AustLit
Adaptation of
Chopper : From the Inside : The Confessions of Mark Brandon Read
1991
single work
autobiography
Issue Details:
First known date:
2000...
2000
Chopper
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Based on Mark 'Chopper' Read's autobiography, Chopper is an exploration of the life and complex psyche of a vicious thug who resorts to violence in an instant but can just as easily be filled with remorse. The narrative begins in 1991 with Read in gaol and then shifts back in time to Pentridge Prison in 1978. It was then that Read established his reputation in jail by stabbing Keithy George, a member of the much-feared criminal gang associated with the Victorian Painters and Dockers Union, and also by getting some fellow inmates to cut off his ears (why Read did this is unclear as he provides at two different reasons in his books). 'Chopper' is later stabbed by his best mate, Jimmy Loughnan, who is attempting to fulfil a contract to kill him. When 'Chopper' is eventually freed in 1985, he moves back home to live with his dad but becomes paranoid, not only because of the large quantities of speed he's consuming but also because he's become a police informant. He shoots a drug dealer called 'The Turk' outside a nightclub in St Kilda, but the police refuse to believe him, and later shoots an old drug-dealing associate, only to drive his victim to hospital. He also later threatens his old mate Jimmy Loughnan with a gun, then apologises. Although Read is eventually arrested for the murder of 'The Turk,' he is acquitted but given a five-year sentence for other offences. The narrative then returns to 1991, by which time Read has sold 250,000 copies of his first book, From the Inside, and become a celebrity.
Contents
* Contents derived from the
Strawberry Hills,
Inner Sydney,
Sydney,
New South Wales,:Currency Press
, 2001 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
- Chopper : The Screenplay : Writer's Note, single work criticism
- Chopper : The Screenplay : Foreword, single work biography
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Chopper Is a Knowing Wink at the Audience. Will Audiences 20 Years Later Still Wink Back?
2021
single work
column
— Appears in: The Conversation , 25 August 2021;'Based on the autobiographical books of notorious stand-over man and self-made celebrity Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read, Andrew Dominik’s outlandish biopic Chopper detonated on Australian screens in 2000.' (Introduction)
-
Andrew Dominik on 20 Years of Chopper : ‘Ethics Have Nothing to Do with It’
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 18 August 2021;
— Review of Chopper 2000 single work film/TV'The director says his film was sympathetic to Mark Brandon Read and ‘on his side’. It had to be – to understand his violence.'
-
10 Best Australian Films Made by First-time Directors
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 2 March 2016; -
The 100 Best Australian Films of the New Millenium
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 22 September 2016; -
Great Australian Directorial Debuts
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 14 March 2016;
-
Grisly, but Good
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane News , 2 - 8 August no. 893 2012; (p. 24)
— Review of Chopper 2000 single work film/TV -
Untitled
2002
single work
review
— Appears in: Australasian Drama Studies , April no. 40 2002; (p. 130-132)
— Review of Chopper 2000 single work film/TV -
Andrew Dominik on 20 Years of Chopper : ‘Ethics Have Nothing to Do with It’
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: The Guardian Australia , 18 August 2021;
— Review of Chopper 2000 single work film/TV'The director says his film was sympathetic to Mark Brandon Read and ‘on his side’. It had to be – to understand his violence.'
-
Sheer Escapism
2003
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 6 December 2003; (p. 5) - y 'Chopper' Perth : Centre for Research in Culture and Communication (Murdoch University) , 2001 Z1673582 2001 single work criticism Research undertaken by a student of the Centre for Culture and Communication (Murdoch University) into Chopper (2000). Includes aspects relating to the production phase, critical reception, principal performers and production crew, references and a synopsis.
-
Movie Ratings Miss their Target
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian , 6 July 2011; (p. 17) Dark or violent films are increasingly avoiding an R18+ tag. -
Unsuitable Material
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Kill Your Darlings , October no. 3 2010; (p. 55-59) Ben Kooyman writes on the fate of R-Rated Films -
Who's Afraid of the Working Class? We Are
2011
single work
column
— Appears in: The Lifted Brow , no. 13 2011; (p. 33, 37)
Awards
- 2001 Nomination Film Critics Circle of Australia — Best Screenplay - Adapted — Best Screenplay - Adapted
- 2000 Nominated Australian Film Institute Awards — Best Screenplay Adapted From Another Source
Last amended 8 Nov 2018 13:08:11
Subjects:
- Pentridge Prison, Coburg, Brunswick - Coburg area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,
Settings:
- Melbourne, Victoria,
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