The Vintagent Classics: The films that inspired us.

IF YOU’RE IN IT, YOU’RE IN IT TO THE LIMIT – BIKIES (TV 1972)

Run Time: 27:31
Producer: Michael Scott-Smith
Director: John Charles
Cinematographer: Peter Janes
Key Cast: Hell’s Angels, Auckland

FILM MAKERS

This film was banned upon release. Forgotten about until 2012, when it was added to the NZ On Screen website. No doubt it was seen as promoting a lifestyle that sent shivers up the spines and down the walk-shorted pants of the old men who used to run the country. It’s a brilliant depiction of life in the Auckland chapter of the Hell’s Angels. It’s not just of anthropological interest, it’s also a terrific depository of Triumph motorbikes and Nazi memorabilia.

The title, If You’re In It, You’re In It To The Limit might also apply to the guys who made the film. Producer Michael Scott Smith, a Brit who went to drama school with Peter O’Toole, went on to make such classics as Close to Home and The Governor. The director John Charles was better known as a composer, responsible for the music in some our best films, like Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu and The Quiet Earth.

Meanwhile, editor Jamie Selkirk has found great fame as Peter Jackson’s cutter, working on Braindead, The Frighteners, King Kong, Lord of The Rings and as an executive producer, Forgotten Silver, LOTR, Predicament. – NZ Herald

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SUMMARY

The way I look at it: some people join the army, some people join the Salvation Army, some people join bowling clubs, some people join tennis clubs … I join the Hells Angels.

This notorious film looks at ’70s bikie culture, focusing on Auckland’s Hells Angels (the first Angels chapter outside of California). These not-so-easy riders — with sideburns and swastikas and fueled by pies and beer — rev up the Triumphs, defend the creed, beat up students, cruise on the Interislander, provoke civic censure, and attend the Hastings Blossom Festival. After a funeral, Aotearoa’s sons of anarchy head back on the highway. Bikies was banned by the NZBC — possibly due to the public urination, lane-crossing, chauvinism and pig’s head activity. – NZ On Screen

RELATED MEDIA

Watch PART 2 HERE.

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