Smash Palace

Premiering at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival, Smash Palace was the second feature of Roger Donaldson following the success of Sleeping Dogs, a film which had heralded the arrival of the New Zealand New Wave.Smash Palace concerns itself with the marriage of former racing driver Al (Bruno Lawrence, The Quiet Earth) and French-born Jacqui (Anna Jemison, Nomads). The pair had met when she nursed him back to health following a career-ending injury. They married, returned to Al's native New Zealand to take over his late father's wrecking yard business - the Smash Palace of the title - and had a child. But over time stagnation has set in, Jacqui's resentment of Al has grown, and things are threatening to spill over...Playing out as a darker, more haunting New Zealand variation on such US separation movies as Kramer vs. Kramer or Shoot the Moon, Smash Palace offers a brilliant, vivid messy portrait of masculinity in crisis, driven by Lawrence's immense central performance - once again confirming his status as one of New Zealand's finest actors.SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTSHigh Definition (Blu-ray) presentationOriginal mono audio (uncompressed LPCM)Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearingCommentary by writer-director Roger Donaldson and stunt driver Steve MillenThe Making of Smash Palace, a 51-minute documentary on the film's production featuring interviews with Donaldson, actor Keith Aberdein, filmmaker Geoff Murphy and othersTheatrical trailerReversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sean Phillips