SYNOPSIS: Acclaimed writer/director Fred Schepisi's first feature is the accomplished and pertinent story of a boys coming of age in an Australian Catholic boys' school.

Based on the director's experiences in a monastery, repressed desires meet Catholic doctrine head-on.  Winner of five Australian Film Institute awards, including Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Film (1976).

EDITORIAL REVIEW: Superbly remastered, this version of The Devil's Playground is the original film from 1976.  It's the story of Tom Allen, a 13-year-old boy growing up in a monastery, supposedly in training to be a Catholic priest.  Said to be a "prurient peek at repressed pubescent male sexuality", The Devil's Playground is pretty much just that, but there is a little bit of a story behind it.  Tom and his mates spend nearly every day and every night thinking of one thing and one thing only.  Making it worse, is the Catholic Brothers' constant attempts to quell such thoughts, who themselves are struggling with suppressing their own desires.  There are tons of references to "sexual awakenings" and "ripening".  Most of the Brothers know what their young charges are thinking, and doing to themselves on a daily basis (or in Tom's case, "two or three times" a day), but what else can they do but "accept it" and hope that fatherly talks about puberty will make it go away.

One Brother in particular, Brother Francine, feels that such behavior is despicable.  It is this very despise that leads us to believe that a lifetime of living celibate amongst boys and men has revealed that Brother Francine's feelings aren't as pure as he preaches - or perhaps they are a little too pure.  Supposing this is a true look at the life inside a Catholic Boys' school where averting your eyes from nudity, and showering with a swim suit on is commonly practiced.  It's no wonder, then, that living with that kind of oppression can, possibly, lead to some indiscretions.  That kind of oppression can also lead to a feeling of helplessness when one gets to experience the outside world, like Brother Francine when he goes to a public swimming pool.

Tom makes his way through this difficult lifestyle by dodging indoctrination from some religious fanatics, avoiding some un-holy affection from one of his school mates, and coping with his bed wetting.  Too much stress for a boy of 13 causes him to seek some advice from the eldest of the Brothers - who Tom sees as a father figure.  Some sound advice that will guide Tom through school and life.

This remastered DVD features new director commentary, a lengthy featurette on the making of The Devil's Playground, and an interview with the director.

VIEW MULTIMEDIA:

POPULARITY:
RATING:
FORMAT:   (learn more about region coding)
* This DVD will play in North America only.  This DVD should play in most players outside of North America as well, but it's not guaranteed. This DVD will play in any computer DVD-Rom.  This is NOT a DVD-R.

STARRING: Simon Burke, Arthur Dignam, Richard Morgan.
DIRECTOR: Fred Schepisi.
AVAILABILITY: In stock! Ships within one business day.
LENGTH: 98 minutes + bonus features.
LANGUAGE: English.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 1.85:1 (16:9 Widescreen); 2.0 Stereo; 1 disc; Chapter selection; Making of documentary; Director commentary; Interview with the director; Uncut.
VIEWER DISCRETION: Moderate to extensive nudity, sexual innuendo, sexual scenes, coarse language, violence.
PICTURE QUALITY: Excellent picture quality. (what's this mean?)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Australia (1976).
ALSO KNOWN AS:
DATE ADDED TO OUR LIBRARY:  December 4, 2009.