Mad Dog Morgan
Daniel Morgan is an authentic personage. An Irish immigrant who arrived to Australia in 1850s attracted with the possibility of getting rich during the gold rush was imprisoned for 12 years for an assault. Raped, beaten and humiliated by fellow prisoners, finally released, became “Mad Dog” Morgan: one of the most audacious, most ruthless bandits full of hate towards the authority in the history of the antipodes. His bandit route was marked with dozens of killed people (mainly representatives of the law pursuing him).
Mora’s creative debut produced by Jeremy Thomas (later the producer of The Last Emperor and Cronenberg’s movies is, first of all, a display of the acting abilities of Dennis Hopper who, like no other man, was suitable for the role of a crazy bandit from the Australian bush. Hopper became nearly a reincarnation of Morgan on location. Conditions of alcoholic and narcotic intoxication, Mad Dog’s feats of fury and aggression that we can see in the movie were frequently authentic conditions of the actor. Thanks to Hopper, to the professional directing of Mora and unique images of the Australian nature that brutal and cruel image of human depravation is watched as a surprisingly beautiful Australian western.
Piotr Kletowski
Philippe Mora
Born in 1949 in Paris, in a family with artistic traditions (his father founded the Australian Modern Art Museum). A director, screenwriter, and movie producer. Self-taught. Having completed a series of controversial creative documents (among others, Swastika – edited out of home movies of Ewa Braun) and educational movies for the BBC, permanently joined the Australian cinema as one of the leading representatives of the Ozploitation stream (genre movies shot in the antipodes, taking advantage of the formula of the Hollywood genre cinema). Occasionally makes movies in the USA (psychological science fiction movie The Communion). Mora’s movies break all conventions, combine different styles and are nearly always saturated with a rebellious, surrealistic humour.
Selected filmography
1969 Trouble in Molopolis
1973 Swastyka
1976 Mad Dog Morgan
1982 The Beast Within
1989 Communion
1997 Snide and Prejudice
2009 The Gertrude Stein Mystery or Some Like It Art