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Double Head Productions Pty Ltd in association with the Australian Film Commission. Double Head Productions Pty Ltd in association with the Australian Film Commission. i(A58922 works by) (Organisation) assertion
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1 12 form y separately published work icon Don's Party David Williamson , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) Sydney : Double Head Productions Pty Ltd in association with the Australian Film Commission. , 1976 Z42782 1976 single work film/TV satire (taught in 3 units)

Set in a suburb of Sydney's North Shore on the night of the 1969 Australian Federal Election, this is a cinematic adaptation of David Williamson's 1971 satire of university-educated, upwardly mobile Australian Labor Party supporters. The gathering is hoping to celebrate the ALP's victory after two decades of conservative government, but as the results are televised throughout the night, this appears increasingly unlikely. The men then devote their energies to drinking and debauching with the younger women, much to the anger of their wives or girlfriends. As the night wears on and hopes fade, there is fighting and much disappointment.

The film's satire (as with the play) achieves its bite through a sense of what passes for naturalism. The essential ockerism of the men becomes more apparent as the party degenerates and the alcohol takes over. The critical focus sharpens and the humour becomes more cynical.

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