Stir (film)

Stir
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Stephen Wallace
Produced by	Richard Brennan
Written by	Bob Jewson
Starring	Bryan Brown Max Phipps
Music by	Cameron Allan
Cinematography	Geoff Burton
Edited by	Henry Dangar
Production company	New South Wales Film Corp. Smiley Productions
Distributed by	Hoyts Distribution
Release date	23 October 1980 (AUS)
Running time	101 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	AU$485,000

Stir is a 1980 Australian film directed by Stephen Wallace in his feature directorial debut. The prison film was written by Bob Jewson, based upon his own experience while incarcerated as the actual prison riot at Bathurst Correctional Complex in 1974 and its subsequent Royal Commission into New South Wales Prisons. we. The film was shot in Clare Valley, Gladstone and the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. It premiered at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.

Bob Jewson was a former prisoner who had been in Bathurst Gaol at the time of the riot. He wrote a script based on it originally called Bathurst. Martha Ansara who was working for the Prison Action Group read it and introduced Jewson to Stephen Wallace. (Other accounts say it was Tony Green who did this.) Wallace decided to make the film

The New South Wales Film Corporation were looking at investing in some films made by directors who had made successful short films. Wallace had just made the acclaimed on hour drama The Love Letters from Teralba Road and they asked him if he had any projects. He told them about his prison drama.

As part of his preparations, Wallace had the actors do a clown workshop for four days and a longer workshop of three weeks. Most of them disliked the clown workshop and Wallace later admitted was a mistake.

The original drafts of the script had some female characters, such as a social worker and a girlfriend of Bryan Brown's character, but these were dropped.

The film was shot over five weeks in October and November 1979 in South Australia at an abandoned prison in Gladstone. They had trouble sourcing enough extras and had to fly them in from Adelaide; some of the actors who did appear had been to prison. Wallace tried to get more aboriginal extras but was unable to.

During filming the movie was known as The Promotion of Mr Smith until Jewson suggested the shorter title Stir. Wallace:

Bob Jewson said one thing - and I think this is what we tried to make the theme of the film, although it was very hidden - that riots don't happen out of the blue. The prison authorities make you believe that all these criminals that are incarcerated are at all times dangerous and they're trying to get out. But Bob said that's never true; most of them have accepted their lot and they're trying to serve their time. They only get into a riot situation when they're treated badly and unfairly over a long period. He said most people don't want a riot; they know what it's going to mean, longer in jail.