Its subject matter saw it struggle to get funding in the late 1970s but Australian Vietnam War film, The Odd Angry Shot, will return to the big screen in Springwood in August.
The film's director, Tom Jeffrey, will take part in a charity screening of the 1979 classic on Sunday, August 18 for the Blue Mountains Vietnam Veterans and Associated Forces Incorporated and Soldier On. Film critic David Stratton will host a Q&A which will also feature one of the film's stars, Bryan Brown.
It's a far cry from the days when Jeffrey and his co-producer Sue Miliken were putting together finance for the feature film.
"People didn't really want to know about the Vietnam War in those days," he said. "The nature of the war and the reaction it had in our society was just something people didn't want to talk about. People thought the movie was going to be a huge risk because of that.
"In a funny way it's been proved true because until this year, The Odd Angry Shot was the only film made about Australia's experience in the Vietnam War. A second one has now been made (Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, released on August 8, 2019). But in The Odd Angry Shot we thought we could deal with the subject matter because of the humour in the story and the laughs. We thought that would enable us to talk to the audience."
It also helped that The Odd Angry Shot attracted a high-profile cast including not just a young Bryan Brown but Graham Kennedy, Graeme Blundell, John Hargreaves and John Jarratt.
"We were able to get such a wonderful cast together, with Graham Kennedy leading it, so we were able to attract an audience," said Mr Jeffrey.
The Bronte resident, now 80, said Brown's star quality was apparent even in those early days.
"I'd just cast him in a very small part the year before in a movie I'd made in South Australia called Weekend of Shadows. He played a truck driver and had about three lines but he just looked superb on the big screen. Both Sue and I said: 'We've got to have him in Odd Angry Shot'. He was terrific."
Based on the book of the same name by William Nagel, The Odd Angry Shot follows a single tour of duty of an Australian reconnaissance team in Vietnam and their daily life in camp. It was filmed over six weeks at locations included the Australian Army's Jungle Warfare Training Centre in Canungra, Queensland and Malarbar rifle range in New South Wales.
"It was hard hard work slogging away in the jungle but I thoroughly enjoyed it," said Mr Jeffrey. "From the director's point of view I had a terrific time. The crew and the cast were a joy to work with and I think that comes through on the screen."
The National Film and Sound Archive restored the movie in 2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan. Mr Jeffrey said the now 40-year-old film has aged well.
"There are certain things I see that I'd like to do again, but that's true of all movies... It holds up. I still laugh in the same spots!"
For bookings to the August 18 screening at the Blue Mountains Theatre, visit: http://bluemountainstheatreandhub.com.au/
