‘Smash Palace’ applauded

Press, 20 April 1982, Page 16

‘Smash Palace’ applauded

NZPA staff correspondent New York “Smash Palace” began a prestigious film festival in New York — and the audience loved it. The film was preceded by a glowing review in the “New York Times,” which spoke of its “eccentric, irresistible momentum” and said it gave the annual “new directors-new films” series at the festival theatre a “wonderful start.” The capacity audience applauded when the film itself ended and then again after the credits stopped rolling. They applauded again when Roger Donaldson, who wrote, produced, and directed the film, told them at a question-and-answer session afterwards that it had cost only $1.3 million to make, a figure which in the

United States seems unbelievably small. Coming close on the heels of “Sleeping Dogs.” which attracted mixed reviews. "Smash Palace” seems certain to establish New Zealand among discerning cinema-goers here as a country which produces unusual films.

The male nudity in “Smash Palace," the violent sex. and a birth are all strong stuff by conventional American standards. Those scenes surprised some of the Americans, but none said they thought they were out of place: the questions were directed more at how the homegrown industry could find such a pool of talented actors; where Donaldson had learnt his craft (the answer, not by studying with anyone, just by watching films), and what he planned to produce next.