Ozploitation classic Stunt Rock to screen in Melbourne, with legendary director Brian Trenchard-Smith
Veteran Australian filmmaker Brian Trenchard-Smith is a legend of the Ozploitation movement, celebrated for making large scale movies on small budgets. Named by Quentin Tarantino as one of his favourite directors, Trenchard-Smith’s body of work includes BMX Bandits, Turkey Shoot, The Man From Hong Kong, Death Cheaters and Stunt Rock.
That last film – an outrageous action-musical opus described by some as “stuntsploitation” – will play at Melbourne’s Astor Theatre on Saturday July 14. The Astor will screen a 35mm print of the 1979 classic, borrowed from the director’s personal collection.
That alone is an event worthy of adding to the calendar. But it gets better. Brian Trenchard-Smith will be there in person, in a rare live appearance. A Q&A session will follow the screening, which will be presented by the National Film and Sound Archive.
The Astor has a number of other Trenchard-Smith films on its program, playing in July. These include Frog Dreaming, BMX Bandits, Death Cheaters and Dead End Drive-in. For more details consult the website.
Here’s the official synopsis of Stunt Rock, taken from the Astor:
“Australian stuntman Grant Page goes to Los Angeles to work on a television series. He uses his spare time to lend his expertise to rock band Sorcery, whose act features duels between the King of the Wizards and the Prince of Darkness, with his cousin playing the Prince. Page helps the duo develop pyrotechnic magic tricks for their shows, and also finds himself in a budding romance with a magazine writer as he recounts to her his own exploits as a stuntman and daredevil as well as various stunts by other greats.”
