlighted by Bana's extraordinary performance in the title role. Dominik's directorial debut follows Read's career from prison, where he murders one inmate, forces another to cut off his ears, and generally makes hardened criminal fear for their lives, to his old haunts, where he seeks revenge for past wrongs. Full of gore and ultraviolence, it's not for the sqeamish, but it does make its point about society's preoccupation with the "celebrity criminal." Read didn't participate in the production, but it was based on his nine bestsellers, and he did suggest Bana for the lead.
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Chopper (Movie)