The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
Encyclopedia
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey is a 1988 feature film, an official Australian-New Zealand co-production, directed by Vincent Ward
. It won numerous New Zealand and Australian awards, including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film
, and several awards at European fantasy film
festivals. Its American video release title was The Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time.
of 14th century England, people in a remote Cumbria
n mountain village listen with fear to tales of the gruesome plague that has engulfed the world. In an attempt to stave off the infection, they rely upon the visions of a boy, named Griffin, who has a reputation for having a kind of "second sight
". With the backing of the village's most famous adventurer, a man named Connor, whom Griffin idolizes, a group of the townsfolk travel to a nearby cavern. Bringing good copper ore to be melted and cast into shape, they dig down into the earth, all the while racing against time and the coming of the next full moon, in an effort to place a holy cross on the steeple of "the biggest Church in all of Christendom" as an offering for God's protection.
As the full moon is rising, the villagers break though into a smooth-lined tunnel, and then, finding a ladder, climb up and into what the modern audience knows is late twentieth century New Zealand. Up until this point, the movie has been shown in black and white (with some very brief moments of color as accents for Griffin's visions). Now the adventure continues in colour film. The villagers marvel at the various technologies, never questioning what year it might be, believing that such things are only natural in great cities. But Griffin is haunted by a dark vision as the villagers come closer to fulfilling their quest.
The movie has an abrupt shift and the audience is left wondering what has happened.
n tribesmen who briefly visited an Australian city, and the child's myth of digging through the earth and coming out the other side. The original script was "a broad comedy, rather brash and funny and full of warrior gnomes".
The film is in part an attempt to view modern life in a way which makes it seem strange and fresh, as if seen for the first time, and speculation about what the ancestors of modern New Zealanders might make of them and their world. Ward has made several analogies between 1980s New Zealanders and the medieval characters in the film. He has said that "Many New Zealanders going overseas for the first time are trusting and almost medieval in their outlook" and has also compared the medievals' attempts to fend off the plague with New Zealand's nuclear free policy
(alluded to in the nuclear submarine scene) and its consequences, particularly the Rainbow Warrior bombing. In both cases a small community attempts to determine its own fate in the face of a larger power. Ward also felt that there were more general similarities between the 14th and 20th centuries, in particular large-scale war and (in the context of 1980s fears about AIDS
) terrifying disease. However he has also said that too much can be made of the film's paralleling of the bubonic plague and AIDS.
Despite its various analogies, Ward has said that the film is not intended to convey any single particular message. "Mainly it's an adventure story... I don't want to seem too heavy - basically it's about some people burrowing through the earth". Elsewhere, however, he has said that the film is "about faith - about the basic need to maintain belief in something, anything, no matter what".
, particularly the mining industry, although this was then rendered imaginatively. The colours of the film are based on medieval art
and, in particular, medieval and renaissance artists' ideas about heaven and hell. The blues in many of the modern-day sequences are based on the inks in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
, while the reds and oranges of the motorway lights and furnace fires evoke images of hell in the works of Hieronymous Bosch, Pieter Bruegel and Matthias Grünewald
. Ward later said he had not achieved what he wanted to with the colour of the modern-day scenes due to the film's short shooting schedule. Ironically, the colour in the medieval scenes, which were turned into black and white, was far better than that in the 20th century scenes. Some of the mining scenes were inspired by engraving
s from the German mining manual De re metallica
, although it dates from two centuries after the time of those scenes. The angel of death seen flying across the moon at one point is based on a medieval engraving in Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery
.
The film was shot in a range of New Zealand locations, including Auckland
, Wellington
, Mount Ruapehu
and Lake Harris in the Southern Alps
. The spire in the climatic scene is of St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland
.
Filming of The Navigator was extremely difficult, due to the elaborate nature of some of the shots (for example one featuring a horse in a dinghy
), the remoteness of some of the locations, and Ward's perfectionism. Lake Harris, where some of the medieval scenes were filmed, is 1000 metres above sea level and the crew could only film when the area was too cold for mountaineering. In addition, the crew had just ten weeks to shoot the entire film and much of the filming was done at night. After seeing the film, Werner Herzog
, who is known for extremely difficult shoots, was reported to have said that "it must have been hard to make". In 1989 Ward said that "I'll never do this sort of film again, full stop. That's because it was just too gruelling for everyone".
The film was also affected, and nearly cancelled, because of funding difficulties. Until the mid 1980s the New Zealand tax system
gave generous tax breaks to investors in New Zealand films. Under the fourth Labour government's
Rogernomics
reforms these were abolished, causing The Navigator to lose funding six weeks before principal photography
was due to begin in 1986. The film was delayed for a year, until it became the first Australia-New Zealand co-production, partially funded by the Australian Film Commission
. Australian critics regarded the film as "essentially New Zealand" although Ward does not see it as being specifically tied to New Zealand.
, Scottish military music, Gregorian chant
s, and nineteenth century mining music, with influences from the Middle East.
, and although it won no awards it received a five minute standing ovation
. Caryn James of the New York Times described the film as "a dark, thrilling fantasy that places Mr. Ward... among the most innovative and authoritative young film makers", and gave it four and half out of five stars. On Rotten Tomatoes
the film received an 80% rating, based on five reviews.
; in particular, it rejected the "rationalism" which results in nuclear weapons.
's album Actual Fantasy
, was inspired by The Navigator.
Vincent Ward
Vincent Ward, ONZM is a film director and screenwriter.-Biography:Vincent Ward was awarded an Order of New Zealand Merit in 2007 for his contribution to film making. He was born in Greytown, New Zealand. He was educated at St Patrick's College, Silverstream and trained as an artist at the...
. It won numerous New Zealand and Australian awards, including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film
Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the AACTA Award for Best Film since its institution in 1958. The award is presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts , an organisation which promotes the Australian film industry. Since the 1958 Australian Film Awards the...
, and several awards at European fantasy film
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
festivals. Its American video release title was The Navigator: An Odyssey Across Time.
Plot
During the Black DeathBlack Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
of 14th century England, people in a remote Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
n mountain village listen with fear to tales of the gruesome plague that has engulfed the world. In an attempt to stave off the infection, they rely upon the visions of a boy, named Griffin, who has a reputation for having a kind of "second sight
Second sight
Second sight is a form of extrasensory perception, the supposed power to perceive things that are not present to the senses, whereby a person perceives information, in the form of a vision, about future events before they happen , or about things or events at remote locations...
". With the backing of the village's most famous adventurer, a man named Connor, whom Griffin idolizes, a group of the townsfolk travel to a nearby cavern. Bringing good copper ore to be melted and cast into shape, they dig down into the earth, all the while racing against time and the coming of the next full moon, in an effort to place a holy cross on the steeple of "the biggest Church in all of Christendom" as an offering for God's protection.
As the full moon is rising, the villagers break though into a smooth-lined tunnel, and then, finding a ladder, climb up and into what the modern audience knows is late twentieth century New Zealand. Up until this point, the movie has been shown in black and white (with some very brief moments of color as accents for Griffin's visions). Now the adventure continues in colour film. The villagers marvel at the various technologies, never questioning what year it might be, believing that such things are only natural in great cities. But Griffin is haunted by a dark vision as the villagers come closer to fulfilling their quest.
The movie has an abrupt shift and the audience is left wondering what has happened.
Cast
- Bruce Lyons as Connor
- Chris HaywoodChris HaywoodChris Haywood is an English-born, Australian-based film and television actor/producer.-Early life:Haywood was born in Billericay, Essex, England. He spent his early childhood in Chelmsford before moving to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire where he attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from...
as Arno - Hamish McFarlane as Griffin
- Marshall NapierMarshall NapierMarshall James Napier is a New Zealand-born actor. He is the father of actress Jessica Napier and the uncle of actor James Napier.Before becoming an actor, Napier worked variously as an art student, factory worker and truck driver...
as Searle - Noel Appleby as Ulf
- Paul LivingstonPaul LivingstonPaul Livingston, popularly known as his alter ego Flacco, is an Australian comedian who has regularly appeared on many television shows, predominantly on ABC TV and Network Ten, including Good News Week, The Sandman and Flacco Special, The Big Gig, DAAS Kapital, The Money or the Gun, The Fat and...
as Martin - Sarah PeirseSarah PeirseSarah Peirse is a New Zealand actress. She is a multi-award winning actor on screen and stage, best known for her portrayals of two very different mothers — the kind-hearted Honora Rieper in Heavenly Creatures, and the disaffected sophisticate in Rain....
as Linnet - Mark Wheatley as Tog 1
- Tony Herbert as Tog 2
- Jessica Cardiff-Smith as Esme
- Roy Wesney as Grandpa
- Kathleen-Elizabeth Kelly as Grandma
- Jay Saussey as Griffin's girlfriend
- Charles Walker as Old Chrissie
- Desmond Kelly as Smithy
- Bill Le Marquand as Tom
- Jay Laga'aiaJay Laga'aiaJay Laga'aia is an actor and singer. He is best known internationally for his role as Captain Typho in the films Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.-Career:...
as Jay - Norman Fairley as Submarine captain
- Alistair Babbage as Grigor
- Barron Christian as American Submarine Captain
Development and production
The idea for the film originated when Ward attempted to cross a German autobahn, which have no speed limits, and became stranded in the middle. This inspired Ward (while trapped on the motorway) to imagine what it would be like for a medieval person to find themselves in such a 20th century situation. He was also inspired by a report about two Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
n tribesmen who briefly visited an Australian city, and the child's myth of digging through the earth and coming out the other side. The original script was "a broad comedy, rather brash and funny and full of warrior gnomes".
The film is in part an attempt to view modern life in a way which makes it seem strange and fresh, as if seen for the first time, and speculation about what the ancestors of modern New Zealanders might make of them and their world. Ward has made several analogies between 1980s New Zealanders and the medieval characters in the film. He has said that "Many New Zealanders going overseas for the first time are trusting and almost medieval in their outlook" and has also compared the medievals' attempts to fend off the plague with New Zealand's nuclear free policy
New Zealand's nuclear-free zone
In 1984, Prime Minister David Lange barred nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships from using New Zealand ports or entering New Zealand waters. Under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987, territorial sea, land and airspace of New Zealand became nuclear-free zones...
(alluded to in the nuclear submarine scene) and its consequences, particularly the Rainbow Warrior bombing. In both cases a small community attempts to determine its own fate in the face of a larger power. Ward also felt that there were more general similarities between the 14th and 20th centuries, in particular large-scale war and (in the context of 1980s fears about AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
) terrifying disease. However he has also said that too much can be made of the film's paralleling of the bubonic plague and AIDS.
Despite its various analogies, Ward has said that the film is not intended to convey any single particular message. "Mainly it's an adventure story... I don't want to seem too heavy - basically it's about some people burrowing through the earth". Elsewhere, however, he has said that the film is "about faith - about the basic need to maintain belief in something, anything, no matter what".
Filming and production design
Ward and his production team based the look of the film on extensive research into the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, particularly the mining industry, although this was then rendered imaginatively. The colours of the film are based on medieval art
Medieval art
The medieval art of the Western world covers a vast scope of time and place, over 1000 years of art history in Europe, and at times the Middle East and North Africa...
and, in particular, medieval and renaissance artists' ideas about heaven and hell. The blues in many of the modern-day sequences are based on the inks in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry or simply the Très Riches Heures is a richly decorated book of hours commissioned by John, Duke of Berry, around 1410...
, while the reds and oranges of the motorway lights and furnace fires evoke images of hell in the works of Hieronymous Bosch, Pieter Bruegel and Matthias Grünewald
Matthias Grünewald
Matthias Grünewald or "Mathis" , "Gothart" or "Neithardt" , , was a German Renaissance painter of religious works, who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the expressive and intense style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century.Only ten paintings—several consisting...
. Ward later said he had not achieved what he wanted to with the colour of the modern-day scenes due to the film's short shooting schedule. Ironically, the colour in the medieval scenes, which were turned into black and white, was far better than that in the 20th century scenes. Some of the mining scenes were inspired by engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
s from the German mining manual De re metallica
De re metallica
De re metallica is a book cataloguing the state of the art of mining, refining, and smelting metals, published in 1556. The author was Georg Bauer, whose pen name was the Latinized Georgius Agricola...
, although it dates from two centuries after the time of those scenes. The angel of death seen flying across the moon at one point is based on a medieval engraving in Paris' Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
.
The film was shot in a range of New Zealand locations, including Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
, Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu
Mount Ruapehu, or just Ruapehu, is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone in New Zealand. It is 23 kilometres northeast of Ohakune and 40 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupo, within Tongariro National Park...
and Lake Harris in the Southern Alps
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...
. The spire in the climatic scene is of St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland
St Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland
The Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph is the Cathedral of the Catholic Bishop of Auckland.-Origins:...
.
Filming of The Navigator was extremely difficult, due to the elaborate nature of some of the shots (for example one featuring a horse in a dinghy
Dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed for use as a ship's boat by a larger vessel. It is a loanword from either Bengali or Urdu. The term can also refer to small racing yachts or recreational open sailing boats. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor,...
), the remoteness of some of the locations, and Ward's perfectionism. Lake Harris, where some of the medieval scenes were filmed, is 1000 metres above sea level and the crew could only film when the area was too cold for mountaineering. In addition, the crew had just ten weeks to shoot the entire film and much of the filming was done at night. After seeing the film, Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
, who is known for extremely difficult shoots, was reported to have said that "it must have been hard to make". In 1989 Ward said that "I'll never do this sort of film again, full stop. That's because it was just too gruelling for everyone".
The film was also affected, and nearly cancelled, because of funding difficulties. Until the mid 1980s the New Zealand tax system
Taxation in New Zealand
Taxation in New Zealand is collected at a national level by the Inland Revenue Department on behalf of the Government of New Zealand. National taxes are levied on personal and business income, as well as on the supply of goods and services. There is no capital gains tax although certain "gains"...
gave generous tax breaks to investors in New Zealand films. Under the fourth Labour government's
Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand
The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It enacted major social and economic reforms, including reformation of the tax system. The economic reforms were known as Rogernomics after Finance Minister Roger Douglas...
Rogernomics
Rogernomics
The term Rogernomics, a portmanteau of "Roger" and "economics", was coined by journalists at the New Zealand Listener by analogy with Reaganomics to describe the economic policies followed by Roger Douglas after his appointment in 1984 as Minister of Finance in the Fourth Labour Government...
reforms these were abolished, causing The Navigator to lose funding six weeks before principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
was due to begin in 1986. The film was delayed for a year, until it became the first Australia-New Zealand co-production, partially funded by the Australian Film Commission
Australian Film Commission
The Australian Film Commission was an Australian government agency with a mandate to promote the creation and distribution of films in Australia as well as to preserve the country's film history. It also had a production arm responsible for production and commissioning of films for government...
. Australian critics regarded the film as "essentially New Zealand" although Ward does not see it as being specifically tied to New Zealand.
Cast
- Bruce Lyons as Connor: The Navigator was one of only two films in which Lyons acted. The other was Model BehaviourModel Behaviour (film)Model Behaviour is a 1984 Romantic Comedy film starring Anne Marie Howard and Richard Bekins.- Synopsis :'Fresh out of college, an aspiring photographer and his ad-man partner set out to take the modeling industry by storm. A lovely model captures the photographer's heart.'...
, a mostly forgotten 1984 romantic comedyRomantic ComedyRomantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
. Ward had had difficulty casting the role of Connor, having searched for and failed to find an actor who could appear a hero to nine year old Griffin but convey a sense of ordinariness to the audience. Apart from his role in Model Behaviour, Lyons had acted in off Broadway plays to favourable reviews. At the time Ward contacted him, having known him personally in New York, Lyons had not acted for two years and had taken up painting. He was married to Kely Lyons, one of Ward's co-writers, who had "always conceived of him as Connor". - Chris HaywoodChris HaywoodChris Haywood is an English-born, Australian-based film and television actor/producer.-Early life:Haywood was born in Billericay, Essex, England. He spent his early childhood in Chelmsford before moving to High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire where he attended High Wycombe Royal Grammar School from...
as Arno: Haywood was an established actor who had played dozens of parts in Australian television and film when he was cast in The Navigator. - Hamish McFarlane as Griffin: Ward saw thousands of schoolboys before casting McFarlane, who had never acted on screen before, as the boy visionary Griffin. Qualities Ward sought out included "something special about his eyes", the need for the actor "to look like a nine-year-old who could do a ten-hour day in a medieval mine, probably quite thin, and quite hardy... [and] he had to be capable of a little bit of humour and cheekiness". For his role, McFarlane won an Australian Film Institute Award for best actor. Despite this he did not continue an acting career into adulthood, instead becoming an assistant director on a range of New Zealand films and television shows.
- Marshall NapierMarshall NapierMarshall James Napier is a New Zealand-born actor. He is the father of actress Jessica Napier and the uncle of actor James Napier.Before becoming an actor, Napier worked variously as an art student, factory worker and truck driver...
as Searle: Napier was another established film actor, who had appeared in various New Zealand films including Goodbye Pork PieGoodbye Pork PieGoodbye Pork Pie is a 1981 New Zealand film directed by Geoff Murphy and written by Geoff Murphy and Ian Mune. The film is considered to be one of New Zealand's most popular films, and has been described as Easy Rider meets the Keystone Kops....
and Came a Hot FridayCame a Hot FridayCame a Hot Friday is a 1985 New Zealand made comedy film starring some of New Zealand's best-known actors and comedians, based on the 1964 novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson.-Plot:...
. - Noel Appleby as Ulf: Ward has claimed that he "found Ulf the Fat working for the city council in the Auckland sewers. Noel Appleby was shy during the audition and had no film experience, but he was the character... he turned out to be a natural actor". In fact Appleby had played minor but credited roles in three New Zealand films before The Navigator. He won an Australian Film Institute Award for best supporting actor for his role, and went on to act in several other New Zealand films, including two of the Lord of the Rings movies.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of The Navigator was composed by Davood Tabrizi and based on a huge variety of musical styles including Celtic musicCeltic music
Celtic music is a term utilised by artists, record companies, music stores and music magazines to describe a broad grouping of musical genres that evolved out of the folk musical traditions of the Celtic people of Western Europe...
, Scottish military music, Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
s, and nineteenth century mining music, with influences from the Middle East.
Reception
The Navigator was officially chosen for competition at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival1988 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Ettore Scola*Claude Berri*David Robinson*Yelena Safonova*George Miller*Hector Olivera*Nastassja Kinski*Philippe Sarde*Robby Muller*William Goldman-Feature film competition:* A World Apart by Chris Menges...
, and although it won no awards it received a five minute standing ovation
Standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim...
. Caryn James of the New York Times described the film as "a dark, thrilling fantasy that places Mr. Ward... among the most innovative and authoritative young film makers", and gave it four and half out of five stars. On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
the film received an 80% rating, based on five reviews.
Awards
- FantafestivalFantafestivalFantafestival is a film festival devoted to fantasy film that is held annually in Italy from 1981....
, Rome: Jury Prize, Best Film. - Cinema Fantastic, Sitges Film Festival, Spain: Best Film.
- International Festival of Fantasy Films, Munich: Best Film.
- Australian Film Institute AwardsAustralian Film Institute AwardsThe Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
: Best FilmAustralian Film Institute Award for Best FilmThis page lists the winners and nominees for the AACTA Award for Best Film since its institution in 1958. The award is presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts , an organisation which promotes the Australian film industry. Since the 1958 Australian Film Awards the...
, Best DirectionAustralian Film Institute Award for Best DirectionThe Australian Film Institute Award for Best Direction is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards.-Previous winners:*1971 – Homesdale *1972 – Stork...
, Best CinematographyAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in CinematographyThe Australian Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in Cinematography is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. It has been awarded annually since 1976.-Previous winners:* 1976: Ian Baker...
, Best EditingAustralian Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in EditingThe Australian Film Institute Award for Best Achievement in Editing is an award in the annual Australian Film Institute Awards. It has been awarded annually since 1967.-Previous winners:*1967: Cardin in Australia...
, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design. - FantasportoFantasportoFantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
, Portugal: Best Film (1989) - New Zealand Film and Television Awards: Best Film, Best Male Performance (Hamish McFarlane), Best Female Performance in a Supporting Role (Sarah Peirse), Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role (Noel Appleby), Best Cinematography, Best Soundtrack, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Film Score, Best Original Screenplay, Best Production Design.
Critical analysis
New Zealand film critic Russell Campbell argued that the film was part of the surrealist traditionSurrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
; in particular, it rejected the "rationalism" which results in nuclear weapons.
Influence on popular culture
The song "Farside of the World", from AyreonAyreon
Ayreon is a project by Dutch composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen.Ayreon's musical style derives mostly from heavy metal and progressive rock, but combines them with genres like folk, classical and electronica...
's album Actual Fantasy
Actual Fantasy
Actual Fantasy is a progressive metal album released in 1996 by Dutch multi-instrumentalist Arjen A. Lucassen and is the second album of his Ayreon project...
, was inspired by The Navigator.