Original classification rating: M.
This clip chosen to be PG
Clip description
Journalist Steve Parry (Chris Haywood) and Hilton (Paul Pryor), his friend and cameraman, drink at a tin-shed pub called Polly’s on Christmas Eve, 1974.
Curator’s notes
One of Cyclone Tracy’s strong points is its colourful portrait of pre-cyclone Darwin. There is an anarchic feel to this raucous pub scene thanks to the hand-held camerawork and the sound of the noisy, crowded bar. For the viewer, Parry’s celebrations hold an extra dimension that his fellow characters aren’t aware of – in an earlier scene we have seen Parry type a suicide note. His friend Hilton is an effective foil: young, enthusiastic and keen to keep working as a team. As the series progresses the writers use the pair to raise issues of ethics in journalism, such as: is recording a catastrophe as important as helping? This adds complexity and depth to a straightforward natural disaster story.
In part one, Cyclone Tracy sets up a number of these personal storylines, intercutting them with an authoritative newsreader-style voice-over that reports on the approaching cyclone, as can be heard at the end of the clip. This is an ongoing reminder that these narrative beginnings are soon going to encounter a serious interruption.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer Christmas Eve in Darwin from the television program Cyclone Tracy as a high quality video download.
To play the downloadable video, you need QuickTime 7.0, VLC, or similar.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before downloading the clip:
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.
This clip is available in the following configurations:
| File name | Size | Quality | Suitability |
|
cycltrms1_pr.mp4
|
Large: 18.9MB |
High |
Optimised for full-screen display on a fast computer. |
|
cycltrms1_bb.mp4
|
Medium: 8.9MB |
Medium |
Can be displayed full screen. Also suitable for video iPods. |
Right-click on the links above to download video files to your computer.
Thanks to the generosity of the rights holders, we are able to offer this clip in an embeddable format for personal or non-commercial educational use in full form on your own website or your own blog.
You must read and agree to the following terms and conditions before embedding the clip:
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.
Copy and paste the following code into your own web page to embed this clip:
Share
