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Rocking the Foundations (1985)

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clip The bulldozer

Original classification rating: G. This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

This powerful sequence shows the violent clashes between the government and developers planning Sydney’s large-scale re-development and those that opposed it – the unionists, residents, conservationists and students.

Curator’s notes

by Susan Lambert

This sequence is at the heart of the film. It outlines the cost to Sydney if the planned development were to go ahead. Importantly, it documents how extensively the BLF had re-defined its role as a union. It now saw its role defending not only workers’ rights but the rights of the larger community. In this sequence the BLF, residents threatened with losing their homes, and many others, fight the government and the developers and put their lives on the line to do it.

Again the filmmaker uses animation, historical footage and interviews to tell the story. The interview with resident Mick Fowler is done on location and gives a very personal insight into the impact of the evictions and demolitions on individual lives. However this interview has very bad picture quality. The crew had to shoot the interview on half-inch video – a poor quality but accessible medium – as a result of the budget being so tight. But this is a good example of the content being more important than the picture quality when documenting a personal story as the action unfolds.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

  • You may retrieve materials for information only.
  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

All other rights reserved.

ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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