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Released by: Intervision Picture Corp.
Released on: January 10, 2012.
Director: John Lamond
Cast: Gina Allen, Count Copernicus
Year: 1975
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The Movie:
The directorial debut of Australian sexploitation auteur John D. Lamond, 1975's Australia After Dark is basically just a cash in on the Mondo films that were being churned out in Italy and then later in the USA around the same time, though it's interesting to note that it obviously approaches things from a uniquely Australian perspective.
Narrated by Hayes Gordon, the film begins by giving us a very brief history of the continent before then explaining how the country's own unique culture has given way to various kinks and odd behaviors. From there, of course, our cinematic tour guide shows us those kinks and behaviors, all set to a swingin' soundtrack and Haye's stoic but often times humorous narration. Like the films that came before it, this one serves up a strange mix of sexy and gross, showing us such shocking events as a supposed black magic ritual involving a man in green body paint gyrating overtop of a woman so engrossed in things that she can't help but look on, a smile lingering on her lips as she willing lets the green guy do the devil's work in her loins. There's also some body painting and a strange variation of that which involves naked ladies covered in paint rolling around on a giant canvas - this is art! Topless scuba divers are shown in all their titty-riffic glory and at one point we get to spend a day in the life of a man who makes a healthy living as a custom bikini maker.
Mixed in with the sexy side of things are scenes in which people eat grubs, some interviews with a woman who we're told is sane but who is possibly a little more out there than the narration would have us believe - she's obsessed with UFOs and claims to see them pretty regularly. We also get to check out some ancient rock paintings done by the Aboriginal people indigenous to Australia and we get the rare opportunity of watching a bunch of hefty Aussie guys drinking a ridiculous amount of beer - evidently the Aborigines enjoy this too. A quick trip to Perth shows us an inside look at the gay weddings that we're told are commonplace in this city, the gay capital of Australia and before the movie is over we spend some time with an eccentric musician/performance artist type who goes by the name of Count Copernicus. More obnoxious than he is interesting, he's got a few similarly strange artsy types who hang out with him at his compound. Other subjects covered include people who enjoy looking at women's bums, a visit to some BDSM enthusiasts and a quick visit to an old Australian gallows where the death masks of notorious criminals are on display. Oh, and we also get to watch a woman roll around in the mud and we pay a visit to a flamboyant pornographer's studio.
A few of the segments go on too long and wind up overstaying their welcome (Count Copernicus being the most obvious example, the UFO lady being the second most obvious) but for the most part this is a moderately amusing take on the supposed seedy side of Australian culture. Of course, it's all horribly dated and more than a little bit politically incorrect by today's standards and you have to take all of the 'facts' that it presents with a pretty hefty grain of salt but those with an affinity for Mondo movies will get a kick out of this one even if it's not a high point. Lamond would follow this up shortly after with The ABC Of Love And Sex: Australia Style, a much sexier and far more entertaining picture mined in a similar vein.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Shot on 16mm and then blown up to 35mm, Australia After Dark doesn't look nearly as good as The ABC Of Love And Sex does. The film is presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen and sometimes the compositions look a bit tight but never to the point where it really messes with any of the images. As far as the picture quality goes, it's perfectly watchable but frequently soft and sometimes there is mild trailing during scenes of fast motion, indicating that this may be a PAL conversion. So yeah, the movie is watchable but this one won't win any awards for video quality.
The sole audio option on the DVD is an English language Dolby Digital Mono track, there are no alternate language options or subtitles supplied. This track sounds fine, though there is frequent hiss throughout whenever the narrator annunciates a little. The music sounds good, the levels are well balanced, and even with the hiss there's not too much to complain about.
The only extra, outside of a static menu, is a commentary track with director John Lamond moderated by Not Quite Hollywood director Mark Hartley. Interestingly enough, Lamond mentions that there's a scene missing from this version of the movie and that he does have it, but evidently it wasn't included in the extras here for whatever reason. He also talks about the intricacies of making a Mondo style movie, about staging certain scenes for the film and about capturing others as they happened in true documentary style. As all of this plays out he also discusses how he got into the exploitation movie business, what the early years of his career were like and generally just gives us a really fascinating view of the Australian trash movie scene of the day.
The Final Word:
If it's not the 'be all, end all' of sexploitative Mondo movies, Australia After Dark is still an interesting time capsule of sorts and a fairly amusing artifact from the early days of John Lamond's filmography. If Intervision's transfer isn't amazing, the commentary makes up for that.
