Film critic David Stratton reveals the classic Aussie movie he regrets giving one star: ‘I completely misunderstood it’
Famed Australian film critic David Stratton has revealed the Australian film he regrets getting a bad review.
The 85-year-old told me The Sydney Morning Heraldd, he ‘completely misunderstood’ the 1997 film classic The Castle and awarded it only one and a half stars.
“It was the first film made by a team working in television, and it seemed like a telefilm to me, while I am very interested in the visual side of cinema,” he explained.
‘I also found the humor a bit patronizing.’
David admitted that he has watched the film several times since and finds it very entertaining.
“But I obviously got it completely wrong because I’ve watched it a few times since and I think it’s really funny now,” he continued.
Famed Australian film critic David Stratton has revealed the Australian film he regrets getting a bad review
The 85-year-old told The Sydney Morning Herald he had “completely misunderstood” the 1997 film classic The Castle and awarded it only one and a half stars. Pictured is the cast of the film
Together with his co-host Margaret Pomeranz, Stratton was on the air for 28 years, first as host of the Movie Show on SBS and then on ABC with At The Movies.
Due to disagreements with ABC management, he and Pomeranz left the show in 2014.
Stratton continued to keep his toes in film and appropriately taught film history at the University of Sydney.
Originally released in 1997, The Castle is a comedy about a working-class family battling developers.
Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana and Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell co-starred with Michael Caton in the ultra-low budget film.
The film’s creators Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy later made another comedy classic The Dish in 2000.
Despite its extremely low budget of only $750,000, The Castle was a financial success, grossing $10.3 million at the box office in Australia.
Caton became a popular star in Australia after starring in The Castle – a Melbourne family man who fights to prevent his home from being taken over by the government in its plans to expand a nearby airport.
Stratton hosted the popular series The Movies Show on SBS and At The Movies on ABC with Margaret Pomeranz
Since then, Caton has appeared in a host of top Australian dramas, including Packed to the Rafters, Strange Bedfellows, The Animal and All Saints.
Last year he also starred alongside Sam Neill in Rams, and in the Packed to the Rafters reboot, Back to the Rafters.
In 2021, Caton revealed that he was paid a pittance to play the role of Darryl Kerrigan in The Castle, pocketing just $3,000 for his time.
“Eleven-day shoot, $3,000, but decades of career after that. That is the real payment of The Castle,” Caton told ABC’s Australian Story.