PURE SHIT

Pure Shit Australia

Get set for an Aussie cult classic. Set over a frantic 24 hours, Pure Shit follows the lives of four junkies out to score some heroin on the streets of Melbourne, in any way they can. Almost banned by the censors when it was made in 1975, and retitled Pure S by the distributors, this micro-budget Australian black comedy features a number of eye-popping cameos, including Greig 'H.G. Nelson' Pickhaver as a scumbag dealer, Max Gilles as a quack and writer Helen Garner as a freaked-out lesbian on speed.

Made for a measly $28,000, Pure Shit shocked the establishment with its gritty realism which went against the grain of the current crop of costume dramas such as Picnic at Hanging Rock. As Tom Cowan, Pure Shit's cinematographer, says: 'it has a vivid reality and drive which upset many people at the time and it was called 'The most evil film ever made' by one Melbourne reviewer.' (Tom Cowan's new film Orange Love Story is screening in this year's Festival.)

Almost 30 years on, it has lost none of its potency, and still manages to make you laugh out loud while delivering a powerful political message.

Please note: contains scenes that may offend some viewers

D Bert Deling P Bob Weiss S Bert Deling, Bob Weiss, Anne Hetherington WS Apogee Films TD 16mm/Col/1975/83mins Bert Deling's films: Pure Shit (1975).

Print courtesy of Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection, ScreenSound Australia, the National Screen and Sound Archive