Friday night is Classic Aussie Film night on C44

An exotic tale of loyalty, passion and peril in a foreign land, Far East plays out amidst a hotbed of political tension in the Philippines during the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Journalist Peter Reeves (John Bell) and his wife Jo (AFI Award winner Helen Morse, Caddie, Picnic at Hanging Rock) arrive in Manila at a time when the Government is brutally crushing the growing protest movement. One night, they venture to The Koala Klub, a notorious watering hole situated deep in the heart of Chinatown, run by charismatic former-soldier Morgan Keefe (AFI Award winner Bryan Brown, Breaker Morant, Two Hands). Catering for ex-pat Westerners, it is familiar territory to Jo who knew Keefe when she was a nightclub singer in Saigon during the Vietnam War.

Researching the complicity of multinational companies in government repression, Peter links up with local activist Rosita Constanza and the two are seized by the secret police, likely to be ‘disappeared’ at the whim of their captors. Faced with a wall of silence, an increasingly desperate Jo turns to Morgan and together they hatch a daring plan to liberate Peter before it is too late.

The remarkable story of Australia’s first true gangster, Squizzy Taylor, the diminutive small-time pimp, thief and gambler who rocked the underworld with his legendary exploits.

Melbourne, 1919, a turf war erupts between rival Fitzroy and Richmond gangs painting the cobbled bluestones red with violence. Dapper and debonair, Squizzy Taylor (David Atkins), cunningly orchestrates the battle and steps into the breach to keep an eagle eye on his interests. A master of manipulation and the media, Squizzy weaves a sticky web between self-glorifying interviews with newspaperman, Reg Harvey (Robert Hughes), and keeping in the pay of corrupt cop, Brophy (Alan Cassell). When Squizzy decides to throw over Dolly (Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom) in favour of the upper-class Ida, things finally become unhinged and it is only a matter of time before he faces his chief rival, Snowy Cutmore (Steve Bisley, The Big Steal).

Presented in a classy new transfer, retaining the original widescreen anamorphic frame, Squizzy Taylor remains a stylish and captivating entry into Australia’s early crime underbelly.

Suburban Australia in the late 70’s. It was the era of the drive-in movie, the Chico Roll girl and the beloved FJ Holden. Evocative of both the period and location, The FJ Holden chronicles the misadventures of Kevin and Bob, a couple of teenage rev-heads on their way to becoming adults. By day they work in a wrecking yard, by night they cruise around in the ultimate chick-magnet — a yellow FJ.

Boasting alcohol-fuelled escapades, back-seat sex, illegal drag racing, a classic Oz rock soundtrack (featuring Ol’ 55, Skyhooks and Renee Geyer), and the screen debut of future star Sigrid Thornton, The FJ Holden forged a strong connection with 70’s mainstream male and female audiences and today remains a classic true-to-life tale of Aussie teens surviving in the suburban sprawl.