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Sleeping Dogs
Film (Trailer and Excerpts) – 1977
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 novel Smith's Dream heralded a new wave of Kiwi cinema. It was one of the only Kiwi films of the 1970s to win a big local audience. This excerpt includes a much discussed scene: a baton charge by government forces, predating the real life conflicts of the 1981 Springbok tour.
...don't you ever worry about killing the wrong man?– Smith (Sam Neill)
Key Cast & Crew
See all 58 credits
Produced by
Aardvark Films
Acknowledgements
Produced in association with Broadbank Corporation, Development Finance Corporation of NZ, and Television One, with the assistance of the Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council
Music
Opening song 'Don't Look Back' sung and composed by Murray Grindlay
Closing credits song 'Sleeping Dogs' performed by Aerial Railway
Soundtrack includes songs by Mark Williams and Josie Hamilton Rika
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Documentary on the making of Sleeping Dogs
Dream in the Making - The Making of Sleeping Dogs
Behind the scenes of Sleeping Dogs
The Good Word - Series One
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The Life of Ian
Documentary in which Ian Mune discusses Sleeping Dogs
Kaleidoscope - CK Stead
A profile of CK Stead, who wrote the original book
Cowboys of Culture
Documentary on NZ's film renaissance, including this movie
Book to Box Office
This adaptation of CK Stead's novel is discussed
Kaleidoscope - NZ Cinema, the Past Decade
Sleeping Dogs features in this survey of NZ film
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Roger Donaldson's next feature film
Coming Home - Roger Donaldson & Steve Millen
Director Roger Donaldson features in this
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Interview with director Roger Donaldson
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Early TV performance from Sam Neill
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More drama involving authority written by Arthur Baysting
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Another film featuring Sam Neill on the run
Kaleidoscope - Ian Mune
Interview with actor Ian Mune
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Co-star Nevan Rowe directed this short film
Landfall - A Film about Ourselves
Another early Sam Neill performance
Winners & Losers: The Woman at the Store
A TV film that paved the way for Sleeping Dogs
Frontseat - Series One, Episode 14
Interview with Sleeping Dogs cinematographer Michael Seresin
The Silent One
Another Ian Mune adaptation of a classic NZ novel
The World's Fastest Indian
A music video directed by Roger Donaldson
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Co-writer Arthur Baysting stars in this
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Another pioneering drama written by Ian Mune
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A film about the Springbok protests
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Documentary on Roger Donaldson's second movie
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Roger Donaldson on taking a strange phone call about this...
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More dodgy NZ government forces
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Roger Donaldson documentary on NZ hippy culture
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Short film directed by Sam Neill
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Author CK Stead appears in this series
Winners & Losers: Shining with the Shiner
Another Roger Mune and Ian Donaldson collaboration
Moynihan - You Can't Win 'Em All (Episode Two)
Ian Mune stars as union organiser Leo Moynihan
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More chaffing against the system
Nutcase
Also directed by Roger Donaldson
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Sam Neill cameos in this 1972 NFU documentary
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Sam Neill on the other side of the law
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NZ Film Commission's Lindsay Shelton discusses Kiwi films
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Early Roger Donaldson documentary about a Kiwi racer
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Interview with Roger Donaldson in Queenstown
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Sam Neill playing another isolated character
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