BMX Bandits

Have you ever wondered what Ozploitation films were made in Australia during the 80's? Potentially pondered about what avenues  the Australian film industry took to gain funding for their films? Have you ever had the remote thought about whether or not there's ever been a film made that purely revolves around children's bikes? Well, there is, it's called BMX Bandits, and in this bloggers opinion as a twenty-two year old, it's not a great film, calling it good would even be an overstatement, but that's not to say the film doesn't hold a heavy amount of merit. In this blog I'll be searching high and low to find the truth as to whether or not BMX Bandits has provided more for Australian's than simply entertaining kids.

The Film In All Its Glory

Set in along side the beach community in NSW, BMX Bandits follows the story of three youthful riders, who, in an attempt to buy new bikes, steal from a group of incompetent criminals gearing up for their next big hit. Naturally the criminals respond with a classic gung-ho attitude, which sees them falling over one another as they try to catch the pesky teens. All the while the towns police force and only form of authority, does their best to apprehend these nefarious figures, though even with their best efforts, consistently remain one step behind the action at all times. Therefore, it's left up to the gallant teenagers of the town, wielding flower bombs and sporting excellent BMX stunts to bring down and eventually apprehend the criminals and their employer, the Boss.

The film was released in 1983 and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, a very unlikely candidate, considering his pervious films such as 'Turkey Shoot' and 'The Man From Hong Kong' are extremely violent and pressed firmly into the horror and action genres. However, Trenchard brings a creative flare to the films overall style and ultimately direction. Through the use of wide angle lenses positioned at low levels to the round, Trenchard presents his heros and their BMX riding companions as strong, powerful forces galvanized by the speeding bikes they fly upon. Trenchard himself states one of the allures the film has is "Putting BMX bikes, where BMX bikes are not meant to be, football fields, shopping-malls, building sites ext was the main thrust of my sell. Show kids riding where ever they wish, getting the better of adults". This statement by Trenchard is not far off summarizing the entirety of the film, which is evident in the films linear narrative plot line contrasted by heavy BMX stunts that encapsulated the majority of the film's running time.

The film lingers upon the borderline of live action cartoon, with the characters general demeanor feeling like they're straight out of some early morning 90's breakfast show. But that's what the film was designed for, the entertainment of kids. Trenchard openly states the film was marketed at kids aged 14 and below, and was why it's release occurred during the Christmas holidays of '83. This marketing ploy saw the film raking in over a million dollars in local cinemas in only 6 weeks and lead to a business deal with the British distribution heavy hitter, Rank.

The film has also been granted recognition from such legendary film makers such as Quentin Tarantino, who's been quoted saying, "If we'd all grow up in Australia, BMX Bandits would have been our Goonies."

Although many die hard Goonies fans are outraged by such a remark, Tarantino appears to be sticking by his guns.

Government back Producers

During the 1980's the Australian labour government decided to introduce a tax legislation, giving film producers two years in which to complete their pictures, and allowing investors to claim up to a one hundred and fifty percent deduction after they'd parted with their money. Originally investors were only able to receive a tax break during the year of the films completion and earning income, it was speculated that this had be a serious hindrance for the Australian film industry since its birth.

One of the first films to harbour the benefits of this new legislation, is, you've guest it, BMX Bandits! Being the Nilsen Groups first production, as they were only formed in 1981, they eagerly subscribed for a television licence as their managing director John Nilsen considers 'BMX Bandits' as a perfect candidate for pay-tv.

This coincides with labours original stance to rule out cable television in the short term, but revamp the previous governments ideas on RSTV ( Radiated Subscription Television), which stands to be the first form of new media in Australia.There was also talk about excluding any of the existing television operators from the first line of RSTV licences, if this went ahead, The Nilson Group would be in a fantastic position. Sadly this researcher could not find any conclusive information on this particular topic.

BMX Bandits to be an Australian First

Leading up to it's Christmas release, BMX Bandits already appeared to be a hit. Many column writers referring to it as, ' a film of quality for all ages' - Truth (Vic) 31/12/83, 'astonishing reversal of form in Australian film history' - The Age (Vic) 02/01/84, and more or less, ' a film based on the BMX bike craze sweeping the world' - Truth (Vic) 31/12/83.

So it's not hard to imagine with this kind of publicity and a release date which coincides with school holidays, that the film was going to do well at the box office. And so it should, with its budget of $1.5 million dollars, talented direction and visually outstanding cinematography. The films producer, Thomas Broadbridge even stating, "BMX Bandits will absolutely return its budget".

And it did! Distributed by Filmways, which exhibited the film through 39 screens in NSW and 128 across the nation during it's Christmas release, which brought in roughly one million dollars in over six weeks.

But the biggest surprise was when Broadbridge was approached by the Britons renowned distributor, Rank, offering a potential release in the UK. Rank had caught wind across the Indian ocean of the money making Aussie flick, and were very interested in helping sweep it into an international market. Broadbrige stated in 83', "Rank are very selective - they're into making money. They were very excited about the look of the film. It's very bright, but they didn't have a clue about the BMX bikes, but after doing some research they saw how popular the sport is".

The bike riding craze started in America around 1970, and in 1983 there was roughly 20 million bikes spread across its states. Other research undertaken by Broadbridge showed that at the time of the films release there was over four hundred and fifty thousand bike cycling within Australia. So Rank would have been crazy not to pick up the film and grab onto the  faddish momentum that bikes had and try redirecting its money making potential towards their own shores. Once the deal had been signed, Rank agreed to roll the film into 65 cinemas throughout the UK.

This deal also signified a first for the Australian film industry, as BMX Bandits was the very first production to be picked up by Rank for international distribution, having rejected other Australian favorites such as Breaker Morant and Storm Boy in previous years. Ranks' reasoning behind this decision still focuses on the film being, 'commercial'.  

But Rank was not the only international distributor who had caught wind of BMX Bandits potential popularity, the biggest French distributor, Gaumont, also bought the rights to the film, and sent it through France and several other European territories.

The only country that neglected to appropriately jump onto the BMX Bandits band wagon was America. Paul F Davies (an associate producer of BMXB) said, "The five major studios in America just aren't into the age group. But we think they've lost sight of how popular this sort of entertainment is". Davies also comments on the test screening they held for American children, who responded well to the film, Davies claiming the kids, "sat there riveted because it's so spectacular." 

However, nothing eventuated for BMX Bandits in terms of a cinema release in America, and instead they decided on a cropped version of the film that circulated through a cable release. Funnily enough, two years later, a film named RAD hit the American screens, which proves to parallel BMX Bandits in many ways. Now I'm not trying to suggest our beloved BMX Bandits has been plagiarized by the Americans, it's just a simple observation I've noticed; and it's a little fishy that they knock back a film for having an undesired target audience, then release a similar film a few years later for the same age bracket.  

BMX Bandits under fire!

Although many fans of the cinema and zealots from the 80's have an unyielding respect for BMX Bandits, there are many that believe the film to be an over glorified ad campaign, with the soul intention of boosting sales of BMX bikes. Now I'm not saying it's uncommon for entertainment programs to be funded by product retailers who seek out such mediums as a catalyst to boost sales, all one has to do is look  at programs like Masterchef, or count how many American programs feature characters drinking Budweiser to know that it's a great form of funding.

So why then are films like BMX Bandits so easily discredited? Some potential sources suggest it's due to the overall corniness of the film, or that the prominent presence of the BMX bikes suffocates the narrative to such a degree, the product placement is so transparent and therefore jarring to the viewer who's cognitive function succeeds that of the average 14 year old.

Too some extent i'd be likely to agree with such opinions. The films does predominately focus on the bikes and unfortunately not much else. It's definitely not a film where you can sink your teeth into an engaging plot line that's complimented by an intricate subtextual message, but what films marketed at 14 year old are? I did find it hard to watch the whole thing through without becoming distracted, but that just might be my own inability to stay focused. It is however, slightly humorous when a website such as bicycling australia does a review of the film and deems it as nothing more than an abomination. Stating that the film  actually harmed BMX sales as it presented the product as some what of a fad rather than a cool, cultural embodiment of the 80's.

Slant magazine also has some relatively ill words to say about the film. Writer, Simon Abrams, introduction to the article starts off with a bleak take on the film influence claiming, "If I were an Australian kid and I grew up when BMX Bandits was first released theatrically in 1983, I'd probably grow up hating bicycles", not an enthusiastic approach to start with. Abrams continues in his opening paragraph to discredit the film for it's unethical use of product placement, claiming it's, "probably the most misleading feature-length commercial for a toy ever devised," and claiming, "Filmed with all the panache of a happy meal advert, the film opens with a montage sequence that sets the stage for the films real stars: BMX bikes". 

Now personally, I'm inclined to agree with Simon Abrams stance in regard to this film. It does predominately focus on the bikes, people doing tricks on the bikes and the occasional close up of a handle bar that looks more like it should be on set with Ron Jeremy that in a kids film. However, as i previously stated, lots of films use product placement in order to get funding, and allot of programs also forego good narrative structure, character motivation and general logic in order to make something fast paced, action filled and entertaining for a younger target audience, and ultimately that's what BMX Bandits does, it entertains.

Kidman set for stardom

It's not every day when an actor playing a side kick role, ends up being push into the foreground and having some of the script changed in order to give them more screen time. But this is exactly what happened to Nicole Kidman, in her first feature film, BMX Bandits.

Director Brian Trenchard-Smith, fell in love with Kidman during her first audition for the movie. "When she came in, I could tell right away that she had great dramatic instinct. Some people are born actors. They have a grasp on how to make a line of dialogue believable" - BTS Entertainment  Weekly. However, the producers didn't feel as convinced as Trenchard, claiming Kidman was much taller than the other leads they'd already cast. But Trenchard stuck to his gut feeling and pushed the fact that she had a great look and excellent on-screen chemistry, which eventually won the producers over.

Throughout the filming of BMXB, Trenchard eventually started to position Nicole in the foreground, give her more screen time and dialogue. " I just knew that she had tremendous drive and was very dedicated and my feeling was she would go far" - BTS Entertainment Weekly.  Which she did!

After BMX Bandits, Trenchard introduced Nicole to Douglas Netter, the producer of Five Mile Creek. Who eventually got her in as a regular and asked Trenchard to direct her first episode. Trenchard would continue to introduce Nicole to agents and producers in an attempt to help her career blossom. But it was after the film, Dead Calm, with co-stars Sam Neil and Billy Zane that she would find herself one of Hollywoods family favorites, which one could argue, all started from her role in BMX Bandits.

But how could I end this paragraph without some slight trivia. During the filming of BMXB, Nicole, although an adamant bike rider, needed a stunt double to handle the more, dangerous of tricks. However, the production company could not find a female stunt double with similar physiological characteristics as Nicole, so they used a slender teenage boy wearing a red wig instead.