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Bulldogs flag documentary
ALMOST 100,000 people crammed in to the MCG on October 1 last year to witness what many described as the most remarkable Grand Final in living memory.
A further 6.5 million people viewed the game across the country and, according to OzTam ratings, 91.2 per cent of Australians who had their televisions on were tuned into the game.
It was the most watched Grand Final since the 2006 decider.
For award-winning filmmaker Peter Dickson, re-creating the day in his latest documentary was no easy task. Everyone knew what happened.
Dickson agonised over the best way to re-tell a story which was as close to a football fairytale as possible.
And then it hit him, like a Jason Johannisen spearing pass.
Luke Beveridge’s words would anchor a 13-minute documentary ‘Into the Fury,’ which will air on Thursday night at 9.30pm on Fox Footy.
From Beveridge’s words, Dickson ascertained, the rest of the film would flow.
“When the Bulldogs won I thought: ‘What will I do that nobody else has done’?” Dickson told foxfooty.com.au ahead of the 2017 AFL Season Launch.
“I was battling a bit for a while about what I do. I listened to his pre-match and it sort of hit me. It was very driven by his words and his narrative. When you watch it you realise that.
“He kind of wrote the thing. It’s his words.”
Dale Morris, Joel Hamling and Matthew Boyd. (Photo by Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images)
The documentary is called ‘Into the Fury’ because those are Beveridge’s words to his players in his final pre-game address.
“When I first heard that, that’s when the light bulb lit up,” Dickson said.
Beveridge’s Dogs were implored to fight, scrap and prove everyone wrong for the fourth successive game. They were asked to run into the fire as a collective. The fury was the fire.
“We know it’s not going to be easy,” Beveridge tells his players.
The audio is captured via the microphone of an assistant coach, but it doesn’t take away from Beveridge’s calm and unruffled directives. There is no ranting and raving. This pump up is more Al Pacino than it is Muhammad Ali. It’s a school teacher telling speaking to his class.
Dickson, a lifelong Hawthorn supporter whose late brother Rob was a pioneer in sport filmmaking industry, conceded he was quietly happy the Hawks did not win their fourth straight flag.
“I must admit, I did have some relief when they didn’t make it,” he said.
“It meant that there would be a new story evolve either way. It allowed up so much joy. It freed me up for a different way of attacking it.
“This one was so unique and such a great fairytale story that it meant a little bit more. It was a pretty emotional day.”
Luke Beveridge walks on to the MCG Picture: David Caird
“I wanted to do this one without commentary, which is a bit odd,” he said.
“But I just wanted to have that feel of the only words you hear are from Beveridge and Bob Murphy.
“Without the clubs and coaches and their willingness to trust you, I can’t do something like this. The tempo at the beginning was almost a bit depressing. That was deliberate. Then I brought it into the middle bit where it’s on. Then the resolution which is the joy.
“I wanted to keep it very light on with audio.”
Unlike his previous documentaries that purely focus on a particular game (Such as St Kilda’s 1966 premiership or Hawthorn’s 1989 triumph), ‘Into the Fury’ places a hefty emphasis on the history of the Western Bulldogs. One of the most evocative passages of the film is when the audience is taken on a moving trip through history.
From the Bulldogs’ first premiership in 1954 to losing four preliminary finals in 13 years, it’s this sharp focus on the club’s litany of heartbreak moments that allows the documentary to have context.
Dickson noted how this motif was both deliberate and necessary.
“I wanted to pay homage to all those people that have battled so long to get there,” he said.
“I did a montage of the preliminary final losses and you think, s**t, look how close they got and the heartbreak. All those great players that worked their guts out.
“Instead of simple Grand Final piece, I thought it was a chance to pay homage to the past. I haven’t really gone back in history like that before.
“I hope it worked. I think it worked.”
It did work. Everything worked.
For all football fans, this is 13 minutes of stirring film you don’t want to miss.
‘Into the Fury’ will air at 9.30 on Fox Footy as part of the AFL’s Season Launch.
Premiership skipper Easton Wood, Dogs president Peter Gordon and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan will all speak, while outgoing chairman Mike Fitzpatrick will present the 2016 premiership flag to the Bulldogs.
Bulldogs flag documentary
ALMOST 100,000 people crammed in to the MCG on October 1 last year to witness what many described as the most remarkable Grand Final in living memory.
A further 6.5 million people viewed the game across the country and, according to OzTam ratings, 91.2 per cent of Australians who had their televisions on were tuned into the game.
It was the most watched Grand Final since the 2006 decider.
For award-winning filmmaker Peter Dickson, re-creating the day in his latest documentary was no easy task. Everyone knew what happened.
Dickson agonised over the best way to re-tell a story which was as close to a football fairytale as possible.
And then it hit him, like a Jason Johannisen spearing pass.
Luke Beveridge’s words would anchor a 13-minute documentary ‘Into the Fury,’ which will air on Thursday night at 9.30pm on Fox Footy.
From Beveridge’s words, Dickson ascertained, the rest of the film would flow.
“When the Bulldogs won I thought: ‘What will I do that nobody else has done’?” Dickson told foxfooty.com.au ahead of the 2017 AFL Season Launch.
“I was battling a bit for a while about what I do. I listened to his pre-match and it sort of hit me. It was very driven by his words and his narrative. When you watch it you realise that.
“He kind of wrote the thing. It’s his words.”
Dale Morris, Joel Hamling and Matthew Boyd. (Photo by Michael Dodge/AFL Media/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
The opening act — there are three distinctly separate but interconnected acts — revolves around Beveridge. As is his way, Beveridge sets the tone.The documentary is called ‘Into the Fury’ because those are Beveridge’s words to his players in his final pre-game address.
“When I first heard that, that’s when the light bulb lit up,” Dickson said.
Beveridge’s Dogs were implored to fight, scrap and prove everyone wrong for the fourth successive game. They were asked to run into the fire as a collective. The fury was the fire.
“We know it’s not going to be easy,” Beveridge tells his players.
The audio is captured via the microphone of an assistant coach, but it doesn’t take away from Beveridge’s calm and unruffled directives. There is no ranting and raving. This pump up is more Al Pacino than it is Muhammad Ali. It’s a school teacher telling speaking to his class.
Dickson, a lifelong Hawthorn supporter whose late brother Rob was a pioneer in sport filmmaking industry, conceded he was quietly happy the Hawks did not win their fourth straight flag.
“I must admit, I did have some relief when they didn’t make it,” he said.
“It meant that there would be a new story evolve either way. It allowed up so much joy. It freed me up for a different way of attacking it.
“This one was so unique and such a great fairytale story that it meant a little bit more. It was a pretty emotional day.”
Luke Beveridge walks on to the MCG Picture: David CairdSource: News Corp Australia
One of the noticeable differences between ‘Into The Fury’ and other documentaries such as ‘The Chosen Few’ is the absence of commentary. This is deliberate given Act 2 is a theatrical montage of epic proportions.“I wanted to do this one without commentary, which is a bit odd,” he said.
“But I just wanted to have that feel of the only words you hear are from Beveridge and Bob Murphy.
“Without the clubs and coaches and their willingness to trust you, I can’t do something like this. The tempo at the beginning was almost a bit depressing. That was deliberate. Then I brought it into the middle bit where it’s on. Then the resolution which is the joy.
“I wanted to keep it very light on with audio.”
Unlike his previous documentaries that purely focus on a particular game (Such as St Kilda’s 1966 premiership or Hawthorn’s 1989 triumph), ‘Into the Fury’ places a hefty emphasis on the history of the Western Bulldogs. One of the most evocative passages of the film is when the audience is taken on a moving trip through history.
From the Bulldogs’ first premiership in 1954 to losing four preliminary finals in 13 years, it’s this sharp focus on the club’s litany of heartbreak moments that allows the documentary to have context.
Dickson noted how this motif was both deliberate and necessary.
“I wanted to pay homage to all those people that have battled so long to get there,” he said.
“I did a montage of the preliminary final losses and you think, s**t, look how close they got and the heartbreak. All those great players that worked their guts out.
“Instead of simple Grand Final piece, I thought it was a chance to pay homage to the past. I haven’t really gone back in history like that before.
“I hope it worked. I think it worked.”
It did work. Everything worked.
For all football fans, this is 13 minutes of stirring film you don’t want to miss.
‘Into the Fury’ will air at 9.30 on Fox Footy as part of the AFL’s Season Launch.
Premiership skipper Easton Wood, Dogs president Peter Gordon and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan will all speak, while outgoing chairman Mike Fitzpatrick will present the 2016 premiership flag to the Bulldogs.
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