MAD DOG MORGAN (1976)
Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: Region-FREE
Duration: 98 Minutes
Rating: MA 15+
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1)
Director: Philippe Mora
Cast: Dennis Hopper, Dennis Gulpilil, Frank Thring, Jack Thompson
Mad Dog Morgan (1976) tells the true tale of the notorious Irish immigrant Daniel "Mad Dog" Morgan who was a "bushranger" (that's Aussie speak for an outlaw) in the mid-1800's, opening on a scene of Dan "Mad Dog" Morgan enjoying the thrills at an opium den in a Chinese encampment. The den is attacked by a group of racist locals, killing nearly everyone and burning the village to the ground, the violence is brutal and shocking, including a splattery shotgun to the face that still packs a wallop.
Morgan just barely makes it out alive and shortly after falls on desperate times, resorting to highway robbery which lands him in prison where he endures rape and a vicious branding with a hot iron. Hopper with a thick Irish brogue pleads for help during the rape and the desperation in his voice always makes me cringe, it's harsh stuff.
Morgan is released after six years for good behavior but immediately falls back into a life of crime, swearing vengeance against the corrupt colonial government. This time he aligns himself with an Aboriginal tracker named Billy played by David Gulpilil (Walkabout) who saves his life. The friendship between the pair is the highlight of the film for me, with Billy nursing him back to health and building his strength back up. Afterward the outlaws become the torment of the wealthy landowners in the area and begin to be seen as Robin Hood type figures by the locals, quickly drawing a bounty on their heads leading to Morgan shooting and killing two officers of the law in pursuit of him.
Morgan's anti-hero status in Australia was a natural fit for Hopper who at the time was a bit of a rebel-actor in Hollywood, this being shot during what is known as his "lost years". Crazy though Morgan may be Hopper portrays the Irishman as fair and just in his own way, sympathetic and haunted by personal demons and a tinge of insanity. This has become my favorite performance from Hopper, it's right up there with Frank Booth from Blue Velvet (1986). The film is definitely pushing the sympathetic anti-hero status of the outlaw.
The narrative style is a fragmentary assembly of highlights from Morgan's life, it doesn't exactly flow evenly from start to finish, but the episodic nature of the film paints an overall portrait that works and the ending of the film packs a powerful punch as Morgan is needlessly gunned down, thereby cementing his legendary status. One of the last lines of the film comes from Superintendent Cobahn played by the venerable Frank Thring (Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) who says to the mortician as Morgan lays there on a slab "by all means, off with his head... and don't forget the scrotum" which he has claimed for his own tobacco pouch. Thring is perfectly cast as the epitome of corrupt colonial rule.
Visually the film is splendorous, showcasing Australia's rugged and natural beauty throughout with gorgeous rural locations and set-pieces that keep you in the period from start to finish. The film shares a lot in common with American western films; the anti-hero aspect, the rugged setting, indigenous people and the gold rush. I think Mora really gives us a 'what if Sam Peckinpah made an Australian western?' here, and Hopper's performance is outstanding.
Audio/Video: Mad Dog Morgan (1976) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment as part of their Ozploitation Classics line-up, presented in 1080p HD and framed in 2.35:1 widescreen, advertised as a new 4K scan of the 35mm interpositive. The cinematography from Mike Malloy (Shock Treatment) looks fantastic. Comparing it to the previous Umbrella DVD we see much richer grain and detail throughout with stronger lines. Gone is the green/blue leaning of the previous DVD, leaning more on warmer tones, though skin tones and whites can look a bit hot at times, which may or may not have been inherent to the cinematography, or maybe it's a tad bright, either way, I am very pleased with the upgrade here.
Audio on the disc comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 track with optional English subtitles, both the film score from Patrick Flynn (Caddie) and dialogue were crisp and clear throughout, there were no issues with distortion that I could detect. .
Umbrella really pack this one with extras, carrying-over all the extras from their previous DVD release, beginning with an audio commentary from Director Philippe Mora who delivers a ton of colorful anecdotes throughout, relaying his experiences working with notoriously difficult Dennis Hopper.
The 28-min That's Our Mad Dog - A Conversation with Dennis Hopper and Philippe Mora is a 2008 sit down interview with Hopper and the director, it's great to see the late Hopper looking back at the film recalling that the Australians were not to keen about an American playing their folk anti-hero, plus remembrances of actor David Gulpilil who had his own eccentricities, as well as Hopper's art career.
Rounding out the vintage extras is a 14-min radio interview with Philippe Mora who speaks about the film, aboriginal actor David Gulpilil, the real Mad Dog Morgan, and bush ranger films in general.
Umbrella go above and beyond with new extras created exclusively for this Blu-ray beginning 33-min Hopping Mad: Looking Back on Mad Dog Morgan, a brand new interview with director Philippe Mora who discusses mad man Dennis Hopper, how being so naive about working with actors probably prevented him from going crazy working with madman Hopper. Discussing Ned Kelly and his infamy, and Hopper's method of inhabiting the character. This interview looks to have been filmed during the same session that gave us an interview for the recent Howling III release.
There are also 66-min of extended interview from the Not Quite Hollywood doc with
director Philippe Mora, producer Jeremy Thomas, camera operator John Seale and cast members Jack Thompson, Roger Ward and Graeme Blundell, plus a revisit to the location used in the film, shot quite nicely via drone by director Jamie Blanks (Urban legend) with a wonderful optional commentary from Mora playing over it. There's also plus a brand new audio commentary with Director Philippe Mora and author Jake Wilson, which I have sunk my teeth into yet.
The disc is buttoned up with a trailer for the film, plus an extensive image gallery with over 190 images of posters and home video releases, press books and promotional material, stills and the screenplay.
The single-disc release comes in an oversized Blu-ray case with a reversible sleeve of artwork featuring the same illustration on both sides, looking to be a new design based on on an original movie poster, one side with the Australian rating logo, the other without, the same artwork is featured on the disc.
Special Features:
- NEW! All-new audio commentary with Director Philippe Mora and Jake Wilson, author of Australian Screen Classics: Mad Dog Morgan
- NEW! Hopping Mad: Looking Back on Mad Dog Morgan (33 min)
- NEW! Extended interviews from NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD: Philippe Mora, producer Jeremy Thomas, camera operator John Seale and cast members Jack Thompson, Roger Ward and Graeme Blundell (66 min)
- NEW! Mad Country: Shooting Locations Revisited with optional Director's commentary (14 min)
- To Shoot a Mad Dog: Making of Mad Dog Morgan documentary (24 min)
- Dennis Hopper interviewed by Philippe Mora (28 min)
- Audio Commentary by Director Philippe Mora (98:44)
- Radio Interview from 1976 with Philippe Mora (14 min)
- Image Gallery (22 min)
- Trailer (4 min)
Mad Dog Morgan is a rousing Australian Western, and a gritty slice of ozploitation as well, with a wonderfully unhinged performance from star Dennis Hopoper, who paints touching and unhinged portrait of a lunatic who has been pushed to his limits. Umbrella's Blu-ray looks terrific and it's loaded with extras, making this a very easy recommend.
