Mad Dog Morgan Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Mad Dog Morgan Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 26, 2022

Philippe Mora's "Mad Dog Morgan" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film; audio commentary and new program featuring director Philippe Mora; extended cast and crew interviews; and a lot more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

The madman

It is a small miracle that Mad Dog Morgan actually exists. Various people, including director Philippe Mora, have revealed that while the film was being made Dennis Hopper was so stoned he routinely could not remember that he was working in Australia. Also, there were multiple accidents that plagued the film’s production, and there was one, in particular, that was so serious it nearly ended Hopper’s misery. (This terrific documentary from Mark Hartley has a pretty big segment dedicated on Hopper’s antics and the accident). Hopper even managed to piss off the Australian police so badly that after they caught him driving under the influence a judge in Victoria told him that he would never be able to drive again or be a passenger in a car in his state. Immediately after that he was taken to the airport and shipped out of the country.

The popular contemporary take on the character that Hopper plays in the film, Daniel Morgan, is that he was something of a Robin Hood-like Australian hero who declared war on the wealthy in the early 1850s. Before he became this mythical hero, however, he was a lot of other things.

Morgan was an Irishman who had come to the Land Down Under to try his luck during the Golden Rush, and for a while, he did indeed try to get rich the right way. The hard work, however, did not pay well, and after he lost everything he had he became a robber to make ends meet. He got caught, rather quickly, and the authorities promptly sent him to a notorious labor camp where he spent twelve years of his life. All of the misery and abuse that Morgan endured there filled him with so much anger that when he was eventually released for good behavior, he could barely wait to start righting the wrongs that he was convinced the world was plagued with. In the bush, an Aboriginal hunter (David Gulpilil) who saved his life became his best pal, and for a while, the two apparently worked as a team. When Morgan became so famous amongst the poor that some began copying his work, the wealthy offered a big prize for his head and different teams of bounty hunters started tracking him down.

Mad Dog Morgan was Mora’s first big project and as such has a rather surprisingly nice period appearance, but the director’s inability to impose his will on it is virtually impossible to ignore. Indeed, Hopper and his addiction occupy such a massive part of the narrative that it routinely looks as if his character is changing identities at will and even shamelessly crossing into an entirely different psychedelic film. Simply put, the majority of the time Hopper plays a character that is a product of his imagination, a chameleon that only occasionally chooses to act like a bushranger on a mission. (When Hopper landed in Australia to do the film, the original script that Mora had was altered significantly to please the actor).

Perhaps the safest way to avoid a major disappointment with this film is to approach it with the clear understanding that it is not a serious and more importantly reputable account of the life and deeds of its notorious star. Only then its loose interpretations of actual events and Hopper’s rambling could begin to make some sense, and maybe even look attractive. On the other hand, there is still a great chance that even then many viewers will walk away disappointed because the cartoonish identities the film attaches to all of the wealthy British settlers are simply impossible to stomach.

The only authentic material features Gulpilil’s character, a seasoned hunter who catches and kills deadly snakes with his bare hands. It is pretty incredible to watch.

*This new Blu-ray release has two versions of Mad Dog Morgan: Director's Cut, which is approximately 103 minutes long, and UK/U.S. Theatrical Cut, which is approximately 95 minutes long.

Mad Dog Morgan Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Mad Dog Morgan arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

In 2019, we reviewed this Blu-ray release of Mad Dog Morgan which was sourced from from an exclusive new 4K remaster. According to press materials, this release is sourced from an exclusive 4K remaster as well. Also, unlike the Australian release, this release features two cuts of the film.

I did some direct comparisons between the two presentations of the film and the only notable discrepancies that I could see were in the grading jobs. On the Australian release there is a whiff of warm yellow that is present throughout the entire film, while on this release pink and some ranges if whites are slightly better balanced. You can get an idea what type of difference to expect if you compare screencaptures #6 and 15 with the corresponding screencaptures from our review of the Australian release. In some darker areas this release produces slightly better shadow definition, but elsewhere the Australian release does the same. See screencapture #17. Delineation, clarity, and depth are usually quite good, but there are some fluctuations that are not inherited. (You will notice how occasionally there are very light pulsations/flicker that affect depth. They are also present on the Australian release). There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. A few minor specks and blemishes remain, but there are no distracting large cuts, damage marks, or torn frames to report. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Mad Dog Morgan Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track is excellent. When I viewed the Australian release, I was actually quite surprised by the excellent variety of dynamic contrasts because a fairly modest sound design. There is plenty of action footage that blends really well with the music which is an essential element of the film's period atmosphere. There are no encoding anomalies to report.

Mad Dog Morgan Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One (2019) - this audio commentary was recorded by director Philippe Mora and author/critic Jake Wilson. The information that is shared in the commentary addresses the production history of the film, the research work that was done before shooting started, Dennis Hopper's performance, and the real Mad Dog Morgan and his image. The commentary was recorded in 2019 and initially appeared on Australian label Umbrella Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Mad Dog Morgan.

• Commentary Two (2009) - in this audio commentary, director Philippe Mora explains how Margaret Carnegie's novel inspired him to shoot Mad Dog Morgan and discusses in great detail its production.

• To Shoot a Mad Dog - this vintage documentary chronicles the production history of Mad Dog Morgan. Director Philippe Mora also explains why and how Daniel Morgan became an inspirational figure for other notorious outlaws, like Ned Kelly, and discusses the type of men that he confronted. There are interesting observations about Dennis Hopper's 'method acting' as well. In English. (25 min).

• Extended Interviews - presented here are various archival interviews, some of which were conducted for Mark Hartley's documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! in 2008, while others are more recent. The bulk of the information addresses the production of Mad Dog Morgan, Dennis Hopper's performance, and the business climate in Australia at the time. In English.
  
  1. Hopping Mad: Philippe Mora on Dennis Hopper and Mad Dog Morgan. (34 min).
  2. That's Our Mad Dog: A Conversation with Dennis Hopper and Philippe Mora. (29 min).
  3. Not Quite Hollywood Interview Excerpts. (67 min).
  4. Interview with Cinematographer Mark Molloy. The interview is conducted by Philippe Mora. (8 min).
  5. Interview with Associate Producer Richard Brennan. The interview is conducted by Philippe Mora. (6 min).
  6. Radio interview with Philippe Mora. (15 min).

• Mad Country: Shooting Locations Revisited - this archival program visits some of the locations where major parts of Mad Dog Morgan were shot. It can be viewed with an optional audio commentary by director Philippe Mora. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Archival Intro/Outro with Philippe Mora - this archival program was produced for the U.S. DVD release of Mad Dog Morgan in 2009. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Trailer - a remastered original trailer for Mad Dog Morgan. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Image Galleries -
  
  1. Promotional Materials.
  2. Production Diary.

• Book - limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Tara Judah, Philippe Mora's pre-production notes on Mad Dog Morgan, archival interview with Mora and producer Jeremy Thomas, Mora on the making of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits.

• Poster - limited edition exclusive poster.

Mad Dog Morgan Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A couple of nights ago, I sat down to view Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon and approximately thirty or so minutes into it I was absolutely amazed how loose its sense of humor was. I thought that its story was too banal, but the lack of filters made an incredible difference. Last night, I revisited Mad Dog Morgan, which is a very, very different film that works for the exact same reason -- Dennis Hopper's 'performance' is so loose and so surreal that it effectively negates just about all of the film's serious issues. These are the types of films I miss the most these days because even when they struggle mightily they still manage to be very entertaining. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' upcoming release of Mad Dog Morgan offers a nice technical presentation of the film with a great selection of bonus features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.