BMX Bandits March 15th 2011 Official Thread

[meremortal]

Is the blu a sizeable jump over the dvd? Saw the dvd at a used bookstore for only about $3 and this blu's fairly pricey for a catalog title.

[klauswhereareyou]

Not sure about the dvd, but I own the blu ray and it looks great. Really grainy in some of the night scenes, but otherwise really good.

[dmarvin]

Is this out of print now?

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Great Australian indy film. Good story, and very nostalgic re: the '80's. I also liked seeing Nicole Kidman's bushy red hairstyle - this was unintentionally funny

[deltatauhobbit]

Originally Posted by dmarvin

Is this out of print now?

Still available directly from Severin here:
https://severin-films.com/shop/bmx-bandits-blu-ray-2/

Haven't heard anything about this going OOP although it's been out for almost 7 years so it's certainly possible. More likely Amazon just isn't stocking it anymore so third party sellers are trying to take advantage. Still not finding it readily available on too many other sites though...

It's a really fun film, I highly encourage picking it up. I wouldn't quite equate it to The Goonies like Quentin Tarantino did but it's neat watching Nicole Kidman's first starring film role when she still had her natural giant curly hair and accent.

[bunyboy]

Wanting to get this in the UK.. German release seems the cheapest and easiest but can anyone tell me if the titles were remade with the German title or if it's identical to the US and AU release?

Thanks..

[pinkyviolence]

Just checked the german Blu-ray and I assume it is untouched. The title screen animation says "BMX Bandits". Looks like on this screenshot:
https://i1.wp.com/www.gambitmag.com/...14/10/bmx4.jpg

[The Great Owl]

When asked to name their favorite Nicole Kidman movie, most people will list blockbusters like Moulin Rouge!, The Others, or Cold Mountain. The 1983 Australian family adventure, BMX Bandits, where a 16 year-old Kidman speeds around New South Wales with two other teenage bike racing champions, to the tune of glorious synth-pop music, as clumsy bank robbers give chase in order to retrieve stolen police-band walkie talkies, will likely not receive a lot of mention. Fortunately, this early career role for the actress includes more than enough impressive stunts and comedic hijinks to make up for the lack of notable Academy Award prestige.

Judy, played by Kidman, and her two friends, played by Angelo D'Angelo (Home and Away) and James Lugton (Hacksaw Ridge), are likable leads with an endless supply of amusing one-liners as they stumble across the cache of electronic devices and capture the attention of the local police while sinister crooks pursue them in cars and on foot. John Ley (Mad Max) and David Argue (Razorback) star as the incompetent henchmen in question, while the head criminal is played by Bryan Marshall (The Spy Who Loved Me).

The end result, directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, combines the engaging splendor of live-action Disney films with the endearing mystery vibe of Scooby-Doo cartoons. The stunts, performed by BMX professionals, including an 18 year-old male in a wig doubling for Kidman, are the main attraction.

As I watched this obscure 1980s gem for the first time today, I found myself reminiscing about my own childhood years on a Team Murray, which had the same awesome mag wheels as the bikes ridden by the main characters. I was a Team Murray guy through and through, although most of the other neighborhood kids had Huffy bikes. Around about the time BMX Bandits was released on the other side of the globe, I was 11 years old and performing some pretty sweet stunts in my own right. I was the first kid in my neighborhood who was willing to ride my bike straight down a 15-foot cliff on the side of our street while everyone else looked on with awe before trying the feat themselves with varying results. I did quite a few dumb things on that bike, and it is a wonder that I'm still alive. Fortunately, I have lived long enough to see this film at long last. Now that I've seen it, I'm tempted to buy a bike and race down stone stairways and through city streets with reckless abandon. It will probably be better for myself and for everyone else, however, if I just stick to running ultramarathons on trails.

I award four stars to this movi simply because it compelled me to take the above trip down memory lane.

For the record, Dead Calm is still my personal favorite Nicole Kidman film. This one is still a win across the board, though.

This Severin Blu-ray, featuring one of the better transfers from the label, is totally rad. One of the special features, where Kidman appears on an Australian kids show to promote the film, is surreal, to say the least.

[Mockingbird]

Plays like a very long BMX commercial. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if most of the funding came from the BMX industry.

The film would be improved by cutting out 30 minutes (of what seems like literally a 40 minute chase scene). With that said, Kidman, even at a young age, was pretty impressive given the material. Also I thought the dialog for the kids was smart for 1983. My favorite line: "Shouldn't I get my lawyer?"

[Katatonia]

Nicole still likes it.