The Odd Angry Shot (1979) I've already noted before how good this film is as an example of Australian film making from the 1970s, and I would like to say that this is one of the best war films made anywhere in the world. Made at a time when the resurgent Australian film industry was in full flood, 'The Odd Angry Shot' is a classic. It not only does what only our films can (i.e. put the Australian experience and national character into the cinematic language), it has an intense realism in its depiction of the life of a common soldier that is missed by many a bigger budgeted, more famous war film (e.g. 'The Deer Hunter', 'We Were Soldiers Once'). The lead cast with Graham Kennedy, John Jarrett, Bryan Brown and John Hargreaves are absolutely spot on with their characterisations, and for each actor this movie is one of their career highlights. Kennedy is the most surprisingly good, considering his background as a TV presenter, but there is a truth to all the lead performances that can only be understood by someone who has met or served with real Vietnam vets. For a small budget Australian film there is no great difficulty in seeing the realism of the combat sequences. The Australian war in Vietnam more often than not was one of small unit patrols with minor unit actions and lots of concern over death or injury through mines and other weapons. Also it was fought by a more disciplined and less divided army than the Americans. In 'The Odd Angry Shot' we see the SAS troop that is the central unit of the film engaged in just these kinds of activities. Whilst there is plenty of violence, death, cynicism and general military madness in the movie, 'The Odd Angry Shot' is not afraid of showing the humour of the men at war. There are moments that are piss-funny, and as has been said before by others war can be long periods of boredom broken up by moments of sheer bloody terror. Your average digger in Vietnam (if not soldier anywhere since recorded time) responded by sometimes laughing in the face of boredom and terror…this movie shows this in spades. Cons: The lack of a big budget is not in itself a liability, however it does mean that for its viewers who have seen 'Apocalypse Now' or 'Platoon' or 'Hamburger Hill', it can be said that 'The Odd Angry Shot' is limited in its production values. This movie doesn't lose anything by being shown on the small screen, which is perhaps indicative of where it was at as a piece of cinema. The cynicism and distrust of 'the powers that be' who have put this group of men into battle in Vietnam is barely raised as a theme, and so for anyone looking for a wider political or social message about the war in Vietnam, 'The Odd Angry Shot' fails to deliver this. Final Rating:  4 out of 5 Bill Collins
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