A major coup was to enlist the support of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, who supplied helicopters and Skyhawk jets.Īware of the need for an international name to help finance the picture, Donaldson tried to get Jack Nicholson for the role of Colonel Willoughby. Many of the scenes, especially large-scale set-pieces, were ambitious, with helicopters, fighter planes, explosions and riots in Auckland city streets. While the street riots portrayed ( see the second clip) seemed far-fetched at the time, the film anticipated the violent altercations between police riot squads and anti-apartheid protesters that would take place during the 1981 Springbok rugby tour. The story, with its 'man alone' anti-authority themes, presented a distinctly local take on the zeitgeist. Politically, the 1970s were a time of fear and uncertainty there was an oil crisis and inflation was rampant. It was released widely and was well attended (in contrast to the few films that had previously been made here, which struggled to find audiences). Neill was 30 at the time, and in his first major screen role his charisma is palpable Donaldson's assured direction, particularly of the action pieces, would set him on his way to a long career helming studio films in Hollywood.ĭonaldson made this film (based on CK Stead's novel Smith's Dream) at a time when New Zealanders, beginning to shrug off the cultural cringe, were hungry to see images of themselves on the big screen. ![]() It was also the first New Zealand film released in the United States (a feat rarely repeated), and it launched the international careers of director Roger Donaldson and lead actor Sam Neill. Sleeping Dogs heralded the new wave of New Zealand feature films in the late 1970s, and was a key factor in the establishment of the New Zealand Film Commission.
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