''Dark Age'' is a 1987

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

horror

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, ani ...

directed by

Arch Nicholson Arch Nicholson (1941 – 24 February 1990) was an Australian film director. He was born in Melbourne and grew up in Western Australia, originally training to be a teacher. Seeing ''Last Year at Marienbad'' made him want to become a filmmaker an ...

, produced by

Antony I. Ginnane Antony I. Ginnane is an Australian film producer best known for his work in the exploitation field. He was head of the Screen Producers Association of Australia from 2008 to 2011. A CD of themes from fourteen of his films was produced in 2008 b ...

and starring

John Jarratt John Jarratt is an Australian television film actor, producer and director and TV presenter who rose to fame through his work in the Australian New Wave. He has appeared in a number of film roles including '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' (1975), ' ...

Plot

Steve Harris (

) is a ranger who has been assigned to deal with a massive

saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been l ...

that's been attacking and killing people in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

. He finds himself at odds with the local Aboriginal community, who believe the crocodile should be preserved since it contains the spirit of their past. Steve must develop a plan to respect the wishes of the Aborigines and also protect the residents threatened by the crocodile.

Cast

as Steve Harris * Nikki Coghill as Cathy Pope *

Max Phipps Maxwell John Phipps (18 November 1939 – 6 August 2000) was an Australian actor, known for a number of roles in theatre, films and television during the 1960s until the end of the 1990s. Life and career Phipps was born in Dubbo and grew up i ...

as John Besser * Burnam Burnam as Oondabund *

David Gulpilil David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil (1 July 1953 – 29 November 2021), known professionally as David Gulpilil and posthumously (at his family's request, to avoid naming the dead) as David Dalaithngu for three days, was an Indigenous Australian actor ...

as Adjaral *

Ray Meagher Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Stew ...

as Rex Garret *Jeff Ashby as Mac Wilson *Paul Bertram as Jackson

Production

The film was part of a two-picture deal between executive producer

and Hollywood studio RKO which also included '' The Lighthorsemen''. Shooting took place five weeks in Cairns and one week in Alice Springs, starting 22 April 1986. The plot shares many similarities to ''

Jaws Jaws or Jaw may refer to: Anatomy * Jaw, an opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth ** Mandible, the lower jaw Arts, entertainment, and media * Jaws (James Bond), a character in ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''Moonraker'' * ...

'' and contains homage shots such as the shot involving a shooting star.

Release

The movie was never seen in Australia theatrically and took a long time to be seen on DVD.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p302-303

Reception

Dennis Schwartz of ''Ozus' World Movie Reviews'' gave a positive review, calling the film "well-produced and acted, and an intelligent environmental adventure film results."

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

spoke enthusiastically of the film in the documentary '' Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!'', commenting "You could re-release ''Dark Age'' in 2,000 screenings and people would go see it." In 2009, Tarantino hosted a screening for it in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. ''Filmink'' later said "The phenomenal box office success of ''Jaws'' meant producers inevitably looked towards Australia’s deadly fauna as a source of inspiration... In hindsight, it’s actually weird that more films about killer animals weren’t made in the 10BA era."

Plot

Cast

Production

Release

Reception

See also

References

External links