Ghosts… of the Civil Dead
| Ghosts... of the Civil Dead | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | John Hillcoat |
| Produced by | Evan English |
| Written by | Nick Cave John Hillcoat Hugo Race Gene Conkie Evan English |
| Starring | David Field Chris DeRose Nick Cave Dave Mason |
| Music by | Nick Cave Blixa Bargeld Mick Harvey |
| Edited by | Stewart Young |
|
Production
company |
Correctional Services
Outlaw Values |
|
Release dates
|
December 1988 (Europe) |
|
Running time
|
93 min. |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | A$1,680,000[1] |
Ghosts... of the Civil Dead is a 1988 Australian drama-suspense film directed by John Hillcoat. The script was written by Hillcoat, Evan English, Gene Conkie, Nick Cave and Hugo Race. It is partly based on the true story of Jack Henry Abbott.
Contents
Synopsis
The story is set in Central Industrial Prison, a privately run maximum security prison in the middle of the Australian desert. An outbreak of violence within the prison has resulted in a total lockdown. A committee is appointed by the prison's governors to investigate the cause of the outbreak, but their findings are in stark contrast to the facts behind the riot. As the viewers see, both the prisoners and the guards are slowly and deliberately brutalised, manipulated and provoked into the forthcoming eruption of violence, to justify the construction of a new and more "secure" facility.
Production
The script was based on the book In the Belly of the Beast by Jack Henry Abbott and research done with David Hale, a former prison guard at Marion, Illinois. The film was shot at a disused aircraft factory in Melbourne[2] in October and November.[3]
Origin of title
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In Roman law, a person convicted of a crime where the punishment included loss of their legal rights as a person was civiliter mortuus, a person without civil rights, a civil dead.
Reception
Accolades
| Award | Category | Subject | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AACTA Awards (1989 Australian Film Institute Awards) |
Best Film | Evan English | Nominated |
| Best Original Screenplay | Nick Cave | Nominated | |
| John Hillcoat | Nominated | ||
| Hugo Race | Nominated | ||
| Gene Conkie | Nominated | ||
| Evan English | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor in a Leading Role | Mike Bishop | Nominated | |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Bogdan Koca | Nominated | |
| Best Editing | Stewart Young | Nominated | |
| Best Original Music Score | Nick Cave | Nominated | |
| Mick Harvey | Nominated | ||
| Blixa Bargeld | Nominated | ||
| Best Sound | Bronwyn Murphy | Nominated | |
| Rex Watts | Nominated | ||
| Peter Clancy | Nominated | ||
| Best Production Design | Chris Kennedy | Won | |
| Best Costume Design | Karen Everett | Nominated | |
| Beverly Jasper | Nominated |
Legacy
The spoken line "Welcome to Central Industrial. We are the future" has been sampled by Future Sound of London in their song Central Industrial on their Accelerator album;[4] also sampled by Woob in their song Void, Part One on the various artists album em:t 0094,[5] and by Jam and Spoon in their remix of Moby's Go.[6] Sonic Subjunkies samples various parts of the film in their songs Central Industrial and Central Industrial II: The Lockdown.
See also
Bibliography
- Fuchs, Christian [1996] (2002). Bad Blood. Creation Books
References
- ↑ "Production Survey", Cinema Papers, September 1987 p. 67.
- ↑ David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 pp. 229-230
- ↑ Jillian Burt, Ghosts... of the Civil Dead, Cinema Papers, March 1988 pp. 8-11.
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