The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (film)
Encyclopedia
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1978 Australia
n film directed by Fred Schepisi, and starring Tom E. Lewis
(billed at the time as Tommy Lewis), Freddy Reynolds and Ray Barrett
. It is an adaptation of the novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
by Thomas Keneally
.
The story is written through the eyes of an exploited Aborigine who explodes with rage. It is based on an actual incident. Keneally has said he would not now presume to write in the voice of an Aborigine, but would have written the story as seen by a white character.
For Schepisi the film's reception was a disillusioning experience and he left Australia soon after to work in Hollywood, returning to Australia ten years later to make Evil Angels.
(AFI) for 1978. It was also nominated for the Palme d'Or
(Golden Palm) at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival
.
The novel was nominated for the Booker Prize
in 1972, losing to John Berger
's G.
is also based on the story.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n film directed by Fred Schepisi, and starring Tom E. Lewis
Tom E. Lewis
Tom E. Lewis is a Murrungun man , who is an actor and musician. His first major role was the title role in the 1978 Fred Schepisi film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.-Early life:He was born and grew up at Ngukurr in South Eastern Arnhem Land...
(billed at the time as Tommy Lewis), Freddy Reynolds and Ray Barrett
Ray Barrett
Raymond 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...
. It is an adaptation of the novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
by Thomas Keneally
Thomas Keneally
Thomas Michael Keneally, AO is an Australian novelist, playwright and author of non-fiction. He is best known for writing Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize-winning novel of 1982 which was inspired by the efforts of Poldek Pfefferberg, a Holocaust survivor...
.
The story is written through the eyes of an exploited Aborigine who explodes with rage. It is based on an actual incident. Keneally has said he would not now presume to write in the voice of an Aborigine, but would have written the story as seen by a white character.
For Schepisi the film's reception was a disillusioning experience and he left Australia soon after to work in Hollywood, returning to Australia ten years later to make Evil Angels.
Cast
- Tom E. LewisTom E. LewisTom E. Lewis is a Murrungun man , who is an actor and musician. His first major role was the title role in the 1978 Fred Schepisi film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.-Early life:He was born and grew up at Ngukurr in South Eastern Arnhem Land...
- Jimmie Blacksmith - Freddy Reynolds - Mort Blacksmith
- 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...
- Farrell - Jack ThompsonJack Thompson (actor)Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...
- Rev. Neville - Angela Punch McGregorAngela Punch McGregorAngela Punch McGregor is an Australian actress.As "Angela Punch" she acted in television serial Class of '75 and had a guest role in situation comedy Alvin Purple ....
- Gilda Marshall (as Angela Punch) - Steve DoddSteve DoddSteve Dodd , is an Indigenous Australian actor, notable for playing indigenous characters across seven decades of Australian film. After beginning his working life as a stockman and rodeo rider, Dodd was given his first film roles by prominent Australian actor Chips Rafferty...
- Tabidgi - Peter CarrollPeter CarrollPeter James Carroll is a modern occultist, author, cofounder of the Illuminates of Thanateros, and practitioner of chaos magic theory.-Biography:...
- McCready - Ruth CracknellRuth CracknellRuth Cracknell AM was an Australian theatre and television character actress who appeared in many comedy roles. She was known variously as "Crackers", "Dame Crackers" and "Dame Ruth" throughout a career spanning 56 years....
- Mrs. Heather Newby - Don Crosby - Newby
- Elizabeth Alexander - Petra Graf
- Peter SumnerPeter SumnerPeter Sumner is an Australian actor, director, and writer. He was born Peter Sumner-Potts in Sydney, Australia.His credits include parts in such films as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Ned Kelly, as well as a starring role in television series Spyforce...
- Dowie Steed - Tim Robertson - Healey
- Ray MeagherRay MeagherRay Meagher surname pronouned "Marr" , is a veteran Australian character actor. He has appeared regularly in Australian film and television since the mid 1970s, and is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, as Alf Stewart on Home and Away, having played the...
- Dud Edmonds - Brian Anderson - Hyberry
- Jane Harders - Mrs. Healey
Awards
The film won the Best Original Music Score (Bruce Smeaton), Best Actress in a Lead Role (Angela Punch McGregor) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ray Barrett) and was nominated for 9 more awards at the Australian Film InstituteAustralian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
(AFI) for 1978. It was also nominated for the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
(Golden Palm) at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival
1978 Cannes Film Festival
The 31st Cannes Film Festival was held on May 16-30. This festival saw the introduction of a new non-competitive section, 'Un Certain Regard', which replaces 'Les Yeux Fertiles' , 'L'Air du temps' and 'Le Passé composé'.- Jury :*Alan J...
.
The novel was nominated for the Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
in 1972, losing to John Berger
John Berger
John Peter Berger is an English art critic, novelist, painter and author. His novel G. won the 1972 Booker Prize, and his essay on art criticism Ways of Seeing, written as an accompaniment to a BBC series, is often used as a university text.-Education:Born in Hackney, London, England, Berger was...
's G.
G. (novel)
G. is a 1972 novel by John Berger. The novel's setting is pre-First World War Europe, and its protagonist, named "G.", is a Don Juan or Casanova-like lover of women who gradually comes to political consciousness after misadventures across the continent...
Box Office
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith grossed $1,021,000 at the box office in Australia.Other
"The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith" by Australian Roots-Rock band The GroovesmithsThe Groovesmiths
-Demonstrations Of Intent:The band's debut EP features 5 original songs, written by Gavin Shoesmith.# "Bushranger" – 3:51# "Lonely" – 4:05# "Rebirth" – 5:04# "Viva La Revolution" – 3:33# "Oh The Sun Is Shining" – 4:35...
is also based on the story.