Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		3.5

Stone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 18, 2022

Quentin Tarantino's films often play like the fever dream of some drugged out lunatic, and so it may be understandable that Tarantino is evidently a major fan of Stone, a film which features an opening vignette documenting a very, well, stoned biker named Toad (Hugh Keays-Byrne, just one of several cast members who would go on to be in various entries in the Mad Max franchise) stumbling around the periphery of a political rally. The film seems to be moving in a direction whereby this hapless hallucinator is going to get blamed for an assassination that takes place, one the guy witnesses in his heavily drugged state, but, no, somewhat hilariously the guy just continues to stumble out of the proceedings, hops on his bike with his girlfriend on the back and takes off zooming into the Australian environment, as if to say, "no massive dose of a psychedelic is going to to stop me, mate". Perhaps saliently, a pull quote Severin has chosen for the back cover of this release overtly compares the film as being "akin to watching celluloid soaked in LSD and set on fire". Probably unsurprisingly, Stone is not in fact a reference to chemical or other "enhancements", but a surname, in this case of an undercover cop (played by Ken Shorter, apparently an actor with actual police experience in a former career) who infiltrates a biker gang.

If the political assassination that starts the film out on a precarious note is an attention grabber, the actual plot mechanics turn out to revolve around mortality in the Grave Diggers, a perhaps unfortunately accurately named biker gang which is seeing its numbers diminish due to a series of murders the gang blames on their rivals, the Black Hawks. The truth actually turns out to at least tangentially touch upon the opening scene, but in a way the whole "murder mystery" aspect of the film is almost a McGuffin, because it's the gritty sensibility of the gang and some admittedly melodramatic interrelationships that give this a kind of Australian Sons of Anarchy vibe at times.

Sandy Harbutt made his feature debut in a number of capacities with this film, including producing, co-writing, directing and co-starring as the Grave Diggers' kind of slightly scary head honcho, the Undertaker. Stone has to deal with various tests, including an initiation of sorts that may make more squeamish types squirm, and while the Grave Diggers see their population dwindle, at times it's hard to feel very sorry for them, since they're not exactly above reproach.

Stone is a kind of interesting combo platter of slower, more character driven, moments interspersed with what almost come off as near horror shock scenes, as in one gruesome death that sees a biker get decapitated by a largely invisible wire. That may make Stone a bit tonally uneven at times, and especially given its perceived Mad Max connections, the action elements may not be consistent enough to get some adrenaline junkies' mojo churning. Still, the film is often quite viscerally compelling, and it makes for a rather interesting comparison study with American biker films, perhaps especially Easy Rider , at least insofar as the whole "biker culture" is woven into a larger political environment.

Stone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Stone is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Severin doesn't provide a ton of technical information on this transfer, but does mention on the back cover that this is "an uncut 4K scan from original vault elements supervised by [writer/director/producer/star Sandy] Harbutt. . .shortly before his death". This is a surprisingly strong looking presentation of what is probably not that well of a remembered film on this side of the pond. One of the transfer's strongest assets is the often beautiful vividness of the palette. Primaries are especially bold at times, with blues in skies and waters deep and appealing, and reds also resonating extremely strongly. Detail levels are also appealing, and close-ups can offer substantial fine detail, as can perhaps be gleaned from some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review. There are some passing moments where things looked slightly faded to me, with flesh tones in particular assuming a slightly brown appearance. Grain is organic looking throughout, but can be pretty chunky and yellow tinged in some darker moments. Occasional damage or issues like debris stuck in the gate can be spotted at times, but is typically minor (see the left side of the frame in screenshot 8 for one example).

Stone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Stone features a robust DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono track that capably supports elements like rumbling motorcycle engines and a score that runs the gamut from weird quasi-electronica to head banging material. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly for the most part, even if some isolated moments, like when the biker gang is yelling at the candidate in the film's opening moments, dubbing may not do things any favors in terms of lip movements matching sounds. Optional English subtitles are available.

Stone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Stone (HD; 23:12) is a really interesting archival production from a 1973 Australian news magazine report on the production.


• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD*; 37:57) include some without actual soundtrack, with interpolated music.


• Stone Forever (SD; 1:03:01) is another archival piece, one documenting a 25th anniversary of sorts where in 1998 over 30,000 bikers gathered to celebrate the film in Sydney.


• Not Quite Hollywood Extended Interviews (HD; 2:05:27) are culled from Mark Hartley's 2008 documentary and include Sandy Harbutt and Ken Shorter.


• Make Up Tests (HD; 8:33) are silent.


• Slideshow with Commetnary by Director Sandy Harbutt (HD; 21:19)


• Trailer (HD; 3:18)


• Bonus Soundtrack CD offers Billy Green's eclectic score, which varies from almost experimental/electronic (including what almost sounds like a processed didgeridoo) to just good, old fashioned Acid Rock.

Additionally packaging features a rather nice embossed slipcover with the film's memorable logo.

*720

Stone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There's no doubt that a lot of the plot mechanics in Stone are going to seem well worn, to say the least, and yet the film still manages to create a good deal of energy along the way. That's especially notable in that Sandy Harbutt doesn't seem to be especially concerned with providing a big action set pieces every ten minutes, or whatever the proscribed period is in the Syd Field model of screenwriting. That may in fact tend to work against the film's acceptance by those coming to it with preconceived notions about what a so-called "biker film" should emphasize. This has a palpable feeling of time and place (evidently real life Hells Angels participated), and its Australian setting may give it at least the whiff of the exotic for Americans. Technical merits are solid and the supplementary package very well done. Recommended.