Ghosts... of the Civil Dead

source: Ghosts... of the Civil Dead

Ghosts... of the Civil Dead

I was incarcerated at Parklea Prison the time this movie was screened. The movie portrays exactly what the administration and guards did to the prisoners prior to the great riot the year after at the prison. What a sense of irony that this movie should show what was happening in the prison system in NSW Australia at the time. The movie reflected the actual happenings down to the transfer of inmates that would cause trouble, and the taking of property to stir up trouble. Talking about de-ja-vu. The Australian movies of this type of genre(Prison), truly reflected the bastardisation of prisons. Other movies like Stir which starred Brian Brown also showed the extremes of what was happening behind the walls of gaols. I totally enjoyed the movie. They actually showed the movie in Parklea prison until the part of the beating of the prisoner, then they turned it off....I wonder why?

Prison movie nominated for Best Film at the 1989 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. Based on a book by a loser murderer convict who did time in Utah before killing someone else after his release and then eventually killing himself behind prison bars. He collaborated on the book with a former prison guard at the U.S. Penitentiary, Marion, Illinois. The movie uses a Nevada prison as its establishing shot but it is an Australian movie, co-written by musician Nick Cave. First person on screen we see is a naked man. And then there's more full frontal male nudity and scenes of man on man rape and inmates who adopt effeminacy and sexually serve the male population. Kind of a disturbing film in a way. Did not enjoy it. 4.8 / 10 stars --Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

Roger Wenzil is transferred to one of the new humane maximum-security prisons as an inmate.The new prisons have been built open plan and the guards have a relaxed attitude toward hard-drug use.However the prison bureaucracy begin a crackdown,stirring up minor incidents– confiscating all drugs and weapons,turning the TV's off–but this creates a state of high tension that sets the inmates and guards against one another.Everything finally explodes in one violently bloody outburst.This bleak and somber prison drama offers truly unsettling look into the penal system.There are some unflinching scenes of violence and heroin use,so be prepared.The performance of Nick Cave is absolutely insane.The singer plays a psycho,who screams obscenities and paints on the wall in his own blood.The climax where one inmate starts repeatedly stabbing at a guard's body is hard to stomach too.9 out of 10.

Manages to instill in the viewer a true sense of claustrophobia and unease. The violent scenes are some of the most graphic i've ever seen and especially the scene with the guard in the cage gives me the shivers of impending dread whenever i watch it. Also the use of tattoo as punishment is another horrible thought. Cave is brilliantly unhinged in his role and the scenes of him drawing on the walls in his own blood will be oddly believable to anyone who ever saw some of the more ferocious birthday party gigs of the early 80s. A truly original movie that is only half the film that Cave's script was meant to portray........ The soundtrack (by Cave etc) is also brilliantly effective Can we have a DVD release please?

I saw this movie years ago when it was shown as part of Channel 4's "Down Under" season. I don't think it has been shown on UK TV since - to be honest I am surprised it was shown even once. A great movie to be sure, brilliantly scripted, and of course Nick Cave's manic performance is truly astonishing. This movie is notoriously hard to get hold of, especially in the UK, however! I have recently purchased a (new) copy of the Collectors Edition DVD from an Australian retailer (EzyDVD). It is all-region PAL format so I can play it no problem on my UK player. Dirt cheap it was as well. There are a whole host of extras too so all-in-all a top DVD. I thought I would pass the information on as I had been trying to buy the film on Ebay for ages but the prices were going too high when there were any copies on there. Then lo and behold the Net came to the rescue. I got it shipped from Oz in just over a week.

The title says it all. When a person is convicted of a crime, he or she becomes, at least temporarily (and, in certain situations and locations, permanently) dead to civil society. The men we see here are mere shadows. _Ghosts of the Civil Dead_ is as topical now as it was when first released as a study in the ways that fear of crime may be exploited to justify oppression. Only in two or three scenes is overt violence shown, yet the movie manages to maintain a sense of menace for the full duration. As repression within the prison becomes increasingly harsh and the few remnants of civilian life that the prisoners have retained are stripped away, it becomes increasingly obvious that there can be no resolution. In the current climate of law and order rhetoric, _Ghosts of the Civil Dead_ remains a powerful reminder as to where this rhetoric may lead.

This film was screened on Australian TV when I was about 15. It's extremelly violent and psychological, a study in deprivation and pain. I mainly remember Nick Cave's performance (he co-wrote it). He plays a lunatic that get's moved to an already tense prison. His ranting and self-mutilation escalate the other prisoners sense of panic and chaos. Incredible acting and a very realistically frightening film. It's not fun, exciting or most things people look for as a distraction in modern day cinema, but if you're looking for something challenging and thought provoking it's well worth trying to find.

Stunning, almost horrific statement of the effect prisons have on the rest of society, Hillcoat has created a no-holds-barred, fabricated `report' on the inner-workings of an imaginary future prison that is worth seeing - if you can stomach it. There's certainly no doubting what writers Nick Cave and Gene Conkie think of prisons as Australian society's most corporal method of punishment and rehabilitation: although the on-screen activity is certainly shocking enough, what is perhaps even more so is what is not shown (perhaps because it didn't get past the censors?). Field's best role ever.