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Smash Palace

Play trailer Poster for Smash Palace 1981,  1h 40m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 100% 7 Reviews Tomatometer 81% 500+ Ratings Popcornmeter
100% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Al Shaw (Bruno Lawrence) retires from auto racing to take over his father's garage in rural New Zealand. His cosmopolitan wife, Jacqui (Anna Jemison), is happy that he's no longer risking his life on the Grand Prix circuit, but she quickly becomes bored in their small town. She takes up with a local policeman and announces that she's leaving Al and bringing their daughter, Georgie (Greer Robson), with her. Al, in desperation, decides to kidnap Georgie and head further out into the frontier.

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Oct 23, 2004
4/4
By the end of the film, the man is behaving irrationally, but here's the frightening thing: Because we've followed him every step of the way, we have to admit he's behaving as we ourselves might, in the same circumstances. Go to Full Review
Judy Stone San Francisco Examiner Nov 11, 2021
4/4
Writer director Roger Donaldson traces the disintegration of their marriage with tense, compelling realism -- at least until the ambiguous final moment... Bruno Lawrence and Anna Jamison are first-rate. Go to Full Review
Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia Nov 8, 2018
A domestic drama which quickly spirals into a tense thriller. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Sep 6, 2015
B+
It's a film that artists make. Go to Full Review
Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Jul 1, 2005
4/5
Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice Feb 4, 2004
Smash Palace is a revealing and involving Australian portrait of splitting up. Go to Full Review
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Smash Palace

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Roger Donaldson

Director

Bruno Lawrence

Al Shaw

Anna Maria Monticelli

Jacqui Shaw

Greer Robson

Georgie Shaw

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Smash Palace

Smash Palace (1981) Smash Palace (1981) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Al Shaw (Bruno Lawrence) retires from auto racing to take over his father's garage in rural New Zealand. His cosmopolitan wife, Jacqui (Anna Jemison), is happy that he's no longer risking his life on the Grand Prix circuit, but she quickly becomes bored in their small town. She takes up with a local policeman and announces that she's leaving Al and bringing their daughter, Georgie (Greer Robson), with her. Al, in desperation, decides to kidnap Georgie and head further out into the frontier.
Director
Roger Donaldson
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 28, 2018
Runtime
1h 40m
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