The Club (DVD)
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Based on David Williamson's magnificent play of the same name, The Club remains one of Australia's most biting satires, and great Aussie movies of the 1980s.
Written for the stage, (and adapted for the screen), by one of Australia's most successful playwrights, David Williamson (The Removalists and Don's Party), as a play, The Club was extraordinarily successful. Melbourne Theatre Company launched it on 24 May 1977 at the Russell Street Theatre, and it played to full houses in an extended four-month run.
Apart from its great, and unexpected, commercial success, The Club has been a critical success as well. Indeed, within two years of it opening, The Club was added as one of the plays studied in Australian High Schools.
The Club is not necessarily a story about Aussie Rules Football. It's a story about egotism, commitment, power, jealousy, and greed, i.e. it's about human beings in a competitive and public environment. The story covers the transition of Australian sport into becoming Australian business. The culture and rituals of an old club are torn to shreds as the mighty dollar takes over. As one player remarks 'we joined for the honour of wearing the Guernsey and a pat on the back . . . not for money'.
The club (referred to in the title) is languishing near the bottom of the Victorian Football League (VFL) premiership ladder, and has done so for a long time. Indeed it's been 19 years since its last Premiership win, and an atmosphere of blame-storming, back-stabbing and desperation has brewed in the resulting tension. The club has just paid an enormous sum of money for a young Tasmanian player, in a huge gamble that he will help change their fortunes. What they don't know is that he's rather disenchanted with 'chasing a piece of pig skin around a muddy paddock'. His arrival at the Club ignites the tension and friction that has been gradually building between a number of key people.
One of the great things about The Club are the characters. They are all instantly recognizable as people we've all known or met, with all too recognizable human failings and weaknesses. First there's Ted (Graham Kennedy), a self-made businessman, who has bullied and blustered his way into becoming the Club President. Then there's Gerry (Allan Cassell), the club administrator and the wheeler-dealer. Add to this Jock (Frank Wilson), the wife-beating dinosaur -- a blunt and crude 'Aussie bloke'. There's also Danny (Harold Hopkins), the Captain, and one-time star, who can see the end of his career rapidly approaching. At the moral centre of the story is Laurie (Jack Thompson), a decent man and a struggling coach. Finally there's cynical Geoff (John Howard), the young recruit who has little interest in the ritual and tribal nature of footy or the Club, but somehow he still retains some residual spirit for the game.
Beautifully acted by the superb ensemble cast, the film is expertly directed by Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy, and Black Robe). The stand-out feature, however, is the expert writing by David Williamson (Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously). Both as a play, and as a film, The Club is expertly crafted, and unlike many plays that get converted to film, The Club does not suffer in the transition. Instead of a bare stage with a few chairs, with the magic of film, we're treated to cathedral stadiums, cheering crowds, and some great footage of classic VFL footy. So there's plenty of action, and not just talking heads.
EXTRA FEATURES
Meet The Team - interviews with the 'team' behind the movie, including Bruce Beresford, Jack Thompson, and Producer Matt Carroll.
The Club Then and Now - compares clips of Collingwood's clubhouse and ground as featured in the movie, with shots of those same areas today.
David Williamson: Voices On The Page - documentary about Williamson, The Club, and Australian theatre.
Complete ABC Radio Adaptation - Running for about 90 minutes this is the ABC's radio adaptation of the play
Up There Cazaly Music Video
Hear Jack Thompson Sing - singing the Collingwood Club song.
The Club (DVD)
SKU: 24132
$13.95
Sale price
$13.95
Regular price
About This Item
🔴 Condition - New 🔴
Based on David Williamson's magnificent play of the same name, The Club remains one of Australia's most biting satires, and great Aussie movies of the 1980s.
Written for the stage, (and adapted for the screen), by one of Australia's most successful playwrights, David Williamson (The Removalists and Don's Party), as a play, The Club was extraordinarily successful. Melbourne Theatre Company launched it on 24 May 1977 at the Russell Street Theatre, and it played to full houses in an extended four-month run.
Apart from its great, and unexpected, commercial success, The Club has been a critical success as well. Indeed, within two years of it opening, The Club was added as one of the plays studied in Australian High Schools.
The Club is not necessarily a story about Aussie Rules Football. It's a story about egotism, commitment, power, jealousy, and greed, i.e. it's about human beings in a competitive and public environment. The story covers the transition of Australian sport into becoming Australian business. The culture and rituals of an old club are torn to shreds as the mighty dollar takes over. As one player remarks 'we joined for the honour of wearing the Guernsey and a pat on the back . . . not for money'.
The club (referred to in the title) is languishing near the bottom of the Victorian Football League (VFL) premiership ladder, and has done so for a long time. Indeed it's been 19 years since its last Premiership win, and an atmosphere of blame-storming, back-stabbing and desperation has brewed in the resulting tension. The club has just paid an enormous sum of money for a young Tasmanian player, in a huge gamble that he will help change their fortunes. What they don't know is that he's rather disenchanted with 'chasing a piece of pig skin around a muddy paddock'. His arrival at the Club ignites the tension and friction that has been gradually building between a number of key people.
One of the great things about The Club are the characters. They are all instantly recognizable as people we've all known or met, with all too recognizable human failings and weaknesses. First there's Ted (Graham Kennedy), a self-made businessman, who has bullied and blustered his way into becoming the Club President. Then there's Gerry (Allan Cassell), the club administrator and the wheeler-dealer. Add to this Jock (Frank Wilson), the wife-beating dinosaur -- a blunt and crude 'Aussie bloke'. There's also Danny (Harold Hopkins), the Captain, and one-time star, who can see the end of his career rapidly approaching. At the moral centre of the story is Laurie (Jack Thompson), a decent man and a struggling coach. Finally there's cynical Geoff (John Howard), the young recruit who has little interest in the ritual and tribal nature of footy or the Club, but somehow he still retains some residual spirit for the game.
Beautifully acted by the superb ensemble cast, the film is expertly directed by Bruce Beresford (Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy, and Black Robe). The stand-out feature, however, is the expert writing by David Williamson (Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously). Both as a play, and as a film, The Club is expertly crafted, and unlike many plays that get converted to film, The Club does not suffer in the transition. Instead of a bare stage with a few chairs, with the magic of film, we're treated to cathedral stadiums, cheering crowds, and some great footage of classic VFL footy. So there's plenty of action, and not just talking heads.
EXTRA FEATURES
Meet The Team - interviews with the 'team' behind the movie, including Bruce Beresford, Jack Thompson, and Producer Matt Carroll.
The Club Then and Now - compares clips of Collingwood's clubhouse and ground as featured in the movie, with shots of those same areas today.
David Williamson: Voices On The Page - documentary about Williamson, The Club, and Australian theatre.
Complete ABC Radio Adaptation - Running for about 90 minutes this is the ABC's radio adaptation of the play
Up There Cazaly Music Video
Hear Jack Thompson Sing - singing the Collingwood Club song.