UTU

Starring:John Bach, Tania Bristowe, Sean Duffy, Tim Elliott (III), Connie Gilbert, Kelly Johnson, Wi Kuki Kaa, Bruno Lawrence, John Malcolm, Merata Mita, Tom Poata, Dick Puanaki, Faenza Reuben, Ilona Rodgers, Martyn Sanderson, Stephen Tozer, George Waaka, Anzac Wallace, Ian Watkin
Studio: Kino International
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

A real masterpiece!
"The Spirits of My People Command Me, I Must Kill The White Man For What He Has Done"
A New Zealand "Last of the Mohicans"
The Original BAD Gun
Simply stunning

Utu
Starring: John Bach , Tania Bristowe , Sean Duffy , Tim Elliott (III) , and Connie Gilbert
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000541WF
Release Date: 2000-12-19

Customer Reviews:

A real masterpiece!.......2005-12-04

This film on the surface is a tale of an episode in the Maori Wars in New Zealand in the 1870's in which a Maori scout - Te Wheke - turns 'renegade'. Te Wheke embarks upon a vengeance raid after the murder of his family by the colonial troops he has been serving with. The film weaves an intricate web of relationships between complex and intelligently scripted characters that are set within an equally complex society in which two conflicting cultures are alternately accommodating and warring with each other and among themselves. I had to watch this film several times before I really began to appreciate it and understand what it was about....and I'm glad I had the patience. Essentially the film explores the whole concept of vengeance - the meaning of 'utu'. The film depicts how the innocent pay the price for the wrong doings of others, how the wronged become the perpetrators of acts of violence against the innocent and ultimately how the notion of vengeance spires out of control and everyone is sucked into the cycle. The beautiful yet tragically sad ending does not shy away from the awful truth about the only way in which the vengeance cycle can end. A great church scene in the early part of the film, an interesting concept on the use of the bible....and what an outfit. A fantastic film! --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

"The Spirits of My People Command Me, I Must Kill The White Man For What He Has Done".......2005-10-03

Based on a true account of the Maori uprising of 1870, 'Utu' posits the often asked and all important question "Who are the savages amongst us?" In this particular case is it the native Maori of New Zealand who dared defy British occupation and rule, or was it English arrogance and total lack of concern for the native culture that brought about the eventual end of British Colonialism in the area?

Brutal, violent, uncompromising, yet at the same time it contains moments of unexpected humor. Another great film in a long line of movies to come out of Australia and New Zealand. Unforgetable performances by Anzac Wallace as the rebellious Te Wheke and Bruno Lawrence as the white settler obsessed with avenging his wife's death.

Some lessons are never learned. Savages come in all forms, colors and disguises.

A New Zealand "Last of the Mohicans".......2003-04-24

The conflicts of the indigenous peoples of Australia and New Zealand are often eclipsed by the conflict of Native Americans against the U.S. government. Utu offers an insightful snapshot into the conflict many of the New Zealand Maori felt against the encrouching culture of the English. The film showed that even those Maori who aided the English struggled inside to keep their cultural identity from being pulled into the undertoe of English colonialism.

The film serves up a good course of action, especially with the double barrelled shotgun scene. I highly recommend this film because it vividly presents the conflict between colonial powers and indigenous peoples. This film is "Last of the Mohicans" in a New Zealand context.

The Original BAD Gun.......2002-06-27

This Was The First Movie I Had Ever Seen With
Two Double Barrels Together As One BIG Gun.
The Effects Of First A Single Barrel Then
The Double Barrels And Finally All Four
Nocking Down The Shed Is Still One Of The
Greatest Weapon Scenes Of Its Time.
And Yes I Always Wondered Why Bruno Lawrence
Seemed To Be Ignored???
He Was Awsome In Both UTU And The Quiet Earth.

Simply stunning.......2002-05-31

I saw this movie when it first came out in the early 1980s, and a recent reviewing confirmed its brilliance. The subject matter is unique, a Maori uprising against Europeans in 19th century New Zealand. But what makes the movie worth watching are the performances. Several of the performers stand out, but especially Bruno Lawrence, who I have long considered one of the great underrated actors of the past twenty years. He has never gotten the kinds of rolls that I believe he deserved, but his work in this film as the settler bent on revenge for the loss of all he loved is stunning, as was his work in the films THE QUIET EARTH and SMASH PALACE. I was baffled when this movie came out that it didn't make a bigger splash than it did, and I have remained amazed that so few people seem to know about it.

Product Description

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: o English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Synopsis: In New Zealand in the 1860s the native Maori people fought the British colonials to keep the land guaranteed to them by treaty. The warrior Te Wheke fights for the British until betrayal leads him to seek utu (revenge). The settler Williamson in turn seeks revenge after Te Wheke attacks his homestead. Meanwhile Wiremu, an officer for the British, seems to think that resistance is futile. - Utu is the Maori word for "Retribution," which sums up the chief motivating factor of this New Zealand-produced drama. Set in the 1870s, the film details the exigencies of British Colonial rule. A Maori scout Anzac Wallace stumbles across a native village that has been destroyed in a British raid. Since it is the scout's own village, he deserts the British army, the better to seek "utu." Leading a vigilante force consisting of his fellow Maoris, Wallace kills as many British settlers as he can get his hands on. The feverish conviction of Wallace's crusade is in stark contrast to the attitudes of the British, who seem more concerned with material possessions than with human beings. Popular "down under" star Bruno Lawrence is cast as a vengeance-driven settler who makes it his personal mission in life to end Wallace's reign of terror. The most expensive New Zealand-filmed project to date, Utu was an enormous success upon its first domestic release; the American version runs some 15 minutes shorter than the original. Special Features: o Scene Access o Uncut

Customer Reviews:

Blood for blood.......2006-05-09

Utu - Maori for `Blood for Blood' - is almost a great film. It's certainly a terrific `Western,' even if it is set in New Zealand in 1870. It's a Maori version of any number of Westerns where Geronimo jumps the reservation and starts a private war, with Anzac Wallace's army tracker Te Wheke deserting when he finds the British Army have destroyed his peaceful village and seeking revenge on all the `Pakehas.' As his guerrilla war continues, more and more Maori soldiers desert to Te Wheke's cause (not always welcome, either), preconceived notions of right and wrong are challenged as alliances and agendas shift until nobody's hands are clean.

Director and co-writer Geoff Murphy really knows how to use the camera to best effect and uses the landscape superbly, capturing the wet humid feel of a country at once half-built and already decaying, but more than that he tells a great story with some terrific scenes that hark back to a style of classic but morally complex storytelling that went out of fashion in the late 60s and early 70s. There's also a level of savagery that's long been lost in American cinema - not only does he hang the verger from bell rope but he also hacks off the head of the vicar in front of his congregation and then delivers a sermon of his own with the head resting beside him on the pulpit. The action scenes are superbly handled, at once brutally realistic and engrossing. Unfortunately he miscalculates with Bruno Lawrence's initially intriguing settler seeking revenge of his own, overplaying the comedy in his madness. It's not enough to overbalance the film but it does undermine the character, and it's often unnecessary in a film which has a lot of dry wit in the script already.

Sadly the DVD copy is pretty disgraceful, a real pity for a film that looks this good.

New Zealand - Last of its Mohicans.......2006-02-06

More than a century ago New Zealand, or Aotearoa as the Maori people call it, went through the Maori Wars when the British authority attempted to enforce its control there. New Zealand was and still is the only former British colony taken by treaty and not by force. The story is about the Maori people and their plight for justice in an Imperial system. Its about honour and the preservation of traditional ways of life. Although the characters are largely ficticious there is no ficticous dipiction of traditional hakas or the subtitled sections of Maori language. Anyone who can understand the point of view of native peoples wishing to preserve their society will find merit in this film.

From a cinematic perspective, its an old film. Some of the scene transitions might not make sense to persons who have not spent much time in New Zealand or among Maori. Understand that the term Utu translates to "consequences". But it means more the consequences of your specific actions.

I lived there for a fair spell of time. The Maori are a noble if not troubled people there on the edge of the world.

Utu is an incredible film which captures the spirit and the power of the Maori people. Frankly, they are the best people in New Zealand if not the South Pacific.

Average customer rating:

A real masterpiece!
"The Spirits of My People Command Me, I Must Kill The White Man For What He Has Done"
A New Zealand "Last of the Mohicans"
The Original BAD Gun
Simply stunning

UTU
Starring: John Bach , Tania Bristowe , Sean Duffy , Tim Elliott (III) , and Connie Gilbert
Manufacturer: Kino International
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( U ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items: