''Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds'' is a 1989 Australian

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astro ...

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

directed, produced and written by

Alex Proyas Alexander Proyas (; Greek: Αλέξανδρος Πρόγιας; born 23 September 1963) is an Australian filmmaker of Greek descent. Proyas is best known for directing the films ''The Crow'' (1994), '' Dark City'' (1998), ''I, Robot'' (2004), ' ...

, which was marking its first feature debut. Set in a post-apocalyptic world in which two siblings live in a homestead whose silence gets interrupted by a fugitive named Smith. Starring Michael Lake, Rhys Davis and

Norman Boyd Norman Boyd (born 16 October 1961) is a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland who served as a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for South Antrim from 1998 to 2003. Boyd was born in Belfast and attended Belfast High School and ...

, the film was shot on location near

Broken Hill, New South Wales Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

and at Supreme Studios Sydney and was made with a budget of $500,000.Peter Miller (Spirits' Composer/ Art Director) website
Spirits Image & Trivia Archive
/ref> Upon release, the film received mixed reviews. It is unknown how much the film grossed at the box office yet it commenced Proyas' status in filmmaking.

Premise

Siblings Felix and Betty Crabtree live alone in a homestead on a treeless desert plain. Their solitary lives are interrupted by a fugitive with a mysterious past, who gives the name "Smith". Smith is fleeing to the north, a trio of sinister figures in pursuit. Felix, who is a wheelchair user, tells Smith that the route to the north is blocked by an impassable wall of cliffs, and convinces him that the only way he can travel beyond them is to fly. Smith, at first sceptical, is eventually convinced that his only means of escape lies with Felix's plan to build a "flying machine". Meanwhile, the religiously addled Betty is convinced that Smith is a demon from hell, and makes her own plans to get rid of him.

Cast

* Michael Lake as Felix Crabtree * Rhys Davis (Melissa Davis) as Betty Crabtree * Norman Boyd (The Norm) as Smith

Reception

Film critic

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 10 September 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning film critic, as both a journalist and interviewer, film historian and lecturer and television personality and producer. Life and career Born in Trowbridge, ...

praised the film as having a "special vision," with brilliant production design, but while furthermore opined that "the film frustrates because of its lethargy and stiltedness". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' magazine called the soundtrack recording "an album of stunning instrumental beauty and exquisite soundscapes" and awarded it 4 stars.

Re-release

In June 2018, director Alex Proyas released a trailer on his YouTube channel for a re-release of the movie, remastered from original 16mm negative and featuring a restored soundtrack from the original

Dolby Stereo Dolby Stereo is a sound format made by Dolby Laboratories. It is a unified brand for two completely different basic systems: the Dolby SVA (stereo variable-area) 1976 system used with optical sound tracks on 35mm film, and Dolby Stereo 70mm nois ...

mixes. The movie was re-released internationally in September 2018 on Blu-ray and DVD by Umbrella Entertainment. Composer Peter Miller's original soundtrack was also re-released as a 30th anniversary edition.

Accolades

References

External links

* *
''Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds''
at Oz Movies
Spirits Image & Trivia Archive
Archive of selected behind-the-scenes and production images, and other information. {{DEFAULTSORT:Spirits Of The Air, Gremlins Of The Clouds 1980s science fiction adventure films 1989 films Australian aviation films Australian science fiction adventure films Films directed by Alex Proyas Films produced by Alex Proyas Films with screenplays by Alex Proyas Australian post-apocalyptic films 1989 directorial debut films 1980s English-language films