Leofwine_draca
SUMMER CITY is a low budget independent film from Australia. The story involves a quartet of young men who pack up their gear for a journey of boozing, surfing, girls and fun, but who eventually find something much darker instead: betrayal, revenge, and murder. This film's shortcomings are all too obviously a result of the low budget, which leads to standard point-and-shoot direction and hurried scripting. A lot of the story seems rather padded and it takes a while for the proper narrative to kick in, although it gets interesting when it does so. This is mostly worth watching to see now-famous actors in early roles, notably Mel Gibson and John Jarratt.
my_roman
This movie was definitely not as great as Braveheart :). But it is interesting to watch for the low-quality. For example, one part of the movie you can not even see the characters it is so dark, and the talking is mumbled; The plot line didn't even really start till about half way through the movie; and the climate did not happen till three minutes to the end, no jokes. But it was funny in the low-quality way, and there were funny moments in the movie.If you watch movies for good character development, special effects or plots; I advise you not to see this movie, unless you are open minded.For all you Mel Gibson fans, like me, you should really see this movie. They might not have it at your local video store, but make sure that you check under all the movie titles it goes by.-Melk
mab8485
Everyone has to start somewhere and this was where Mel started. Plot is alright,the acting quality is variable, certainly John Jarrett, Steve Bisley (and Mel) have done better but I found the movie entertaining and watchable - just don't expect much and you won't be disappointed.
BobH-6
With all due respect to the previous reviewer, Mel Gibson is not the star of this 1977 Australian drama, sometimes known as "Coast of Terror." He is, however, very good in his film debut as Scollop, one of four young men on a weekend jaunt set sometime during the early 60's, judging by all the long surfboards and rock music of the era. The real stars are John Jarrat as Sandy, a quiet, introspective young man who is shortly to be married, and Steve Bisley as Boo, whose only focus in life seems to be having a good time, including a brief fling with Sandy's intended. It is the contrast of these two characters and the events that lead to the violent, tragic climax that make the film worth a view.This is a very low budget film that suffers quite a bit from poor sound recording and inconsistent editing. The poor sound, coupled with very thick Australian accents will prompt American viewers to ask "What did he say?" throughout the film. On the plus side, the acting is very good for a low budget film and the Australian locales really add authenticity.In addition to Gibson, this was also Bisley's film debut. They would re-team for George Miller's first "Mad Max" film as fellow police officers. In the United States, their Australian accents were dubbed into "American."
AD
