Heaven's Burning
Encyclopedia
Heaven's Burning is a 1997
Australian film directed by Craig Lahiff and written by Louis Nowra
.
Colin O'Brien (Russell Crowe) is an experienced getaway driver. He is hired by a Turkish family who plan to rob a bank. During the robbery one member is killed by being crushed by the banks security screen. They grab a hostage (Midori) and escape.
In some wasteland outside the city they decide to get rid of their hostage. Colin will not stand by and watch her be killed. He shoots one of the brothers and threatens to shoot the other - Mahood (Robert Mammone). Colin and Midori escape. Colin wishes to travel to his father's farm (Ray Barrett as Cam). Midori sees this as her opportunity to continue on her plans to escape and chooses to stay with Colin. Over the course of their trip they form a bond.
Mahood returns home with the news of the death of his brothers. His father Boorjan (Petru Gheorghiu) swears revenge and they set out to track Colin and Midori. The police, watching the family also set out to track down Colin.
Yukio is also told of his wife's involvement but he knows she had walked out. His honor is injured and he too also sets out to find her to pay her back.
The film then becomes a road-movie as we see the two soon-to-be-lovers venture across New South Wales followed by the police, Yukio, and the Turkish family all seeking to catch up with them, but for different ends
from Variety
gave a favourable review, calling the film "an energetic road movie that keeps careening off in unexpected directions". Movie-vault.com gave the film 5 out of 10, commenting that for an 'action/drama' film, the film had little action and did not perform well as a drama. Time Out's review stated the film took a while to take off, and had some criticism of the plot and acting, but noted the director "manages to balance the action and human interest".
in the footage, also not impressed by marks and spots on the film. It featured Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound however the sound was criticized for being mixed in too low, and being difficult to understand at times. The DVD did receive praise for the amount of extras it included.
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
Australian film directed by Craig Lahiff and written by Louis Nowra
Louis Nowra
Louis Nowra is an Australian writer, playwright, screenwriter and librettist.He is best known as one of Australia's leading playwrights...
.
Plot
Midori Takada (Youki Kudoh) arrives in Sydney with her new husband Yukio (Kenji Isomura). She believes her marriage is a mistake and uses the honeymoon as a means to escape by walking out of their hotel room. She goes to a bank but a robbery takes place.Colin O'Brien (Russell Crowe) is an experienced getaway driver. He is hired by a Turkish family who plan to rob a bank. During the robbery one member is killed by being crushed by the banks security screen. They grab a hostage (Midori) and escape.
In some wasteland outside the city they decide to get rid of their hostage. Colin will not stand by and watch her be killed. He shoots one of the brothers and threatens to shoot the other - Mahood (Robert Mammone). Colin and Midori escape. Colin wishes to travel to his father's farm (Ray Barrett as Cam). Midori sees this as her opportunity to continue on her plans to escape and chooses to stay with Colin. Over the course of their trip they form a bond.
Mahood returns home with the news of the death of his brothers. His father Boorjan (Petru Gheorghiu) swears revenge and they set out to track Colin and Midori. The police, watching the family also set out to track down Colin.
Yukio is also told of his wife's involvement but he knows she had walked out. His honor is injured and he too also sets out to find her to pay her back.
The film then becomes a road-movie as we see the two soon-to-be-lovers venture across New South Wales followed by the police, Yukio, and the Turkish family all seeking to catch up with them, but for different ends
Cast
- Russell CroweRussell CroweRussell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
- Colin O'Brien - Youki KudohYouki Kudohis a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for The Crazy Family. She also won the award for best actress at the 16th Hochi Film Award for War and Youth.-Filmography:-External links:* *...
- Midori Takada - Kenji Isomura - Yukio Takada
- Ray BarrettRay BarrettRaymond Charles "Ray" Barrett was an Australian actor. He was one of the more popular leading men on British television in the 1960s, where he was best known for his appearances in The Troubleshooters . Back in Australia he was a leading man in many TV series over the years.-Biography:Barrett was...
- Cam O'Brien - Robert MammoneRobert MammoneRobert Mammone is an Australian actor who has many television and film credits.-Filmography:* Sons and Daughters * All the Way * Embassy * The Crossing...
- Mahood - Petru Gheorghiu - Boorjan
- singer Colin HayColin HayColin James Hay is a Scottish-Australian musician, who made his mark during the 1980s as lead vocalist of the Australian band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist.- Early life and Men at Work :...
- Jonah (cameo)
Reception
The film received mixed reviews. David StrattonDavid Stratton
David James Stratton is an English- Australian film critic and television personality.-Life and career:Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England in 1939, Stratton was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly...
from Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
gave a favourable review, calling the film "an energetic road movie that keeps careening off in unexpected directions". Movie-vault.com gave the film 5 out of 10, commenting that for an 'action/drama' film, the film had little action and did not perform well as a drama. Time Out's review stated the film took a while to take off, and had some criticism of the plot and acting, but noted the director "manages to balance the action and human interest".
DVD release
The film was released on DVD on 7 November 2000. It was presented in 2.35:1 widescreen. Reviewers complained of the amount of grainFilm grain
Film grain or granularity is the random optical texture of processed photographic film due to the presence of small particles of a metallic silver, or dye clouds, developed from silver halide that have received enough photons. While film grain is a function of such particles it is not the same...
in the footage, also not impressed by marks and spots on the film. It featured Dolby Stereo 2.0 sound however the sound was criticized for being mixed in too low, and being difficult to understand at times. The DVD did receive praise for the amount of extras it included.
External links
- Heaven's Burning review Mutant Reviewers from Hell