by FilmInk Staff
Chopper returns to the screen tonight and it still remains the highest grossing R+ film in Australian movie history, catapulting Eric Bana into his breakout role.
Robert Rabiah (Land of Bad, Tennessine, Face To Face), who played Nick, the right-hand man to Neville Bartos (Vince Colosimo), says; “It’s become a bit of a cult-classic or else it wouldn’t be receiving a re-release. My most generous take is that the audience connects with the dark humour, the Ned Kelly anti-hero, and of course Eric’s tour de force performance.” The story follows Read (Eric Bana) during his time behind bars and the unfolding chaos upon his release.
“I remember my first scene was with Eric with what has now become an audience favourite scene, the infamous bar scene and all the ‘here no cash’ business. We were casually chatting while director Andrew Dominik was setting up the shot and Eric was telling me about his newly born son. Very normal conversation. Rolling, action, and then he morphs into Chopper. I remember thinking in the middle of the scene that audiences are going to dig this, but no one could have predicted that 25 years later it is still loved by so many fans all over the world. From all the films and television shows I have been involved in, Chopper is the one I am asked about the most. It appears to be a cultural touchstone of sorts.”
Audience demand has been high with the remastered version and it will also feature 13 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage. “I’m proud of my place within the narrative, it was my first studio film, and I’m chuffed for Eric Bana and the way he lit up Hollywood not long after. He worked really hard, not just with the performance side of things, but also the physicality – he put an immense amount of weight on for a segment of the film. He would tell me off-camera how shitty he felt carrying all those extra pounds and it took a toll on him from what I could see. I would always try to liven him up with some conversation about football and his beloved St Kilda. That always put a smile on his face.”
Critics have labelled Eric Bana’s performance and Andrew Dominik’s direction as arguably their best work. “I’m not surprised, but it’s all relative, isn’t it? I know some people that simply don’t like it. Not many, but some. That’s their prerogative. To my mind, it has always reminded me of Tom Hardy in Bronson. That’s another polarizing film. Either way, I can tell you that it did surprise most of us. I recall seeing Eric just before Christmas a year after Chopper was released at some shopping centre in Melbourne. He was truly shocked and appreciative at how well the film was received. I asked him what he was shopping for and he said he was trying to find some celebratory cigars but had no idea what constituted a good cigar. I’m a bit of a cigar aficionado, so off we went looking for the perfect cigar. I asked him what the occasion was and he replied that he was jetting off to Morocco to shoot some film called Black Hawk Down. That was the last time I saw Eric and the rest is history as they say.”
Chopper will be on the screen from tonight and Robert Rabiah will be at The Village Cinema premiere with a Q&A afterwards.
