My First Wife
My First Wife is a 1984 Australian drama film directed by Paul Cox. The film won several AFI Awards in 1984.
| My First Wife | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Cox |
| Written by | Bob Ellis Paul Cox |
| Produced by | Paul Cox Jane Ballantyne |
| Starring | John Hargreaves Wendy Hughes David Cameron |
| Cinematography | Yuri Sokol |
| Edited by | Tim Lewis |
| Music by | Ann Boyd Renée Geyer |
Release date | 13 September 1984 |
Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
| Budget | A$690,000[1] |
| Box office | A$413,199 (Australia) |
Plot
The film follows the dissolution of John and Helen's marriage and the aftermath.
Cast
- John Hargreaves as John
- Wendy Hughes as Helen
- Lucy Angwin as Lucy
- David Cameron as Tom
- Anna Maria Monticelli as Hilary
- Betty Lucas as Helen's Mother
- Lucy Uralov as John's Mother
- Robin Lovejoy as John's father
- Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as Helen's Father
- Jon Finlayson as Bernard
- Julia Blake as Kirstin
Production
The film was based on the breakdown of Cox's marriage. He started writing the script, showed it to Bob Ellis and the two men wrote the screenplay together. (Ellis says they spent a day and a half on it.[2])
The film was shot mostly at a house in Williamstown in Melbourne.[1]
Music
Choir: Members of the Tudor Choristers directed by David Carolane
Christoph Willibald Gluck: "Orpheus & Euridice".
Berliner Symphoniker – Hermann Prey
Conductor – Horst Stein
Joseph Haydn - "Paukenmesse"
Bayerischen Rundfunks Symphony Orchestra & Chorus
Conductor – Rafael Kubelik, Polygram
Ann Boyd - "As I crossed a Bridge of Dreams", "Cycle of love", Faber Music Ltd.
Carl Orff - "Carmine Burana"
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus, Conducted by Vaclev Smetacek, Supraphon
Rene Geyer - "Hot Minuets", Mushroom Records, Australia
Frans Sussmayr - "Grandfather's Birthday Celebration", Hungarian Radio Children's Chorus, Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Conductor – Laszlo Csanyl
Box office
My First Wife grossed $413,199 at the box office in Australia,[3] which is equivalent to $1,049,525 in 2009 dollars.
Awards
My First Wife won in 1984 AFI Awards in the Best Actor in a Lead Role (John Hargreaves), Best Director (Paul Cox), Best Original Screenplay (Paul Cox, Bob Ellis) categories and was nominated in 4 more categories. Paul Cox also won the 1986 Grand Prix award at the Flanders International Film Festival in 1986.[4]
See also
References
- David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p99-100
- Interview with Bob Ellis, 13 August 1996 Archived 24 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine accessed 14 October 2012
- "Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
- IMDb awards
- Murray, Scott; (ed.) (1994). Australian Cinema. St.Leonards, NSW.: Allen & Unwin/AFC. p. 275. ISBN 1-86373-311-6.
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