Carlos I
I know this holds a place as an iconic counter-culture staple, but it just didn't connect with me, as much as I expected. Perhaps I had hyped it up too much in my head, perhaps I just wasn't paying enough attention, but I didn't get as invested as I do with say Easy Rider...
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
07/20/23
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Audience Member
This is straight-up biker culture through an exhilarating motion picture with appreciable direction, including scenes that were reportedly real-life and not staged.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
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Audience Member
Stone is a quintessential Australian classic that was before its time. It was the movie that inspired Mad Max, From a time when Aussie Bikers couldn't afford Harley's so most rode Kawasaki Z900s, still a sort after motorcycle in the Aussie motorcycling community.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/13/23
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Audience Member
Honestly, compared to other Australian movies of the time, this movie made on a shoestring budget is still a standout. It's got a decent story, and when you consider the Australian Film Board deciding they didn't like it, it is amazing it ever got anywhere. Watch the movie and then watch the documentary about it. There's a few known faces in it too. Especially toad, who went on to be toecutter and immorten joe... ;-)
It's dodgy, dirty and they used lots of real bikie club members too, so some of the fight scenes are literal punch ups and not acted fight scenes. Can't get more real than that.
Great for a few drinks and a laugh.
Oh and the Vietnam Veterans Motorcycle Club (formed by veterans after seeing the movie) use the Gravediggers skull and slouch hat patch. It was officially licensed to the club in the mid-eighties. So you will see the gravediggers skull patch out on the roads. ;-)
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/15/23
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delysid d
this movie is pretty damn cool
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/18
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Audience Member
When several members of the GraveDiggers outlaw motorcycle club are murdered, Sydney detective Stone (Ken Shorter) is sent to investigate. Led by the Undertaker (Sandy Harbutt), a Vietnam war veteran, the GraveDiggers allow Stone to pose as a gang member. Leaving behind society girlfriend Amanda (Helen Morse), Stone begins to identify with the Undertaker and his comrades Hooks (Roger Ward), Toad (Hugh Keays-Byrne), Dr Death (Vincent Gil), Captain Midnight (Bindi Williams), Septic (Dewey Hungerford) and Vanessa (Rebecca Gilling), the Undertaker's girlfriend. Amid violent confrontations with the Black Hawks, a rival gang the GraveDiggers hold responsible, Stone uncovers a political conspiracy behind the killings. When the truth is revealed, Stone must choose between his job and his loyalty to the GraveDiggers...
"Stone" is a 1974 Australian cultfilm produced and directed by Sandy Harbutt. It was a low budget movie, written by Sandy Harbutt and Michael Robinson. The movie was a very successful box-office hit at the box-office in Australia when theatrically released in 1974. Reportedly, this movie went into profit within six months of its Australian theatrical debut in mid 1974. A number of the cast from this movie appeared later in the similar Australian cult movie Mad Max (1979). This included actors Hugh Keays-Byrne, Roger Ward, Vincent Gil, David Bracks and Reg Evans. "Stone" is somewhat considered a precursor to the mentioned Mad Max (1979). David Stratton states in his book 'The Last New Wave' that this movie " . . . bears many similarities to the [later] Mad Max (1979) and is, in a sense, its forerunner. Both deal with anti-social bikie gangs, both have as their title protagonist a policeman who is as rough as the criminals he's trying to capture, both feature characters with bizarre names . . . ". Even DVD releases of this movie have boasted a tagline suggesting this: "Before MAD MAX and THE ROAD WARRIOR There Was STONE". I saw this movie in the early 80s and I liked it then and when re-seeing it now my opinion hasn´t changed. It´s not as good as "Mad Max", but within the low budget structure and at times the pretty dynamic filming "Stone" has something that hooks you to the story and the strange unlikeable characters straight away. It´s gritty, raw, violent and has a lot of anti social behaviour, but at the same time you have the wish for personal freedom that makes up one of the strong pillars of the film. And I love the shooting of the bike riding scenes in the middle of the movie. Very nice.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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