| The Castle | |
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 Promotional poster |
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| Directed by | Rob Sitch |
| Produced by | Working Dog Productions |
| Written by | Santo Cilauro Tom Gleisner Jane Kennedy Rob Sitch |
| Starring | Michael Caton Anne Tenney Stephen Curry Eric Bana |
| Music by | Craig Harnath Edmund Choi (US version) |
| Cinematography | Miriana Marusic |
| Editing by | Wayne Hyett |
| Distributed by | Village Roadshow (AU), Miramax Films (USA) United International Pictures Ltd. (UK), RVC Film Distribution (Netherlands/Belgium/Luxembourg) Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (Switzerland) |
| Release date(s) | 1997 |
| Running time | 83 min. |
| Country |  Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ~AUD $500,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
The Castle is a 1997 Australian comedy film that gained widespread acclaim in Australia, but was not widely distributed worldwide. The Castle starred Michael Caton and Anne Tenney, Eric Bana, and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. Directed by Rob Sitch, the screenwriting team comprised Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions. The Castle was filmed in 11 days on a budget of approximately AUD$500,000 (rumoured to be as little as AUD$19,000).
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Plot
The story follows the exploits of the Kerrigan family, -whose name was reportedly borrowed from the towing company that lent them the trucks used in the film- who have been blissfully residing in their home (their "castle") for years. Unfortunately, the nearby airport wants to expand and plans to evict the Kerrigans and their neighbours by way of compulsory acquisition. The humour in The Castle plays on the self image of Australians, most notably the concept of "the little Aussie battler".[1] The movie title is named for the English saying, repeatedly used in the film, "A man's home is his castle." The film also refers to the land rights movement of the Australian Aborigines, with Darryl Kerrigan drawing an explicit parallel between his struggle and theirs. It also draws on one of the few rights protected in the Australian Constitution for subject matter, the right to just terms compensation for acquisition of property under s51(xxxi). Also interspersed in the film are many references to famous Australian Constitutional Law Cases, such as Mabo and the Tasmanian Dams Case. The film also deals with section 109 of the Constitution which states that in the case of inconsistency between Federal and State law, Federal law will prevail.
Filming locations
The Castle was filmed mostly in Melbourne, Australia. The external shots of the Kerrigan household were shot at 3 Dagonet St, Strathmore, and footage of Essendon Airport and Melbourne Airport. Location shots of Brunswick feature in the film, including Brunswick Town Hall. Melbourne's 200 Queen Street and the Supreme Court of Victoria are featured along with the High Court of Australia in Canberra. Although some of the film is set in Bonnie Doon, a very small portion of it was shot there.
Alternate versions
In the USA version, there were several cosmetic changes, among them, 'rissole' was changed to 'meatloaf', references to the Australian TV show Hey, Hey, It's Saturday was removed, and the brand names of the various cars in the driveway was changed from Australian (Commodore etc) to American (Chevrolet).[2] The Australian TV-Version for "before 8.30pm screening" has scenes of explicit language either completely cut, where possible, masked by aircraft noises (as the house is situated under the flightpath of Melbourne-Tullamarine International Airport) or redubbed, when lip movements can't be seen.
Cast
- Michael Caton as Darryl Kerrigan
- Anne Tenney as Sal Kerrigan
- Stephen Curry as Dale Kerrigan
- Anthony Simcoe as Steve Kerrigan
- Sophie Lee as Tracey Petropoulous (nee Kerrigan)
- Wayne Hope as Wayne Kerrigan
- Tiriel Mora as Dennis Denuto
- Eric Bana as Con Petropoulous
- Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Lawrence Hammill
- John Flaus as Sgt. Kennedy
- Oliver Rees as Himself/Judge 3
- Comedian Tony Martin also plays a cameo role, as the son of Lawrence Hammill
References
See also
External links
- The Castle at the Internet Movie Database
- The Castle at the National Film and Sound Archive
- DVD release details including region 1 vs. 4 comparison
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