![Howzat! Kerry Packer's War [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51x6DDxeMvL._SY445_.jpg)
Howzat! Kerry
Packer’s War (a miniseries in 2 parts) is a historical and biographical drama
(based on a true story) about the Australian media mogul Kerry Packer and his
conflict with the world of cricket (1976-1979). It was shown on Australian television
(Channel 9) and released on DVD in 2012. Here are some basic facts about it:
** Directed by
Daina Reid
** Screenplay
written by Christopher Lee
** Produced by
Mimi Butler & John Edwards
** Partially based
on The Cricket War by Gideon Haigh (1993, 2007)
** Musical score
composed by Stephen Rae
** Run time: 84 +
80 minutes = 164 minutes
The cast (which
can be divided into two groups) includes the following:
GROUP A – Kerry Packer
and the people around him:
** Lachy Holme as
Kerry Packer (1937-2005)
** Abe Forsythe as
John “Strop” Cornell – businessman
** Cariba Heine as
Delvene Delaney – John’s wife
** Peter Houghton
as Ritchie Binaud (1930-2015) – sports commentator
** Nicholas
Coghlan as Austin Robertson – businessman
** Mandy
McElhinney as Rose Mitchell – Kerry’s secretary (a fictional character)
** Doug Walters as
Gavin Warner – Kerry’s financial manager (a fictional character)
GROUP B - the
players
** Matthew Le
Nevez as Dennis Lillee
** Clayton Watson
as Ian Chappell
** Damon Gameau as
Greg Chappel
** Hamish Michael
as Doug Walters
** Ryan O’Kean as
Jeff Thomson
** Brendan Cowell
as Rodney Marsh
** Alex England as
Tony Greig (1946-2012)
** Andrew Carbone
as Max Walker (1948-2016)
** Richard Davies
as David Hookes (1955-2004)
Since this movie
is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They
are not a secret. Therefore I feel free to mention some of them here in this
review.
While this movie
is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized
version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. Some facts
were changed, and two fictional characters were added for dramatic reasons. But
the basic story-line is true.
As stated above,
this is a movie about cricket. But before you stop reading, because you don’t care
much for cricket, let me tell you that it is much more than that. It is a movie
about sport and its role in society.
You do not have to
love cricket – you do not even have to understand it – in order to enjoy and
appreciate this movie. While it is about cricket, the game is placed in a
political, economic, and cultural context. And this is why it is worth
watching, even if you don’t care much for cricket (which I don’t).
The time frame is
1976-1979. The story begins in 1976 when two events happen and two persons come
together. The world of cricket would never be the same after that.
PERSON # 1
Kerry Packer had
inherited a media empire from his father who died in 1975. The empire included a
television channel known as the Nine Network or Channel 9. Kerry loved cricket
and he wanted to show the game on his television channel. There was only one
problem: the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) had always sold the right to
broadcast the games to ABC. The price was a secret, but Kerry knew they paid
ca. 200,000 dollars per year.
In a meeting with
the top leaders of ACB, Kerry offered them 1.5 million dollars for exclusive television
rights over three years. Much more than they were getting from ABC. But they
turned him down. Kerry was used to getting his way. But this time, it seemed, his
money was not good enough. He was furious!
PERSON # 2
John “Strop” Cornell
– a businessman and a film producer – was friends with several cricket
players. During a conversation with them he discovered that the ACB was making
a lot of money on the games, but the players (who did the hard work) were paid
next to nothing. This was not fair. He was furious!
In 1976 John pays
Kerry a visit and they talk about the situation. Both of them love the game.
Both of them feel there is something seriously wrong with the way in which the
ACB is doing its business. What can they do about it? Together they hatch a
plan to challenge the monopoly which ACB has on the game of cricket.
THE PLAN
Secretly, they
contact some of the best players in the world and ask them to sign up for a
parallel organisation, the World Series Cricket (WSC). Once the WSC is ready to
go public, it will challenge the old boys’ network, the ACB, and in this way
force them to change their tune.
In 1977, when the
story is suddenly leaked to the press, it causes an uproar. The players who had
signed up with the WSC are declared unfit, i.e. they are banned from any game
organised by the ACB and its partners around the world. This means war. And the
war will go on until 1979. Hence the subtitle of the drama: Kerry Packer’s
War.
This is how the
story begins and this is where my presentation ends. If you want to know what
happened during the war and how it ended, you will have to watch the movie all
the way to the end.
Obviously, you may
also just google a few keywords, such as Kerry Packer and the World Series
Cricket, but watching the drama is much more interesting. Trust me!
What do reviewers
say about it? On IMDb it has a rating of 78 per cent, which corresponds to
(almost) four stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is too low.
On Amazon UK
there are 13 reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.5 stars. If you
ask me, this average rating is more appropriate. Why?
The script is
well-written and the actors play their roles well. The story is captivating,
dramatic and emotional. In addition, it is based on a true story. I want to go
all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five
stars.
PS # 1. What about
the title: Howzat! What does it mean? It is a technical term from the game. A
player may ask the umpire if the ball is in or out. The player will ask: “How
is that?” But when he says it very fast, it sounds like “Howzat!” Hence the
title of the movie.
PS # 2. In this
drama, Kerry is often a horrible boss who yells at the people who work for him.
People who knew him say that the real Kerry could be rude to people when he
thought they deserved it. But they also say that he would never humiliate his
own people. Once he had hired them to work for him he stood by them and
supported them.
In this drama, two
fictional characters were created so that Kerry could shout at them whenever
something was going wrong: the secretary Rose and the financial manager Gavin.
These characters were created for dramatic reasons. This is a case of artistic
or poetic license and I will not complain about it.
While Kerry is
often a horrible boss, who yells at people who cannot fulfil his wishes fast
enough, we cannot help liking him. And we really hope he will win the war
against the old boys’ network. Somehow, in spite of his frequent yelling, he is
on the side of justice.
PS # 3. When part
one begins, we hear a song by the Australian band the Angels: Am I ever gonna
see your face again? This song is well-chosen, because it was released on
a single in 1976. It was also included on the band’s first album that was
released in 1977.
PS # 4. The drama
was nominated for no less than twelve awards. It won four of them. If you ask
me, these awards are well-deserved.
PS # 5. John
“Strop” Cornell co-wrote and co-produced the 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee,
which became an international hit. He also produced and directed the 1988
sequel Crocodile Dundee II. He was not involved in the 2001 sequel Crocodile
Dundee in Los Angeles, which failed to match the success of its predecessors.
PS # 6. For more
information about the Packer family, the Murdoch family, and their media
empires, see the following items (in each case a miniseries in 2 parts):
** Paper Giants:
The Birth of Cleo (2011)
** Paper Giants:
Magazine Wars (2013)
** Power Games:
The Packer-Murdoch Story (2013)
*****
