Stone by Sandy Harbutt (1974)

Watched by Matthew Donlan at the Sydney Cinémathèque

Sandy Harbutt’s Stone opens with a motorcycle gang riding down the footpath of Sydney’s Domain Park to heckle an environmental speaker. Tripping on acid, Toad (Hugh Keays-Byrne) stumbles on the steps to the Art Gallery of NSW and jumps at the large statues which loom over him. He spies (or hallucinates) a sniper on the roof of the iconic sandstone building, whose sight is aimed at the speaker in the park. Sitting inside the Art Gallery’s Cinémathèque watching this film, it felt as though the rooftop chase was unfolding in real time above our heads.

These events at the Gallery set off a chain reaction of biker-killings and undercover cops. Police officer Stone (Ken Shorter) is tasked with joining the Grave Diggers, Toad’s outlaw biker gang. Put through initiation tests before he is accepted, Stone must fully immerse himself in the gang; sleep in their bunker, race laps around Balmain and disconnect from his girlfriend. His sole goal is to find and arrest who is conducting the killings of bikers and avoid a full-blown street war between the Grave Diggers and rival gang the Black Hawks.

Stone sits at an interesting crossroad of Australian cinema. Made with sweat, blood and cases of beer, it is a feat in determination. The film was even made with the help of the Sydney Hells Angels, a credit unlikely to be seen on screens again. Stone became a local hit (despite harsh words from critics at the time) succeeding in theatres and drive-ins across the country. But its appreciation remained underground. Unlike similar Ozploitation hits which broke through (notably Mad Max and The Cars That Ate Paris), Stone had been forgotten by many.

Perhaps this is because, while full of crowd-pleasing action scenes, the film’s heart wrestles with very grounded themes, themes which unsettle the prevailing sentiment of Sydney. The film’s inherent tension is Stone’s shifting allegiances. While growing loyal to the bikers, acting as their protector, he still believes in the power of the law. This belief is in direct contradiction to the Grave Diggers who see all cops as enemies. The bikers prefer to deliver justice themselves, often in violent means, which act as bonding moments. The gang are a chosen family against a world out to get them.

As Sydney grew into its shiny cosmopolitan status, and as the Australian Film Commission sought to instil a sense of prestige to our local film culture, Stone stood against that. It depicts Sydney as a grimy, dirty and sleazy city. The stench of motor oil, beer and sweat drips through the screen. It stands on the side of the oppressed. It shows Sydney in a new, uglier light and gives voice to the dirtier side of the city. This underdog sentiment becomes alluring to the audience. As we spend more time with the gang, we begin to feel close to them too. One particularly poignant scene sees the group enjoy a sunrise swim, washing away their sins of the night, a classic ritual of many Sydneysiders. But this vision is a fantasy.

While Sydney’s criminal underworld has been depicted many times on the big screen (see Two Hands, The Empty Beach & Scobie Malone), these films end on a positive or optimistic note. The so-called good guys win and get to spend their days by the pool. Stone, however, ends with a punch to this ideal. It reminds us of the brutality of the criminal underworld. It’s a dark ending which, even today, sits uncomfortably for many viewers as it forces them to consider their own allegiances.

The Sydney Cinémathèque continues its Harbour City Cinema programme each Wednesday and Sunday.

Pick of the Week
Go see one of the three queer films screening at Golden Age this week! Each is seminal to our queer cinema history and yet (I terrifyingly confess) I've only seen one...
Brokeback Mountain screens Thursday, Bound on Saturday and Portrait of a Lady on Fire on Monday.

New Releases

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