Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection

A new 35mm print of the feature and trailer are now available on request - Courtesy of David Bilcock and the sponsors Kodak (Australasia) and Atlab Australia.

National Film and Sound Archive National Collection Title number 4490

Petersen
Petersen

PETERSEN (1974)
Classification: R rating

Director: Tim Burstall

Year of Production: 1974

Duration: 107 minutes.
Format: 35mm, Colour. Mono optical soundtrack, remastered to Dolby® Digital.

Production Company: Hexagon Productions
Producer: Tim Burstall
Associate Producer: Alan Finney
Screenplay: David Williamson
Director of Photography: Robin Copping
Production Designer: Bill Hutchinson
Editor: David Bilcock
Composer: Peter Best
Sound recordists: Ken Hammond

Cast: Jack Thompson (Tony Petersen), Jacki Weaver (Susie Petersen), Wendy Hughes (Trish Kent), Belinda Giblin (Moira), Arthur Dignam (Charles Kent), Charles Tingwall (Reverend Petersen), Helen Morse (Jane), John Ewert (Pete), David Phillips (Heinz), Christine amor (Annie), Sandy Mcgregor (Marg), Joey Hohenfels (Debbie), Amanda Hunt (Carol), George Mallaby (executive).

Synopsis

Tony Petersen (Jack Thompson) is an electrical tradesman and former football star that quits his trade and enrols at a university in the Arts Faculty to enhance his life. This is a comedy drama that traces a male odyssey through a series of sexual and emotional possibilities and aspirations that are eventually rejected. The film explores the conflict between the university-educated middle-class and the self-made working class values.

Background

The film opened in Sydney on 25 October 1974 and launched Jack Thompson as a major star. It was release in England the following year and received a major U.S. release with 120 prints. Jack Thompson won Best Actor and David Williamson won Best Original Screenplay at the 1974/5 Australian Film Institute Awards.

Preservation

The original and printing materials are preserved in the National Screen and Sound Archive. The edited version is also preserved. The new print was processed from the original negative and the sound was remastered to Dolby SR Digital.