Crocodile Dundee

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"Crocodile" Dundee

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Peter Faiman
Produced by John Cornell
Written by Story
Paul Hogan
Screenplay
John Cornell
Paul Hogan
Ken Shadie
Starring Paul Hogan
Linda Kozlowski
Music by Peter Best
Cinematography Russell Boyd
Editing by David Stiven
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) April 30, 1986 (Australia)
September 26, 1986 (United States)
Country Flag of Australia Australia
Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget AUD$8,800,000 (estimated)
Followed by "Crocodile" Dundee II
IMDb profile

Crocodile Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton.

Inspired by the true life exploits of Rodney Ansell, the film was made on a budget of under $10 million as a deliberate attempt to make a commercial Australian film that would appeal to a mainstream American audience, but proved to be a worldwide phenomenon. Released on April 30, 1986 in Australia, and on September 26, 1986 in the United States, it was the second highest grossing film in the USA in that year and went on to become the number one film worldwide at the box office.

There are two versions of the film: The Australian version, and the American/International version, with much of the Australian slang replaced with more commonly understood terms, and also being slightly shorter, lacking several scenes.

The film was followed by two sequels: 1988's Crocodile Dundee II and 2001's Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Sue Charlton, one of the protagonists, is a feature writer for Newsday, who is romantically involved with her editor, Richard. She travels to Australia to write some feature articles and hears about a man who survived a crocodile attack and the removal of his leg by the croc. She travels to meet this local, Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee, at an outback settlement, along with the owner of Never Never Outback Tours, Dundee's employer, Walter. Sue is startled to find that "Crocodile" Dundee is not a typical hero and that he is frequently involved in fights. She also learns that the story of his fight with the crocodile is exaggerated, in that his leg is still intact, although with a massive bite scar.

Sue, Mick, and Walter travel into the wilderness, where Mick demonstrates his skills as a woodsman by estimating the time by looking at the sun (seconds after glancing at Walter's watch), hypnotizing a buffalo, and killing a crocodile that attacks Sue. One evening, Mick introduces Sue to Neville Bill, the son of a tribal elder. Mick and "Nev" go to an Aboriginal tribal dance ceremony, to pay respect to Neville's father and to the land. Sue, as a woman, is forbidden to take part in the ritual but she follows and hides in the bushes to observe it. While hiding in the bushes she uses her camera's zoom lens to find Dundee in the crowd of men. She sees him look straight at her, letting her know that he is aware of her presence, enforcing her idea that he is somehow supernaturally in touch with the world around him.

They travel the same route that Mick took when he was injured, ending up in a freshwater lagoon. Sue and Mick share a kiss, but they are interrupted by Walter, returning to fetch them from the bush. Sue invites Mick to accompany her to New York, because he says he has never been to a big city. In New York, he is met with contempt and some jealousy by Richard. He also has a number of awkward moments where he displays an equal amount of unfamiliarity with his surroundings, as by trying to dodge the bottom of an escalator; trying by trial and error to ascertain the use of a bidet; asking the African-American limo driver his tribal background; touching the genitals of a cross-dresser to verify his gender; mixing a drug addict's cocaine with steaming water and instructing him to inhale the vapors that way; and washing his clothes in the bath. He also demonstrates his canny sense of justice when he witnesses a purse-snatching and knocks the running thief insensate with a thrown can of food, and later when he beats a pimp who has used profane language in front of the prostitutes he is working with.

The most famous scene in the movie occurs when Mick and Sue are menaced by a trio of punks. One of whom brandishes a switchblade. Sue advises Mick to give the thief his wallet, because the thief has a knife. Mick merely chuckles at the switchblade. "That's not a knife," he scoffs, drawing his much larger outback Bowie knife with the words: "That's a knife!" When the thieves run away, he smiles merrily and shrugs the incident off, saying "Just kids having fun".

As they spend time together for the story, Mick and Sue become closer, which leads to further jealousy on Richard's part. Richard tries to undermine Mick and his influence over Sue and secures Sam Charlton's approval to ask Sue to marry him. When Richard finally proposes marriage to Sue at a dinner party, Mick is upset and decides to go on a 'walkabout' (which can last around 18 months) to reconcile himself to his situation. Sue tracks him to Grand Central Station, where they talk back and forth through the subway by having members of the crowd transmit their words. She insists to him that she has refused to marry Richard, on grounds of loving Mick instead; at this, Mick walks over the heads and raised hands of the jubilant crowd and embraces her.

[edit] Main cast

[edit] Awards

Award wins:

Award nominations:

[edit] References

[edit] External links


Preceded by
Top Gun		 Box office number-one films of 1986 (USA)
September 28, 1986 – November 30, 1986		 Succeeded by
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
v • d • e
The Crocodile Dundee Trilogy
v • d • e
Cinema of Australia

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