Chicken

Chicken still


Chicken - 1996


Keirfilm/Senator Film Co-Production - 90 min.
UPC #8432593000419

Cast: Bryan Marshall, Martyn Sanderson, Ellie Smith, Cliff Curtis, Jed Brophy, Claire Waldron, Joan Dawe, Sean Feehan.
Screenplay: Grant Lahood; Director of Photography: Allen Guilford; Editor: John Gilbert; Music: Michelle Scullion; Producer: John Keir; Director: Grant Lahood.

On the premise that his albums will sell better if he is dead, an aging pop-singer fakes his own death. True enough, the money rolls in, but no one can get their hands on it because of the seven year waiting period before a missing person can be declared legally dead. However, a crazed animal rights terrorist, who knows he isn't dead, is trying to kill him, because of the singer's advertisements for fried chicken restaurants. Eventually, it turns out that the singer's manager is paying the terrorist to kill him. I found this black comedy to be rather funny at times. The actors obviously were having fun, but overall, it comes up short in many ways.

Censor Rating: PG - Review Rating: C


AVAILABILITY OF VHS OR DVD COPIES

No source for NTSC or PAL vhs copies. Given that very few new copies were ever sold, used copies are going to be rather rare. Expect used to sell for at least $20.
25 November 2007 - An R0 PAL DVD is available from Spanish sources, along with other New Zealand films that are available from no other country, including New Zealand. This dvd is presented with Spanish 5.1 and the original English 2.0. It also has Spanish subtitles and includes some Spanish text bios and still photos. It usually sells for 8-9eu.
Click here to access the EBKDVD New Zealand page




SOUNDTRACK ON AUDIO CD

Click for Chicken Soundtrack CD Details



TRAILER & REVIEWS

Trailer and 15 min. "Making of" footage

Information at IMDB

Xtra's Film Reviews with Buff

North & South Review

"The fun- filled, benignly bizarre and batty Chicken is a fairly straight surface comedy when compared with Lahood's earlier works. The 'special something' that turned those into such a hoot, that stamped them unmistakably Lahood's, is absent here. Perhaps it comes to life only in the short- film format. Lahood's step up to feature film is successful but shaky [...] But his story structure, interweaving subplots of romance, love and lost family (featuring Ellie Smith, Claire Waldron and Joan Dawe) is excellent, and the performances and production values will stand up on any world stage" - (Harvey Clark, "Benign, batty and bizarre", New Zealand Herald, May 3, 1996)



OFFLINE REVIEW SOURCES

Listener, v.153no.2921(Apr.20 1996)
Sunday star times, May 5, 1996
Waikato times, May 28, 1996




NZVideos  Logo

Alphabetical List * Chronological List * News * Soundtracks * Buy-Sell-Rent * DVD List

What is A New Zealand Feature Film * First Choices * Books * Misc * Links * Directors



Comments, suggestions or questions are welcomed at info@nospamnzvideos.org, but delete the nospam portion before sending