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Sleeping Dogs
Sleeping Dogs
Film (Trailer and Excerpts) – 1977 Thriller Adaptation Drama
Best of the 70s
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NZ Book Collection
This collection features screen adaptations from New...
The Geoff Murphy Collection
This collection pays tribute to filmmaker Geoff Murphy –...
The Sam Neill Collection
Actor, director, makes the odd bottle of pinot noir: a...
Cowboys of Culture
Documentary on Kiwi film renaissance, including Sleeping...
Smash Palace
Roger Donaldson's next feature film
Kaleidoscope - Roger Donaldson in Hollywood
Interview with director Roger Donaldson
Landfall - A Film about Ourselves
Another early Sam Neill performance
Kaleidoscope - NZ Cinema, the Past Decade
Sleeping Dogs features in this survey of NZ film
The God Boy
Another pioneering film written by Ian Mune
The City of No
Early TV performance from Sam Neill
The World's Fastest Indian
Also directed by Roger Donaldson
Patu!
A film about the Springbok protests
Flare - A Ski Trip
A short film directed by Sam Neill
Moynihan - You Can't Win 'Em All (Episode Two)
Ian Mune stars as union organiser Leo Moynihan
The Silent One
Also adapted from classic NZ literature by Ian Mune
Shaker Run
More dodgy NZ government forces
Undercover
Also written by Arthur Baysting
The Life of Ian
Documentary in which Ian Mune discusses Sleeping Dogs
Start Again
A Roger Donaldson-shot documentary on NZ hippy culture
Cow
Also starring Ian Mune
The Governor - The Reverend Traitor (Episode One)
Historical TV drama released the same year as Sleeping Dogs
Carnival Coast
Also Stars Ian Mune
The Water Cycle
Sam Neill cameos in this 1972 NFU doco
Dean Spanley
Sam Neill stars alongside Peter O'Toole
Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Another film which featured Sam Neill on the run
Pheno was Here
More chaffing against the system
The Maintenance of Silence
Another film about state power and protesst
Nutcase
Also directed by Roger Donaldson
Harry - This is Personal (First Episode)
Sam Neill on the other side of the law
The Life and Times of Te Tutu - 6 (Series One, Episode Six)
Ian Mune amidst more Kiwi conflict
The Sealhunters
Sam Neill edited this short
The Neville Purvis Family Show - Episode
Co-writer Arthur Baysting stars in this
The Neville Purvis Family Show - Episode
Co-writer Arthur Baysting stars in this
Coming Home - Roger Donaldson & Steve Millen
Dogs director Roger Donaldson features in this
Kaleidoscope - Ian Mune
Interview with actor Ian Mune
Smith (Sam Neill, in his breakthrough screen role) is devastated when his wife runs off with his best friend Bullen (Ian Mune). Smith escapes to the Coromandel. Meanwhile, the government enlists an anti-terrorist force to crack down on its opponents. Bullen, now a guerrilla, asks Smith to join the revolution. Directed by Roger Donaldson, this adaptation of CK Stead's novel Smith's Dream heralded a new wave of Kiwi cinema; it was one of the only local films of the 1970s to win a big local audience. This excerpt includes a much talked about scene: a baton charge by government forces.
[Sleeping Dogs] almost single-handedly created a climate of acceptance within the country for a Kiwi film industry.– Jonathan Dowling looks back at the film's impact, The Evening Post, 27 February 1988
Produced by
Aardvark Films
Availability
Available to rent and buy from NZ Film On Demand
More information
Acknowledgements
Funded with the assistance of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council