The Castle (film)

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The Castle
Promotional poster
Directed by	Rob Sitch
Produced by	Working Dog Productions
Written by	Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch
Starring	Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry Eric Bana
Music by	Craig Harnath Edmund Choi (US version)
Cinematography	Miriana Marusic
Editing by	Wayne Hyett
Distributed by	Village Roadshow (AU), Miramax Films (USA), United International Pictures Ltd. (UK), RVC Film Distribution (Netherlands/Belgium/Luxembourg), Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (Switzerland)
Release date(s)	1997
Running time	83 mins
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	~AUD$500,000
IMDb profile

This article refers to the Australian movie The Castle. For other uses, see The Castle (disambiguation).

The Castle is a 1997 Australian film that gained widespread acclaim in Australia, but that was not well understood by those unfamiliar with Australian humour and values. The Castle starred Michael Caton and Anne Tenney, Eric Bana, and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. Directed by Rob Sitch, the screenwriting team comprised Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.

The creators are well known for producing high quality television programs and films on low budgets and tight filming schedules. The Castle was filmed in 11 days on a budget of approximately AUD$500 000 (rumoured to be AUD$19 000). A number of critics have noted the lack of sophistication in camera angles as a result^{[citation needed]} while fans see the genius and innovative creativity involved to make a quality film on such a low budget^{[citation needed]}.

1 Plot
2 Filming locations
3 Cast
4 Trivia
5 Quotes
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story follows the exploits of the Kerrigan family, who have been blissfully residing in their home--their "castle"--for years. Unfortunately, the local airport wants to expand and plans to evict the Kerrigans and their neighbours by way of compulsory acquisition. The humour in The Castle plays on the self image of Australians, most notably the concept of "the little Aussie battler". The movie title is named for the English saying, repeatedly used in the film, "A man's home is his castle." The film also refers to the land rights movement of the Australian Aborigines, with Darryl Kerrigan drawing an explicit parallel between his struggle and theirs. It also draws on one of the few rights protected in the Australian Constitution for subject matter, the right to just terms compensation for acquisition of property under s51(xxxi). Also interdispersed in the film are many intertextual references to famous Australian Constitutional Law Cases, such as Mabo and the Tasmanian Dams Case.The film also deals with section 109 of the Consitution which states that in the case of inconsistency between Federal and State law, Federal law will prevail.

[edit] Filming locations

The Castle was filmed mostly in Melbourne, Australia. The external shots of the Kerrigan household were shot at 3 Dagonet St, Strathmore, and footage of Essendon Airport and Melbourne Airport. Location shots of Brunswick feature in the film, including Brunswick Town Hall. Melbourne's 200 Queen Street and the Supreme Court of Victoria are featured along with the High Court of Australia in Canberra.

Although some of the film is set in Bonnie Doon, none of it was shot there.

The Castle Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

[edit] Cast

Michael Caton as Darryl Kerrigan
Anne Tenney as Sal Kerrigan
Stephen Curry as Dale Kerrigan
Anthony Simcoe as Steve Kerrigan
Sophie Lee as Tracey Kerrigan
Wayne Hope as Wayne Kerrigan
Tiriel Mora as Dennis Denuto
Eric Bana as Con Petropoulous
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Lawrence Hammill
John Flaus as Sgt. Kennedy
Oliver Rees as Himself/Judge 3

[edit] Trivia

The name of the family appearing in the film, the Kerrigans, was borrowed from the towing company that lent them the trucks used in the film.
Filming was completed within 11 days, and the film was made on a budget of around $500,000.
In the USA version, there were several cosmetic changes (which irritated Australian fans, but had no material effect on the film), among them, 'Rissoles' was changed to 'meatloaf', references to an Australian TV show was removed, and the brand names of the various cars in the driveway was changed from Australian (Commodore etc) to American (Chevrolet).^[1]

[edit] Quotes

It is common in Australia to humorously quote lines from "The Castle". Some of the most popular of these are:
- How's the serenity?
- What do you call this? (in reference to obvious items)
- Tell 'em they're dreaming!
- A man's home is his castle.
- He's an ideas man.
- You should open a shop.
- It's not a house, it's a home.
- It's Mabo, it's the Constitution, it's the vibe.
- Dale dug a hole.
- That is going straight to the Pool Room.
- Dad reckons fishing is 10% brains and 95% muscle, the rest is just good luck.
- Tray 3! I've cleared tray 3 five f#!k@*g times !!!