Blue Murder
Blue Murder
| 14 September 1995 (USA)
SEASON & EPISODES
  • 1
  • Reviews
    Alicia

    I love this movie so much

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    Limerculer

    A waste of 90 minutes of my life

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    Voxitype

    Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

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    Juana

    what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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    ennor

    Having just watched this mini-series for the 3rd (and possibly last) time, I'm still gob-smacked by how true to life it is. It's not pretty, or nice, or feel-good - it's ugly and violent and brutal and bloody, and to watch the whole 3-and-a-bit hours in one sitting, as I did today, feels a bit like being kicked in the guts by a very big man!! Firstly, there's extraordinary attention paid to detail, with cars, houses, clothes, hair-styles, being true to the 70's and 80's when this true story is set. The outdoor scenes are SO Sydney that you can almost smell the city itself. The story belts along at a pace which requires the viewer to pay close attention.And then there's the cast: For me, this is Richard Roxburgh's best work ever - he walks, talks, lives and breathes Roger Rogerson, so much so that we dislike him, but have to admire his brashness and even his matiness. Tony Martin's Neddy Smith is very 3-dimensional, and mention must also be made of Gary Sweet as Chris Flannery, and Steve Bastoni as Michael Drury, the straight cop in a barrel of bad apples.Women play only minor roles in this story, but this is because it's a story of male culture in a male-only world. This is the NSW Police Force which evolved from the early days of the NSW British colony, and as such, I'm sure this mini-series will stand up in years to come as a window into the history of Australian male culture, the culture of 'mateship'. One can be forgiven for making parallels with "Goodfellas", but "Blue Murder" is Australian to the core.An extremely well made, documentary style series, which packs punches all the way through.

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    Michael_Grech

    Although this mini series is sensational, there was one thing that stood out more than anything else. Most of the actors in this series has been in another film as an almost identical character.Take a look at the cops in Blue murder. They are played by the likes of Gary Day, Steve Bastoni, Bill Hunter, Dennis Miller (has he ever been in a movie acting as anything else but a cop ???)Warrick Moss, Paul Sonkkila, Ken Radley and the list goes on and on. The biggest suprise is Gary Sweet who is usually a cop but this time he plays a bad guy and I must say he does it quiet well. His wife in the show however is played by Skye Wansey and this is not the first time she has played a Loser's wife. In this show she is playing Christopher Flannery's (1980's hit man)wife and we have all seen her playing Jimmy Loughnan's pregnant mole in Chopper.Besides all of this, Blue murder is great and it will be interesting for all viewers. I can assure you that you will think twice before trusting a police officer after you watch this one !!!

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    Ashley Wincer

    Well I had to order it especially from Melbourne to find a copy of it on DVD, but I finally recieved it. I heard about it playing on TV in Victoria but not in NSW for a a long time after it was made. But apparently it finally aired in NSW.Anyway I am from Melbourne and from what I understand about what police have been doing in the past, it is very realistic. It is a good insight to what Australian law enforcement is like and has been like throughout its history.Some people may find the mini series a little on the violent side, I liked it for the realism of it and the bluntnes of it. I hope to see more television or feature films like it again in the future. I believe Australia has a bright future in tv and film making. I just hope they keep on pushing more projects overseas, as I'm getting sick of the Hollywood movies with little plot.

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    tiggyr

    Blue Murder is far and away the best piece of television I have ever seen.Never in my life have I seen a more well acted presentation. Every actor here is in top form, every scene works. This is not TV that tries to emotionally lead the viewer, it shows these brutal and truthful events as they occurred, and thats what makes it so engrossing, and so watchable, never once do we feel patronised by the makers.Tony Martin is fantastic on every level as Neddy Smith, the seedy Sydney underworld character, portraying him to a tee. Steve Bastoni gives a totally believable performance as Micheal Drury. As Drury he gives Australian television possibly its most powerful scene ever after being shot in the kitchen of his family home. I can honestly say that this scene, where he tries to maintain control of himself while bleeding to death and trying to protect his family is the most anguishing scene of a mans life slipping away that I have ever witnessed.However, the rest of the production is stolen by one man, Richard Roxburgh as the corrupt policeman Roger Rogerson. Roxburgh is a standout here, his is embued with that tough smoke and beer stained swagger that one associates with the 'old school' style of policing in the 70's and 80's in New South Wales. He and his police mates impeccably re-create the seedy and corrupt feel of tones of that plagued the NSW police through the 80's and 90's, complete with boozey lunches, prostitutes and revenge killings.Blue Murder was not shown in my home state until 6 years after its production. It was considered too powerful, too close to the truth. It was feared it may influence several court cases that were proceding at the time along with the Corruption Commission set up to investigate such activities. With this in mind it is mind blowing to finally see what the rest of Australia has been privy to for the last 6 years.Though 6 years old when first screened here, there's no doubt that Blue Murder is a landmark in Australian television. Its just such a shame that our best work seems to sprout from our darkest moments...

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