3 DVD Special Edition
Beyond Home Entertainment
R4 DVD
Heroin
addiction may be a scourge that destroys the lives it touches but for those of
us who have not experienced it, coming to appreciate the suffering it causes can
be difficult. Pure Shit attempts to communicate the experience of drug
addiction with an honesty which is brutal, confronting and poignant. It was a
film which caused scandal when released and has not seen the light of day on
video or DVD since. It was banned and slammed by the media and establishment of
the time.
It
is amusing to think that part of the controversy was over the title ! It was
originally banned altogether and then given an R Rating only if its title was
changed to Pure S.
Pure
Shit is unusual on many levels; it was made on a miniscule budget of $28,000
which was provided by a combination of the Australia Council and the Buoyancy
Foundation which works to assist addicts. The script was written by junkies
themselves and from stories told by a wide selection of clients of the Buoyancy
Foundation and hence it has a gritty realism not found in many other films on
the subject. It is also, surprisingly, filled with black humour.
It
was made on 16mm, filmed over four weekends and hardly made a cent when
released. Yet if the truth be known it changed the way addiction is represented
on screen forever, here was a honest portrayal of heroin addiction without
social commentary or moralism. The sheer audacity of such a film in the
Seventies cannot really be appreciated today.
Pure
Shit is an account of a day in the life of four smack addicts looking for a
fix. In the space of 48 hours, a friend dies of an overdose, they are ripped
off by criminals and arrested and assaulted by police
The
film was developed by a combination of a working script combined with
improvisation. It is an edgy and powerful film and at the time (1975) caused a
very explosive reaction with the media, Andrew Mckay from the Melbourne Herald
even called the film ‘the most evil film I’ve ever seen.
The
film stars John Laurie, Carol Porter, Gary Waddell and Anne Hetherington as the
junkies, with appearances by writer Helen Garner, future comedian Greg
Pickhaver (who became H.G. Nelson) and satirist Max Gillies as a doctor.
Beyond
Home Entertainment have done an amazing job making available this very rare
film in a special edition. It has been fully restored print by the National
Film and Sound Archive with the original soundtrack by Martin Armiger (The
Sports) and featuring Red Symons (Skyhooks). It includes a 16 page booklet,
Director & Actors Commentary, Interviews: cast crew & celebrity guests,
Mini Featurettes: 'Pure Shit Reunion' 'Rollin' with Bert and Gaz', Stills
gallery and an OZ Rock Soundtrack CD.
This
is a significant work of Australian cinema which is marked by a frankness and a
dark sense of humour. It is marvellous to see it restored and available in such
a high quality package.
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