The F.J. Holden (1977)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Audio Commentary-Mike Thornhill (Director) Theatrical Trailer Trailer-Oz, The Chain Reaction, Return Home, Puberty Blues
Rating
Year Of Production	1977
Running Time	100:03
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Michael Thornhill
Studio Distributor	Australian Film Comm Umbrella Entertainment	Starring	Terry Larsen Vicki Arkley Robert Baxter Paul Couzens Eva Dickinson Frankie J. Holden Maggie Kirkpatrick Harry Lawrence Ray Marshall Karlene Rogerson Graham Rouse Carl Stever Sigrid Thornton
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Jim Manzie

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.70:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

      The F.J. Holden was Michael Thornhill's second feature film as director and marked quite a change from his first film, Between Wars, in 1974. The F.J. Holden was shot in late 1976, using a social realistic style which at times encompassed all the traits of a candid documentary.

    The young lead actors used in the film were not experienced, apart from acting in local school productions. This faithful act of casting works well, apart from a couple of the more dramatic moments of the film, when the actors' limitations are more apparent. A very young Sigrid Thornton  makes her feature debut with this film in the minor role of Wendy. Of course, Sigrid has gone on to enjoy a highly respected acting career and is a much loved personality of Australian film, stage and television.

   Terry Larsen's screenplay is very controlled in its use of dialogue, which allows the actions of the characters to carry more of the narrative. This adds to the genuine feel of many scenes and to the honest and realistic depiction of the characters' lives.

    Before the film's release in 1977, the producers had trouble obtaining the desired M rating from the censorship board. Due to the nature of a couple of sex scenes and some strong language, the film was given an R rating, which would not have pleased the film's investors. A successful appeal was lodged with the Australian Film Board of Review and an M certificate was granted to the film, although all states except Victoria and New South Wales used their overriding censorship powers and retained the original R rating.

    The F.J. Holden had a simultaneous premiere in April 1977 at the Chullora Drive In in the Western Suburbs of Sydney and the Rapallo Cinemas in both Sydney and Melbourne. The Chullora Drive In added the novel twist of allowing any patrons arriving in either an F.J. or F.X. Holden free admission.

    Kevin (Paul Couzens) works at a local car wrecking yard. He lives with his mother, father and younger sister in their modest and well kept suburban home in the Western Suburbs of Sydney. Kevin drives a car that is an icon of Australian culture, the F.J. Holden. Much of his spare time is spent with best friend Bob (Carl Stever), cruising the bus stops and streets of Bankstown, hoping to attract the eye of the local ladies.

    Anne (Eva Dickinson ) works in a clothes shop at Bankstown Square. She also takes responsibility for caring for her two much younger brothers, lending support to her hard working father.

    Anne meets Kevin through some mutual friends at a local pub and he offers to drive her home - an offer she gratefully accepts. Some days later, Kevin is again reacquainted with Anne when he and Bob go down to the pub to play some pool. After an enjoyable night, the three leave the hotel together, equipped with a supply of alcohol. Kevin parks the car in an isolated area and gives the amorous Anne and Bob some privacy. When Bob has finished in the back seat with Anne, she then also consents to sex with Kevin.

    Despite her brief interlude with Bob, Anne and Kevin soon develop a relationship and life seems great. They both survive the obligatory meeting of the parents, go to the local illegal street drags, experience upmarket dining and generally enjoy the experiences that come with a new relationship. But, the thin line between Aussie mateship and respecting a girlfriend takes the relationship to the brink.

    While The F.J. Holden is by no means a masterpiece, it is a film that has considerable merit for its honest portrayal of life in 1970's Australian suburbia.

Video

    Considering the limitations of the source material, the video transfer is quite good and is clearly better than any previous VHS version you may have seen over the years.

    The film is presented on this DVD in an aspect ratio of 1.70:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. The IMDB incorrectly reports The F.J. Holden's original aspect ratio as 2.35:1. With the kind assistance of The National Film and Sound Archive, the film's director Michael Thornhill actually confirmed the correct aspect ratio as 1.85:1.

    Overall the video transfer exhibits good levels of sharpness and clarity, with some occasional scenes displaying mild softness, especially in backgrounds. This is a feature which is inherent in the source material and is not a transfer issue. Blacks were generally clean, with only the occasional and minor presence of grain. The detail displayed in shadows also varied in quality, but were generally quite reasonable.

    The colours in the film have a distinctive seventies look. The soft and subtle tones are reminiscent of many films of the era. They are well balanced on the disc, with no oversaturation issues.

    There were no MPEG artefacts on the DVD. Film-to video artefacts were minimal. Reel change markings are clearly noticed throughout the film, beginning at 35:23 and 35:30, then reappearing at approximate twenty minute intervals thereafter. These are typically very brief and were not at all problematic in viewing terms. With this being a brand new 16x9 transfer, film artefacts were thankfully insignificant.

    There are no subtitles available on this DVD.

    This is a single sided, dual layer disc. The layer change is very poorly placed at 57:58 and is quite disruptive to the flow of the scene.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is a good remaster of the original mono audio track.

    There are two audio tracks on this DVD; English Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s), which is surround encoded, and English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (448Kb/s).

    I had no problems hearing and understanding the dialogue in the film and audio sync was excellent.

    The original music for the film is credited to Jim Manzie. The title song of the film is the catchy My Right Of Way which is sung by Frankie J. Holden. Other music used in the film comes from various popular Australian musicians of the era. The bands suitably featured on the soundtrack include Ol'55, Skyhooks, The Renee Geyer Band and Stars .

    The surrounds came to life with screeching tyres, roaring engines, music and also quiet ambient night sounds, such as chirping crickets. While not constantly active, the surrounds were used in appropriate moments of the film.

    The subwoofer was moderately used, mainly adding bass enhancement to car engines and the music.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Apart from an audio commentary, the extras are rather light on.

Menu

    The menu is static and quite basic. It features a mixed sample of music, sound effects and dialogue from the film and is 16x9 enhanced.

Audio Commentary - Michael Thornhill  (Director) moderated by film writer, Peter Galvin.

    While this is not one of the most enlightening commentaries you're ever likely to listen to, some interesting information can still be gleaned from it. The film's director, Michael Thornhill, seems at first to be a little reluctant about his participation in the commentary. However, he quickly warms to the task, providing answers where possible to Peter Galvin's questions. Michael's memory of much of the production is clouded, which is quite understandable, considering nearly thirty years have passed. His answers are occasionally short and without much elaboration - perhaps another cast or crew member could have joined in the commentary to help fill in some of the gaps?

Theatrical Trailer (1:24)

    The F.J. Holden

Other Aussie Trailers

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall