Oz

Oz (1976)

A Rock 'n' Roll Road Movie

Teenage groupie Dorothy rides with a small-time rock band when, suddenly, the van runs off the road, and she hits her head. She awakes in a fantasy world as gritty and realistic as her own and learns that her arrival killed a young thug. A gay clothier, Glyn the Good Fairy, gifts her a pair of red heels as a reward to help her see the last concert of the Wizard, an androgynous glam rocker. As she's pursued by the late thug's lecherous brother, she befriends a brainless surfer, a heartless mechanic, and a cowardly biker.

Date of release
1976-07-29
TMDB
5.4 / 10 (16)
Runtime
1h 40m
Genres
Music, Fantasy, Comedy
Director
Chris Löfvén

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 0 · Nominations: 5

Oz is a 1976 Australian film written, directed and co-produced by Chris Löfvén. It stars Joy Dunstan, Graham Matters, Bruce Spence, Gary Waddell, and Robin Ramsay; and received four nominations at the 1977 AFI Awards. The musical score is by Ross Wilson. The plot is a re-imagining of the 1939 The Wizard of Oz film transferred to 1970s Australia and aimed at an older teen / young adult audience. It was released on DVD in 2004 as Oz - A Rock 'n' Roll Road Movie : Collector's Edition with additional material. The poster and album sleeve for the American release was done by rock artist Jim Evans.

Production

Chris Löfvén and Lyne Helms got the idea to make an Australian version of The Wizard of Oz while working in London in the early 1970s. Löfvén was also inspired by David Bowie and wanted Graham Matters to feature.

They moved back to Australia in September 1974, and house sat at the house of David and Kristen Williamson for six months writing the script (Kristen Williamson is Löfvén's sister). The first draft was rejected for funding but the second got some development from the Australian Film Development Corporation in March 1975, shortly before it became the Australian Film Commission.

The budget was $150,000 with $260,000 in contra deals. The Australian Film Commission invested $90,000 plus a loan of $25,000 and Greater Union put in $25,000 with the rest from private investment. The money took six months to raise.

Joy Dunstan was a singer and theatre actress who was cast after Löfvén saw her singing at the Flying Trapeze cafe. It was her first movie.

The film was shot in early 1976 over a five-week period near Melbourne.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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