Utu is a 1983 New Zealand movie directed and co-written by Geoff Murphy
Partly inspired by events from Te Kooti's War, the film tells of a Māori soldier setting out to get utu, or vengeance, on his former allies after the British army destroys his home village and kills his uncle. The film is set in the 1870s.
Starring: Zac Wallace, Bruno Lawrence, Kelly Johnson, Wi Kuki Kaa, Tim Elliot
Merata Mita, Tania Bristowe, Martyn Sanderson, Ilona Rodgers
Partly inspired by events from Te Kooti's War, the film tells of a Māori soldier setting out to get utu, or vengeance, on his former allies after the British army destroys his home village and kills his uncle. The film is set in the 1870s.
Starring: Zac Wallace, Bruno Lawrence, Kelly Johnson, Wi Kuki Kaa, Tim Elliot
Merata Mita, Tania Bristowe, Martyn Sanderson, Ilona Rodgers
Utu is a 1983 New Zealand movie directed and co-written by Geoff Murphy. Anzac Wallace, who had done little acting up until that point, takes the starring role of Te Wheke, a warrior who sets out to get vengeance after British forces kill his people. The cast also includes Bruno Lawrence and Kelly Johnson. Sometimes described as "a Maori Western", Utu was reputed to have one of the largest budgets for a New Zealand film up until that time.
The film screened out of competition at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival,[2] and became the second most successful local movie released in New Zealand to that date. Positive reviews in America, including a rave review from Pauline Kael, helped win Murphy directing work in Hollywood.
In 2013, partly thanks to the longtime existence of an alternative cut of the film aimed at international audiences, which Geoff Murphy had never been happy with, he completed work on a restored and recut version. Utu Redux, as it is known, premiered at the Wellington International Film Festival on 26 July 2013.
The film screened out of competition at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival,[2] and became the second most successful local movie released in New Zealand to that date. Positive reviews in America, including a rave review from Pauline Kael, helped win Murphy directing work in Hollywood.
In 2013, partly thanks to the longtime existence of an alternative cut of the film aimed at international audiences, which Geoff Murphy had never been happy with, he completed work on a restored and recut version. Utu Redux, as it is known, premiered at the Wellington International Film Festival on 26 July 2013.
Social Studies Department Year 9
Unit : Tauiwi Level 4 Film Study: UTU Student’s results in this assessment are to be credited to the Social Studies Curriculum Strand: Time, Continuity and Change .
Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of causes and effects of events that have shaped the lives of a group of people. Students should be able to indicate or identify the possible causes of particular events that people experience.
Tasks:
1. Choose any two characters from the film UTU and describe their character:
i.e. Use words that describe what type of people they were and how they
related to the other characters in the movie. It might helpful to write down a list
of words first that describe the person and then organise your words into
sentences that tell us what the character was like.
(5 marks for each)
2. In a few paragraphs review the film UTU (one page minimum) :
a) Explain what the movie was about i.e. what event(s) does the film’s story centre around? Write down the main events as they occur in the film and then link each event with the next event using an arrow. Example : event ® event ® event® event
b) Who did you feel sympathy for? Explain why you felt sympathy for this person or group of people. You might start the sentence like this : “ I felt sorry for Colonel Smith because he was …………”
c) Explain what you felt about the way Maori and Pakeha got along at this time. Did the two cultures get on well at this time ? You might start this paragraph by saying : “I think the Maori and European settlers did or did not get along with each other because …………”
(15 marks)
Assessment Results : Your mark ( / 25 ) indicates that you are working at the following level in the Time, Continuity and Change Strand : ________________
I:\Curric\SOCSTUDY\2000\Film Study - Utu and Test.doc
Unit : Tauiwi Level 4 Film Study: UTU Student’s results in this assessment are to be credited to the Social Studies Curriculum Strand: Time, Continuity and Change .
Learning Outcome: Students will demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of causes and effects of events that have shaped the lives of a group of people. Students should be able to indicate or identify the possible causes of particular events that people experience.
Tasks:
1. Choose any two characters from the film UTU and describe their character:
i.e. Use words that describe what type of people they were and how they
related to the other characters in the movie. It might helpful to write down a list
of words first that describe the person and then organise your words into
sentences that tell us what the character was like.
(5 marks for each)
2. In a few paragraphs review the film UTU (one page minimum) :
a) Explain what the movie was about i.e. what event(s) does the film’s story centre around? Write down the main events as they occur in the film and then link each event with the next event using an arrow. Example : event ® event ® event® event
b) Who did you feel sympathy for? Explain why you felt sympathy for this person or group of people. You might start the sentence like this : “ I felt sorry for Colonel Smith because he was …………”
c) Explain what you felt about the way Maori and Pakeha got along at this time. Did the two cultures get on well at this time ? You might start this paragraph by saying : “I think the Maori and European settlers did or did not get along with each other because …………”
(15 marks)
Assessment Results : Your mark ( / 25 ) indicates that you are working at the following level in the Time, Continuity and Change Strand : ________________
I:\Curric\SOCSTUDY\2000\Film Study - Utu and Test.doc
The Polynesian Triangle