Dish

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

In this comedy, as American astronauts prepare to make one giant leap for mankind, a small Australian town stumbles through its own small steps to help. In the summer of 1969, Cliff Buxton (Sam Neill) leads a team of scientists overseeing the operations of one of the world's largest radio telescope dishes, nestled in a New South Wales community of sheep farmers. As NASA prepares for Apollo 11, the first manned voyage to the moon, Buxton and his crew are asked if they will allow their telescope's dish to be used as a backup receiver for the television transmission from the moon, should the main receiver in California fail. Buxton and his men are more than happy to help, and the village is agog as they gear up for their own small part in one of the world's greatest adventures. Mayor McIntyre (Roy Billing) and his wife May (Genevieve Mooy) are thrilled to be greeting a small but steady stream of important visitors, though many of the locals are not especially good with etiquette, and several members of Buxton's team, most notably high-strung Mitch (Kevin Harrington), are less than enthusiastic about Al Burnett (Patrick Warburton), the know-it-all NASA technician brought in to oversee the Australian operations. When a change in Apollo 11's schedule means the Australian dish will have to pick up the vital broadcast from the moon, Cliff, Mitch, and Al must put aside their differences to pull the show together. Though played for laughs, The Dish was inspired by actual events. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Subtitle: French, English, Spanish
• Features:
  • • Interactive menus
    • Theatrical trailers
    • Cast/director film highlights
    • Scene access subtitles: English, Français & Español

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Rob Sitch

• Producer:

  Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy

• Screenwriter:

  Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch

• Cinematographer:

  Graeme Wood

• Composer (Music Score):

  Jane Kennedy, Edmund Choi

• Editor:

  Jill Bilcock

• Production Designer:

  Carrie Kennedy

• Art Director:

  Ben Morieson

• Executive Producer:

  Michael Hirsh

• Costume Designer:

  Kitty Stuckey

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Roger Savage

• First Assistant Director:

  Annie Maver

• Casting:

  Jane Kennedy

• Second Unit Director:

  Santo Cilauro

• Hair Styles:

  Caroline Styles

REVIEW:

• The worst thing anyone could possibly say about this thoroughly likable Australian comedy-drama is that it's a bit slight in material and presentation. It can be persuasively argued, however, that an ancillary quality to the proceedings is very much the intention of filmmaker Rob Sitch, whose previous film The Castle (1997) was another Down Under hit centered upon material that seemed picayune at first glance. The inherent charm of mounting a feature film about the guys who monitor NASA space flights from an Australian sheep pasture isn't lost on Sitch or his trio of screenwriters. They gleefully poke gentle fun at rural customs and aspirations, while making much of the conflict between the characters' simple lives and their history-making undertaking. Anchoring the film and providing some emotional heft is Sam Neill, whose affectionate and sly rendering of the Ward Cleaver-style hero archetype is even presented with a Mr. Rogers-style sweater and a pipe. Notable too is Patrick Warburton, who adds a notch to his professional belt with another riff on the chisel-jawed, square-shouldered all-American who's not quite as he appears. Yes, it's pre-programmed, lacking in subtlety, and a small film in every sense, but The Dish is also very satisfying storytelling and a first-rate imported comedy with wide appeal. It will certainly find favor with fans of such recent British fare as Waking Ned Devine (1998), Saving Grace (2000), and Greenfingers (2001). ~ Karl Williams, Rovi