Recent movies like Sweet Country and The Nightingale have explored Australia's historic crimes against its aboriginal natives, but director Fred Schepisi got there first with his 1978 drama The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.
Based on the true story of Jimmy Governer, a mixed race farmhand who rose up with violence against his white oppressors, and adapted from Thomas Keneally's novel, the film is considered a key work of the '70s Australian New Wave.
Eureka Entertainment will release The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith on dual format blu-ray/DVD on August 19th.
Bonus features include a choice between the 122 minute Australian cut and the 177 minute international cut; commentaries by Schepisi and film critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas; interviews with Schepisi, cinematographer Ian Baker and actor Tom E. Lewis; a making of documentary; a doc on the casting of aboriginal lead actors Lewis and Freddy Reynolds; trailer; stills gallery; and a collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by Travis Crawford, a reprint of Pauline Kael’s original review of the film and rare archival imagery.
Check out Eureka's new trailer below.
"An initially compelling western coming-of-age story sadly switches gears into a mediocre rescue narrative."— ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ฃ.๐๐ ๐ ๐ฌ (@themoviewaffler) June 9, 2019
THE KID is on DVD/VOD/blu-ray now.
Read @hilliseric's reviewhttps://t.co/cfC5FIHNF0 pic.twitter.com/XJteMK6uSo