The Dish
Release Date: 19th October 2000 - Australia
Production Companies
Working Dog Productions (presents)
Distant Horizon
Dish Film Ltd.The Dish Film Productions
Distribution
Roadshow Films
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Rating: M
Runtime: 101 minutes Box Office Gross: $17,999,473 (Australia)
Plot Summary
July 20th, 1969, was themoment that history will
never forget. The day man
first stepped on the moon.
A television audience of
600 million people
worldwide witnessed
that one glorious moment.
Remarkably, these timeless
emerged through a "dish"
in the Australian outback.
worldwide witnessed
that one glorious moment.
Remarkably, these timeless
emerged through a "dish"
in the Australian outback.
It may have been one
small step for man, but a
giant leap for a handful
of Australian scientists.
giant leap for a handful
of Australian scientists.
And this nearly wouldn't
have happened without a
series of mishaps.
Cast
Sam Neill - Cliff Buxton
Kevin Harrington - Ross
Tom Long - Glenn Latham
Patrick Warburton - Al Burnett
Genevieve Mooy - May
McIntyre
McIntyre
Tayler Kane - Rudi Kellerman
Billy Mitchell - Cameron
Roz Hammond - Miss Nolan
Christopher-Robin Street - Damien
Luke Keltie - Graeme
Naomi Wright - Melanie
Ben Wright-Smith - Nicholas
Beverly Dunn - Secretary v/o (Voice)
Grant Thompson - Mr. Callen
Bille Brown - Prime Minister
Bernard Curry - Newspaper Reporter
Roy Billing - Mayor Robert
'Bob' McIntyre
'Bob' McIntyre
Andrew S. Gilbert - Len Purvis
Lenka Kripac - Marie McIntrye
Neil Pigot - Journalist
Frank Bennett - Barry Steele
Matthew Moore - Keith Morrison
Eliza Szonert - Janine Kellerman
Kerry Walker - Pearl
Denise Roberts - Bronwyn
Jeff Keogh - Ray
Jason Ritterman - Adrian Hobbs
Alexander Zest - Lead Guitarist
Rowan Macartney - Trumpet
Aidan Macartney - Trombone
Jarrod Factor - Drummer
Oliver McGill - Pianist
Marilyn O'Donnell - Melva
Jane Menelaus - Gwen
John Flaus - Ron
John McMartin - U.S. Ambassador Howard
Carl Snell - Billy McIntyre
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell - Reverend Lotus
Darren Davidson - Camera Person
Simon Donaldson - Sound Person
Randall Berger - Ambassador's Aide
Mal Walden - ABC Journalist v/o (Voice)
Rod McNeil - Radio Newsreader v/o (Voice)
Alister Paterson - ABC TV Newsreader
Colette Mann - Betty the Bush Poet
Susan Ward - Female Print Journalist
Roger Crisp - Male Reporter
Crew
Writer/Conceiver/Producer/Director -
Rob Sitch
Writers/Conceivers/Producers - Santo Cilauro,
Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy
Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy
Producer - Michael Hirsh
Production Designer - Carrie Kennedy
Art Director - Ben Morieson
Costume Designer - Kitty Stuckey
Director of Photography - Graeme Wood
Film Editor - Jill Bilcock
Sound Mixer - Roger Savage
Foley Artists - Francis Ward Lindsay
and Gerry Long
Music - Edmund Choi
Review
On New Year's Eve of 2017, I visited the landmark Parkes Radio Telescope, one of the few stations that received live-transmitted images of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. On my recent trip, I purchased the movie THE DISH from the Visitors Centre, intending to review it for this year's Australia Day. THE DISH presented itself as a historical comedy-drama with humour similar to the director's previous film, The Castle. While the movie maintains some historical accuracy, it makes noticeable changes to create a coherent, straightforward plot. The humour is broad, so nothing else upsets the film's noteworthy balance of elements.
While each actor plays a substantial role, Sam Neill and Patrick Warburton stand out. The latter portrays a NASA scientific advisor and is the only American performer prominently featured in this Australian-esque picture. Though Warburton hasn't ventured much into dramatic territory, this picture was an exception, showcasing his great acting skills. Sam Neill is a seasoned veteran actor from big-budget movies like Dead Calm and Jurassic Park, and now shines as a recently widowed chief supervisor.
THE DISH is an impressive Australian film that offers gentle comedy and beautiful local scenery. It went to extraordinary lengths to capture the spirit of Parkes (where some scenes took place) and the secrets behind the lunar landing. I recommend this movie to all audiences interested in the history of space exploration, especially those who have lived in or visited the same town and seen the telescope or dish themselves.
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