Ghosts... of the Civil Dead (1988)

Country of Origin: Australia
Year of Production: 1988
Running Times: 93 mins
Format: colour     35mm
Ratio: 1.37:1
Sound: Dolby

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Correctional Services / Outlaw Values
Producer: Evan English
Production Manager: Denise Patience

SCRIPT
Script: Nick Cave, Gene Conkie, Evan English, John Hillcoat, Hugo Race
Script Consultant: John Flaus

DIRECTION
Director: John Hillcoat
1st Assistant Director: Phil Jones
2nd Assistant Director: Lucy McLaren

PHOTOGRAPHY
Directors of Photography: Paul Goldman, Graham Wood
2nd Unit Additional Director of Photographer: Evan English

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Stewart Young

MUSIC
Music: Blixa Bargeld, Nick Cave, Mick Harvey

SOUND
Sound Recordist: Bronwyn Murphy

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Costume Designer: Karen Everett

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Chris Kennedy

CASTING
USA Casting: Debra Neathery

CAST
David Field (Wenzil)
Mike Bishop (David Yale)
Chris DeRose (Grezner)
Kevin Mackey (Glover)
Dave Mason (Lilly)
Nick Cave (Maynard)
Bogdan Koca (Waychek)
Freddo Dierck (Robbins)
Vincent Gil (Ruben)
M.E. Duncan (junkie 1)
Nick Seferi (junkie 2)
Tony Clark (Simone)
Yilmaz Tuhan (Food King)
Ian Mortimer (Jack)
Mick King (Edwin Neal)
Angelo Papadopoulos (John Bird)
Zlatko Kasumovic (Polly Borland)
Mick Manzaris (Brucey Borland)
Robert Scrivano (Quarnstrom)
Gary Francis (Flecker)
Rob Fox (Hobday)
Robin Dene (Coyne)
John Flaus (Armstrong)
Steve Shears (Painter)
Colin Mitchell (Jackson)
George Bidlo (Riddle)
Brett Collins (Collins)
Simon Gratton (Grudge)
Peter Lawless (Lawless)
Lou Trifunovic (Bairnes)
Tony Redford (Posner)
Eddy McShortall (Mayes)
Peter Black (Maclaren)
Howard Bell (Mayer)
Robert Willis (Seymour)
Paul Galwey (Charlie)
Steve Hardman (Hardman)
Mark Clarke (Young)
Trevor Templeton (SORT leader)
Michelle Babbitt (Diane Bite News at 6)
Simon During (Foucault authority)

PLOT SUMMARY

The guards and inmates of a hi-tech prison become so brutalised by the system and their environment that inevitably it all ends in extreme violence.

AVAILABILITY

Finland
Theatrical Distributors: Cinema Mondo

UK
Theatrical Distributors: Electric Pictures

CENSORSHIP HISTORY

Australia
Rating: R

Finland
Rating: K-18

UK
Rating: 18

AWARDS

1989
Australian Film Institute, Australia
Best Achievement in Production Design (Chris Kennedy) - winner
Best Achievement in Costume Design (Karen Everett, Beverly Jasper) - nominated
Best Achievement in Editing (Stewart Young) - nominated
Best Achievement in Sound (Bronwyn Murphy, Rex Watts, Peter Clancy) - nominated
Best Actor in a Lead Role (Mike Bishop) - nominated
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Bogdan Koca) - nominated
Best Film (Evan English) - nominated
Best Original Music Score (Nick Cave, Mick Harvey, Blixa Bargeld) - nominated
Best Screenplay, Original (Gene Conkie, Evan English, John Hillcoat) - nominated

TIMELINE

1988
September
15: Canada - shown at the Toronto Film Festival

1989
September
14: West Germany - theatrical release

1990
April
18: France - theatrical release

1993
February
12: Finland - theatrical release

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

Ghosts... of the Civil Dead - avoimien ovien päivä helvetissä - Finnish title
Willkommen in der Hölle - West German title

LINKS

INCLUDES FOOTAGE FROM
Forced Entry (1972)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

Cinema Papers no.74 (July 1989) pp.46-47 (Australia)
illustrated review

Empire no.1 (June / July 1989) p.83 (UK)
illustrated review

Metro no.133 (2002) pp.30-34, 36 (Australia)
illustrated review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.56 no.665 (June 1989) pp.180-181 (UK)
credits, synopsis, review

Positif no.351 (May 1990) pp.70, 71 (France)
illustrated credits, review

Première April 1990 p.26 (France)
review (by Thierry Decourcelle)

Sight and Sound vol.3 no.4 (April 1993) p.69 (UK)
credits, review

Studio May 1990 p.12 (France)
review (by Michel Rebichon)

KEYWORDS

drugs, homosexuality, prisons

Last Updated: 15 October, 2008