The Mighty Bulldogs

The Mighty Bulldogs is an Australian social and sporting history DVD series about the Canterbury-Bankstown District Rugby League Football Club, better known as The Bulldogs. The series was financed by Canterbury Leagues Club for the football club and produced by Richard Bradley Productions. The producer on behalf of the production company was Richard Bradley and Phil Pellizzeri acted as associate producer and executive producer on behalf of the football club.

The Mighty Bulldogs
Front cover of DVD jacket for volume 2
Directed byRichard Bradley
Country of originAustralia
Production
Executive producerPhil Pellizzeri
ProducerRichard Bradley
CinematographyChris Maguire, Mark Revello, Jack Wilson[1]
EditorsRichard Bradley, Ben Broad, Frame Set and Match
Running time12 hours in 4 parts
Production companyRichard Bradley Productions
Release
Original releaseDecember 2007 (2007-12) –
2010 (2010)

Production

Production of the four-part series initially commenced in 2000 with the filming of the most senior players from foundation period in 1935 including Eddie Burns and Joe Gartner. Along with these interviews a key interview was also filmed with Peter "Bullfrog" Moore, the famous Secretary and CEO of the football club only a few weeks before he passed away in 2000.

With the foundation interviews secured, the series was eventually commissioned in 2005 and completed in 2010. The narrative was told through life story interviews with over 60 famous players, coaches, officials, supporters, families, and historians.[2][3] These interviews were all intercut to tell the narrative in first person and provide a thorough social and sporting history from each historical era.

Synopsis

The series tells the story from 1908 when Rugby League Football was first introduced in Australia up to the club winning its 8th Premiership in 2004.

The game started being played in the local Canterbury area from 1909 in local and junior competitions when eventually the district club Canterbury-Bankstown was admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League which was the major competition in 1935. Success was very quick for the club winning premierships in 1938[4] and 1942.[5] They went on to win a famous premiership in 1980 which heralded a successful decade winning the competition on another three occasions in the 1980s. Another premiership was won in 1995 against all odds when they just made the semifinals finishing fifth during the Super League War that was dividing the game, and eventually an eighth premiership in 2004.

Reception

Although the club has had its fair share of well publicized controversies,[6][7] they are considered as an important part of the National Rugby League competition.

The series was well received on online sites with supporters of the club buying copies of the DVD series.[8][9][10]

The Mighty Bulldogs was a part of two other similar series from the producer, The Mighty Eels and The Mighty Bears.

The four volumes are:

  1. The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 1 (1908-1967) - Classified G[11]
  2. The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 2 (1968-1980) - Classified G[12]
  3. The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 3 (1981-1988) - Classified PG[13]
  4. The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 4 (1989-2004) - Classified PG[14]

The total running time is 12 hours[1] and including the initial filming in 2000 the entire four-part series took six years to produce.

References
  1. "The Mighty Bulldogs (2009) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". Screen Australia. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  2. Lester, Gary (1991). The Bulldogs Story, A history of Canterbury-Bankstown Rugby League Club. National Library of Australia: Playright Publishing. ISBN 0646044478.
  3. Ian Heads & David Middleton (2008). A centenary of Rugby League 1908-2008: The Definitive Story of the Game in Australia. National Library of Australia. ISBN 9781405038300.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. Thicknesse, Viv (1938-09-05). "Two Brilliant Tries Decide Issue". The Daily Telegraph. p. 11.
  5. Thatcher, George (1942-09-16). "Johnson miss-kicks but lands goal for Canterbury's two-point premiership". The Sunday Telegraph. p. 16.
  6. "We're Guilty". The Daily Telegraph. 2002-08-20. Back page.
  7. Kate Murray, Dora Tsavdaridis (2002-08-20). "Please don't kick us out". The Daily Telegraph. p. 4.
  8. Wyzguy (2008-01-07). "Review of The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 1". Retrieved 2023-01-19.
  9. Greg Tingle (2022-11-13). "Canterbury Bulldogs NRL Media Man Australia". Media Man. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  10. Greg Tingle. "Media Man Australia DVD's Videos PPVs Streaming Media Media Man Australia". Media Man. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  11. "The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 1 1908-1967 - Australian Classification". Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
  12. "The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 2 1968-1980 - Australian Classification". Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
  13. "The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 3 1981-1988 - Australian Classification". Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
  14. "The Mighty Bulldogs Volume 4 1989-2004 - Australian Classification". Australian Government Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts.
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