The F.J. Holden (1977) User Reviews (20)

Australian "Graffiti"?

[tim-764-291856 · 6/10 · 8 July 2012]

The closest U.S comparison I can make here to Michael Thornhill's 1977 coming of age drama is George Lucas' earlier 1973 American Graffiti.

The differences, where there are some, are marked however. Both feature - the strongest link - cars, this is in the F.J.Holden of the title, which as far as I can find out, was an General Motors model that was cheap and popularly souped up into a 'muscle' car. Like the American models in Lucas' film, these become far more than modes of transport, being every courting young man's way of life, to cruise around in, showing off like preening peacocks.

In a small town in New South Wales (filmed in Sydney) in the 70s, Bob and his mate Kevin are out boozing and cruising for girls to pick up. Kevin meets Anne. The two friends basically behave like slobs and fairly irresponsible ones at that, getting in trouble with the police and getting drunk and holding the occasional street drag race. When sex gets in the way of the the two, their friendship is tested.

For those that were either there, or were of that generation (I'm just a little too young) then this must bring back memories and hold a more special place for such. For the rest of us, the picture looks dated, but not in the interestingly way that American Graffiti does. I'm sure many a 'new' Australian would now cringe with some embarrassment at how their male young are perceived. These young fellas don't have the looming Vietnam conscription to force them to go off the rails a bit, which was a significant factor in American Graffiti.

There's some quite earthy dialogue and sex scenes to match - I would suggest a modern '15' rating here in the U.K. (in Australia, such DVDs as this one is, are marked "M", for 'mature' audiences).

Such is the nostalgia for both the time/place and the cars themselves, it makes giving a rating difficult, as judging whether it's a good film or not is masked by many personal feelings. Radio Times magazine online don't even list it - seems it's quite a scarcity, so I'm plumping for 6/10, though seven wouldn't be unreasonable.

I viewed the DVD as part of the 12 disc boxed set 'Australian Cinema Collection'.

Sign of the times

[heshmejojo · 4/10 · 28 September 2015]

FJ Holden is a time capsule of a typical western suburbs working class teenager's life in the 70's albeit that the producers have used an element of poetic license to tell the story. The movie reminds me of American Graffiti, that iconic movie set in the early 60's which spun off onto TV as the very successful Happy Days series. We have always tended to watch this movie from the inside out because my wife and I were a part of some of the major scenes at the infamous "Brickies" or "The Brickyard" where illegal drag races took place late on Friday and Saturday nights. We first met the producers at the old Castlereagh Dragway just outside of Penrith NSW. They approached us after our car, a 1968 Camaro SS had just won several heats and mentioned that they would like both us and our car in the movie. Our car is in the opening scene at Brickies on the right of screen racing toward the camera. It also appears after the race driving past, and as the sun is rising driving away from the police. We were also in several scenes around the fire and when the "stolen" white Pontiac Parisienne (with no motor, I may add....lol) was pushed into Homebush Bay and drifted away refusing to sink. The majority of that scene wound up on the cutting room floor because the roars of laughter from us all as the car unexpectedly drifted into the dark were not to the producers liking. As the car slowly drifted away all went quiet in anticipation and one guy yelled out "Shit, my lumber jacket is in that car, and it has my wallet in it" which made us all break into laughter with the odd inappropriate and unsympathetic comment being made. I also recall that they quickly switched to a long telescopic lens and a large spot light to capture the car finally sinking into the middle of the bay. Probably still there too as no attempts were made to recover it. Then, over the 5 days of shooting these scenes the fire that was used to keep warm and add to the atmosphere of the movie eventually overheated the concrete it was on and the concrete literally blew up with fire going everywhere. Many, many more funny things happened over these 5 days and if the director had kept the outtakes they would have enough material for a movie that would make a more typical 1970's scene than the actual movie could ever have achieved. You just can't write the stuff that happened there, along with the constant wise cracks and sledging from the smart arse westies. All in all, being part of that 5 days of filming made it hard to watch the final movie without a smile on our faces knowing what really went on behind the scenes.

dreary slow and pointless but so so real

[rorychampion · 6/10 · 17 July 2010]

Kevin works in a dead end job as does everyone he knows.The excitement of the week is the smörgåsbord at the club.Kevins pride is the car of the title.This movie looks like it was made as a high school film project but is evocative of its period and its characters position in society.The female characters Anne and Wendy seem at least on the surface to have pretensions for something better but we all know that they will be married to a process worker soon after these events.Anne works but forced to care for her lone father and siblings she has low self esteem and uses her body to gain some attention from boys.Kevin and Bob initially both have sex with her but Kevin begins a relationship with her which he is too immature to handle.The sharing of Anne becomes a point of contention and confusion as Kevin develops divided loyalties between Anne and Bob when Anne wants him to choose.A depressing movie because it ends on a note where we know nothing is going to get better for any of them

Ahhh...those halcyon days

[gkwill99 · 23 April 2002]

Sure the movie is slow, the speech is monosyllabic and there isn't much happening. But the sun is shining, the lawns are being mown, the smorgasbord is on down at the club and the backyard parties are in full swing. I too, grew up in Panania. That's pretty much what it was like and it was great....simple, uncomplicated...much like the movie. That seems to me to be the whole point! I love it. One day it will be recognised as the true classic that it is (well maybe)

The good old days.

[rachelsplace · 3/10 · 29 January 2021]

VERY short on plot, talented actors and dialogue but great for a reflection of Sydney life in the 70's. Can't believe Sigrid Thornton is truly in it!

The FJ Holden isn't a masterpiece, but it's engaging enough to hold your attention

[kevin_robbins · 6/10 · 17 March 2024]

I recently watched the Australian grindhouse film The FJ Holden (1977) on Tubi. The story centers around Kevin and Bob, two buddies who travel the countryside indulging in partying, drinking, and drugs. They encounter Anne who sparks a chain of events after Kevin tries to have sex either her in front of Bob.

Directed by Michael Thornhill (The Journalist), the film stars Paul Couzens, Eva Dickinson (Glenview High), Carl Stever, and Sigrid Thornton (The Man from Snowy River).

In many ways, The FJ Holden feels like an Australian version of "Porky's." The banter between the main characters is fun, featuring solid zings and one-liners. However, Kevin's character can be frustrating at times, with his mood swings feeling inconsistently authentic. Eva Dickinson delivers a captivating performance, and the film includes splashes of nudity. The storyline is entertaining and unfolds in a fun manner, leading to a satisfying conclusion.

Overall, The FJ Holden isn't a masterpiece, but it's engaging enough to hold your attention. I would give it a 5.5/10 and recommend watching it once.

WHY HAVE NO EXTRAS BEEN MENTIONED

[johnhandley-08541 · 1/10 · 18 January 2021]

Many extras may not played a major part in the movie but we did have a part of helping the main actors making what we did was realto our watchers on the movie screen.My name is JOHN HANDLEY - I was interview & selected to be an extra in The FJ HOlDEN & intitled to have acknowledgement also other extras who were in that movie- thankingyou

Saturday night Sydney fever

[ptb-8 · 5/10 · 10 December 2010]

Well this is either a 10 for it's uncompromising reality of the hideous existence to be found in Sydney's western suburbs in 1976 Sydney, complete with fool friends car kulture and whiny girlfriends, or it is a 1 for amateurish awfulness complete with dull characters and their factory lives. I will give it a 5 because I lurched between the two. Over all it ends up being an unforgettable poison postcard from another age of wasted time and uneducated lives and hot boring suburbs. As a Ken Loach misery piece it could be a hit in the UK or be easily as brutal as the expose of Saturday Night Fever, which it pre dates. If you see the equally awful/fascinating Aussie film CLUBLAND which manages to combine a loathsome-Loach view with the flat Sydney suburbs by having Brenda Blethyn carrying on like Ethel Merman in a stand up comedy club, then CLUBLAND is an updated FJ HOLDEN. Also a feature of the cast is the American Graffiti / Rebel Without A Cause car race imagery but with thin Oz boy voices instead. FJ HOLDEN was a mild success in 1977 and remembered now mainly because someone bothered to put this boring time and the boring lives led on a film then. Somewhere between fascinating and forgettable, like the lead actors, you might find yourself wandering channels like the protagonists yourself. The opening sequence of rumps pumping in a panel van is enough to make you turn it off there and then, however it does get better as it goes. The best part is when it ends.

Not great, but of interest to those who want to see a snapshot of the time

[bernardmlyons · 5/10 · 11 March 2024]

The acting is dodgy (both the main actors had little experience), the storyline pretty boring, the scenery bland.

I grew up in this part of sydney, and movies showing Australian suburbia were rare, so this was reasonably popular as it showed a slice of life of Australia - which we never saw on the big screen.

I remember Australians growing up in the time would refer to it, and it was pretty famous.

But its overall, pretty bad. Bad acting, plot is very basic and not particularly interesting - but it does show what life was like at the time pretty well, so its of value as a historical/social piece. Even a bit of casual racism played off as a joke!

Parts of it are so bad they are funny, and the two actors, instead of acting drunk, actually *really* get drunk in one scene, and can barely say their lines.

Its a really bad Aussie film, but yes, of interest to people who grew up in that time, or that part of Sydney.

Docudrama 20 years too early

[doctor_chops · 10/10 · 6 October 2005]

This is an excellent film. It deserves a lot more respect than it gets. The story of two shady young guys being shady is not much of a plot. However what this film has in spades is a real sense of place. Watching the film (slow and mundane as it seems) it really feels like you are becoming a part of the world of the characters involved.

Furthermore the film seems to touch upon various issues like relationships between the young (a la Puberty Blues a few years later), and the realities of Australian suburbia. There is a fair bit going on here than just the hi-jinx of Kev, Bob, and Anne. Even with these characters you can feel some sort of sympathy (well....at least with Kev and Anne).

There are some other reasons to recommend the film. Spot Prisoner's 'Freak'. Kev's dad is great as a straight talking no nonsense bloke. The cars are great (tho wot's wrong with Valiants. Spot the 'new immigrant' driving one) and some of the dialogue is awesome (Mate.....you're my mate, the biggest dick in Bankstown etc).

This film is all class in a completely unclassy way.

History: good. Movie: bad

[bennobi1 · 4/10 · 21 February 2024]

As a Holden fan I was quite literally, too keen to watch this movie when I learnt of it's existence but also as a keen Aussie history nostalgic I'm very pleased I did.

However having said that, I'm of two very seperate mind's when it comes to this auspicious production. I was very pleased to read that it was a great success in drive ins around the country and that it featured one of Australia's iconic actors of the early-mid 80's (Sigrid Thornton) and a particular favourite of mine but unfortunately she spent very little of the film and her considerable talents in the background with few line's and as a superfluous character of the film.

Which brings me back to the matter or duality. While the film did have some initial charm of it's own and from what I understand from the reviews of people that remember those days well (I was only 2yo at the time of production) the days of teenage suburban Sydney 1976 were captured quite well, this movie's story was for lack of a better word, BORING!!!

There simply was almost no story. It was just the very bare bone's of the day and a life of a typical teenager and his beautiful FJ Holden doing typical teenage things same as any other character!?!

As a child/teen of small country 80's-90's Australia I had more adventures than ALL of these people put together! Lol The entire movie I sat and waited for some Aussie style, semi cataclysmic event to befall one, some or all of the characters and..... nothing happened!?! Lol That's why I struggled to award this film with four stars. I could lovingly give stars for kindly taking me down the memory lane of a mid 70's generation (thank you very much) but in terms of production I felt totally deflated in term's of storytelling and substance.

Thanks again. I think?! Lol.

A snapshot of Bankstown, NSW, Australia, 1970s style.

[opsbooks · 10/10 · 22 June 2001]

'The FJ Holden' is a snapshot of Bankstown, NSW, Australia, 1970s. Or perhaps Sydney's West, the much-maligned lower end of the real estate market in those days, the place where 'girls don't go alone, not if they have any self-respect'. I've lived there all of my life and know this film is more of a documentary than a movie. It has no plot and that's okay. It's a slice of life and was never supposed to have a beginning or an end. Compare it to 'The Bicycle Thieves' if you will. Every shot, every line, every word is evocative of the period and location. Malign it if you will, but to those of us who lived through the 70s, its a mirror of those times and a masterpiece.

It Ain't No American Graffiti

[csaw59 · 3 November 2004]

If people are looking for a 'road movie' in the slick US style of American Graffiti, The FJ Holden will not be your cup of tea. For all intents & purposes The FJ Holden is a road movie, however this time it is set in the late 70's in Bankstown, NSW. Bankstown at the time was basically a working class suburb,with the majority of the population coming from public housing estates. It would be of no surprise then that the kids from such an area, were basically poor, both in material goods & education. Young teenage men only had limited social outlets, their cars & their girlfriends & this is the films focus. There is no great outpouring of verbal dialogue in the film, for if it did, the whole movie, as a period piece, would have looked contrived. Take the movie for what it is, a general view of suburban life as seen by a young man struggling to come to grips with his first faltering steps to manhood. It's not pretty, but as a cinematic history of life in the the 70's, it is unrivalled. Michael Thornhill is to be congratulated in his attempts to capture a snapshot of Australian youth in the suburbs.

The car's the star

[Socratease · 10/10 · 26 November 2005]

I love this film. As a guy who was in the same age group as Kev and Bob at the time (1976) it rings entirely true. My gang of mates hung out in Sydney's Northern Beach suburbs, and would have referred to Kev and Bob as "bloody Westies", but we were exactly the same and did all of those things and more.

I well recall going to the drags at Brickies and being hassled by the coppers, just as it's portrayed in the film.

And the car's definitely the star. The FJ Holden is as Australian as meat pies and Vegemite. I had a mate with a yellow FJ Holden. It had 2 black stripes across its bonnet (hood) and we called it the Bumble Bee.

Now that it's finally out on DVD I can watch it over and over, and freeze frame to catch an item of detail I've missed before.

True, it's not everybody's cup of tea in terms of subject matter and pace, and the soundtrack suffers from a tiny budget that didn't allow looping (ADR) to make it more audible in places, and I don't know how the dialogue sounds to a foreign ear, but it's definitely the real deal - that's how it was in Sydney's 'burbs in 1976.

The DVD commentary track by Producer/Director/Adapter Mike Thornhill is interesting, if strained. Thornhill is not of that generation, nor of that upbringing. I'd have preferred to hear the original writer and Newtown boy Terry Larsen talk about his story. Nonetheless, I'm grateful to have it on DVD at last.

Ah, nostalgia IS what it used to be! It's a gleaming yellow FJ.

A Masterpiece!

[fidelma · 15 November 2000]

This film is essential for anyone who wants to experience the glory days of Aus culture. There is very little plot, but it basically follows the adventures of a guy called Kev, who goes out with a girl called Anne. He fixes up his car (guess what model?), goes drag racing, drives around with his mate Bob, gets drunk, and has excruciatingly bad conversations with his parents.

It also includes a scene where you watch Kev and Bob drink an entire slab of beer, with the actors obviously getting drunker and drunker as they slur and forget their lines.

It's on TV every so often. Don't miss it. Tape it, and show it to all your friends. Bring it out at parties. Keeping this film to yourself is a crime!

Memories.......

[skatie0569 · 10/10 · 28 October 2005]

It's about time!! I have waited for this movie to come to DVD for many years! The movie is not a masterpiece but it is a pretty accurate portrayal of life in my neck of the woods and probably for many other Aussies regardless of where they hail from. It is certainly a good idea of what it was like growing up in the western suburbs. This movie is a gem and I love it because it reminds me of a simpler time.. when going to Bankie (or simply the square) was the place to be. All in all it evokes many happy memories of growing up in Australia in the 70's. The soundtrack isn't too bad either. I originally discovered this movie in the mid eighties and it has held a sentimental place ever since.

Like it's car, an Aussie classic

[PeterMitchell-506-564364 · 8/10 · 29 November 2012]

This is one of those flicks or may'be I should really say films that makes you proud to be Australian. No great dialogue or real story, the movies a period piece of life in good ol Bankstown, Sydney, '76. Sydney lover that I am, I've only ever driven through Bankstown but never really stopped there. What the FJ Holden, has going for it, apart from good performances from it's leads, one, this being his only acting role, is it's realism and insight into the teen scene, that's very different from today. Starting off with a raw piece of nudity, and sex at one of these lookout points, the film never ceases to entertain. I was roped, as I had not seen the film for fifteen years, never realizing how enjoyable it actually was. Kevin, played nicely by Paul Couzens, a good looking long haired dude, who very much resembles Wings Hauser, falls for Annie (Eva Dickerson, who surpasses Couzens, strong and very realistic in her performance) who he meets in a bar on his birthday. His workmates give him one of hell of a birthday present, prior. Annie's first making it with Couzen's best friend, Bruce, which kinda makes you think she's an easy lay. Their relationship intensifies in the sex department. One afternoon after him and mate get pie eyed, at an all you can lunch buffet, (another grand scene that have Kevin doubling up on his grub) Kevin and Anne get down and dirty, his mate in the living room, nearby, a silent, and highly aroused observer. This puts a real damper on the relationship where Anne, finds this not so amusing as she follows Kevin's look offways to his mate, grinning and that's it. She slaps him, telling him to "grow up". He apologizes, then asks "You still coming to the party tonight". Love it. But that line's a cliché of Kevin's worild, one big party, where Anne's a much more serious gal. That night, Kevin makes a real goose of him, confronting her at this party, really sloshed with his mate. She says to him "Call me when you sober". Things get more dramatic as the cops are called in. How they got away from them in in this chase, I couldn't buy. They get more drunk, while holed out in one of these isolated rest spots. This could be anywhere in Sydney, and FJH fan that I am, would like to know it's exact location. Here, they drown their sorrows (a memorable scene, probably the film's important) his mate lending an ear to his predicament, that us fellas can all relate with. This film keeps falling into realism, but it's colorful and never boring. There are so many sharp observations of suburbia life. Also it's characters are real, no larger that life types, mixing with the reality of the so so dialogue of it's script. One good quality scene is Kevin, having Anne come over for dinner to meet the folks, Kevin's daughter brushing the pees to one side of the plate. Now how many kids have done that? Or going out to a flash restaurant in Milperra and having some snooty waiter serve you. It even makes a observation on pokies, One of Kevin's dad's mates blowing his dole money on those stupid machines that I stopped playing nearly a year ago. The FJ Holden is a Aussie landmark film, not to say it's a great film, but definitely a good film, it's most original line of dialogue I loved, after Kevin's blue with Anne, "Take your shadow with you, he always goes where you go".

Quite Dreary

[bamptonj · 12 December 2002]

I think we've all seen movies like this. "The F.J Holden" sees two suburban adolescents - Kevin and Bob - on their way to becoming adults. They spend their days working unpromisingly in wrecking yards with older greasers. When they don't work they prowl the streets for girls and spend their spare time "hotting up" old cars. Filmed on 16mm in Sydney's West, the low-budgeting of the movie certainly does it few favors. I suppose it is designed to be a social or class commentary on the youth of Australia, but the narrative and direction does little to sustain much interest.

Funny though it is not really meant to be

[straya-2 · 10/10 · 16 January 1999]

This movie as apparently supposed to be a depressing view of the life of youth in Sydney in the 70's. Rather it is about the funniest movie you will ever see. The characters are absolutely stereotypical and the story line slow and often confused. Nonetheless, if wou watch this movie in the right state of mind, I guarantee you will find it very funny.

To watch this film, you need patience.

[suziesarra · 29 November 2001]

When Australian films are good, they're very very good, but when they're bad they're rotten. F.J Holden is, I think, one of the worst Aussie films I've seen. It's unfortunate because it has all the ingredients of a good film, and frankly, most Australian films fall flat on their faces due to either trying to be too intellectual or too quirky. F.J Holden has the romantic entanglements of a love story, of racial friction (not to mention friction with the law), but most of all, a story of young people caught between their own wishes, and the wants of their elders. It's sad to see such factors handled so slipshod, but as Hitchcock said, "Drama is life with the dull bits left out", and with this movie, the producers left in what should have been left out! On a more positive note, this is one of Sigrid Thornton's first movies, it's a pity we didn't see a little more of her in the film, than a lot of obviously fine actors trying to make something of this very pulpy story.

P.S I grew up in the area this film was made (Panania), and I recognized many of the locations, locations that could have (with a decent story) been utilized better. F.J Holden is one of those films you see, that takes forever to get going, and once it gets going, it goes nowhere.