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MOVIES / ON DVD / NED KELLY
Ned Kelly

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Ned Kelly (2004)

55%
67%
71%
N/A
N/A
N/A
55 %
Reviews Counted: 53 Fresh: 29  Rotten:24 Average Rating: 5.7/10
 
Consensus: More depth about the legendary outlaw would be welcome, but as it is, Ned Kelly is a reasonably entertaining Western.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 50 mins

Synopsis: Reteaming for the first time since their breakthrough film Two Hands, director Gregor Jordan and actor Heath Ledger bring moviegoers the true story of their brave and iconoclastic countryman – Irish-Australian legend Edward “Ned” Kelly. In the latter part of the 19th century,... Reteaming for the first time since their breakthrough film Two Hands, director Gregor Jordan and actor Heath Ledger bring moviegoers the true story of their brave and iconoclastic countryman – Irish-Australian legend Edward “Ned” Kelly. In the latter part of the 19th century, Australia is still largely untamed. The former penal colony’s first-generation Irish immigrant population lives in poverty. Having already experienced police brutality and the death of his father, bushranger Ned (Heath Ledger) is wrongfully imprisoned on the trumped-up charge of stealing a horse. Emerging a few years later, in 1874, Ned is hardened but vows to stay straight. Rejoining his widowed mother and younger siblings, he makes money for his family as a champion bare-knuckle boxer. He also toils as a farmhand on the estate of an English landowner – with whose beautiful wife Julia (Naomi Watts) Ned shares a mutual attraction. But the British colonial system and its Victorian English enforcers remain prejudiced against Australia’s working people, and the struggling Kelly family is no exception. When, in 1878, a bullying police officer is rebuffed by Ned’s younger sister Kate and targets the family for harassment, Ned and his mother are unjustly charged with attempted murder. Ned is determined to avenge his family’s name and strike back against his people’s oppressors. While hiding in the bush, he forms a loyal Gang that includes his best friend and first lieutenant Joe Byrne (Orlando Bloom). A chance encounter with the police culminates in shots ringing out, and three officers are killed. The Kelly Gang is forced to go on the run. They blaze a trail through the Outback, robbing banks to fund themselves as well as to recover immigrants’ land deeds, and giving police the runaround. The Kelly Gang’s reputation as invincible outlaws grows, as does nationwide support from their immigrant countrymen. To the masses, Ned is a hero. To lawmen and the establishment, he is the most wanted man in Australia. £8,000 is offered for his capture – at the time, the highest reward the world had known. When the authorities bring in the formidable Superintendent Francis Hare (Geoffrey Rush), and an army of police, with carte blanche to capture and/or kill the outlaws, Ned strategizes a risky showdown at the Glenrowan Inn. It is this event which will seal his fate – and his legend. [More]

Genre: Westerns

Starring: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush, Rachel Griffiths

Director: Gregor Jordan
Screenwriter: John Michael McDonagh
Producer: John Michael McDonagh, Nelson Woss, Lynda House
Composer: Klaus Badelt

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 7, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Widescreen - 2.35

Audio:

  • DTS 5.1 Surround - English
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - Spanish

Additional Release Material:

  • Featurettes - 1. "Ned Kelly in Popular Culture"
  • 2. "The Real Kelly Gang"
  • 3. "Artist to Feature Comparison"
  • Trailers - 1. Theatrical Trailers

Text/Image Galleries:

  • Poster Campaign

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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01/26/06
Time Out
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N/R

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01/15/04
Guardian [UK]
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
09/28/03
This is London
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3/5

An unkempt, enjoyable retelling of the life story of an Australian legend.

Full Review | comment Comment
09/24/03
Nev Pierce
BBC
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2/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
09/06/03
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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3/5

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08/31/03
Empire Magazine
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N/R

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/01/03
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image
N/A

Much as late 19th century Australian outlaw Ned Kelly was a charismatic figure who won the adulation of the Irish immigrant masses there, Heath Ledger as that romantic revolutionary of the film's title breathes astonishing vigor into the role.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/26/07
Prairie Miller
WBAI Web Radio
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3.5/5

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Full Review | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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3/10

Director Jordan fails to deliver a film worthy of such mythical figure.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/16/05
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image
B-

The story might have more resonance with Australians, since compared to American folk heroes Ledger's Ned Kelly comes off as a bit square and self-serious.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/27/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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N/A

[A] tricky film, punctuated by bursts of staccato surrealism and bitter humor...

Full Review | comment Comment
09/08/04
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher
Ratings Image
N/A

Rises above its own shortcomings through Heath Ledger's electric embodiment of Ned.

Full Review | comment Comment
08/08/04
Erica Abeel
Film Journal International
Ratings Image
1/5

Ned Kelly suggests that not only do you not need anything of interest to watch, but you don’t even need to see it at all.

Full Review | comment Comment
07/28/04
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
1.5/4

Ultimately, Jordan's vision is so murky that Ned Kelly remains as foreign to us as wombat stew.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/14/04
Janice Page
Boston Globe
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C+

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Full Review | comment Comment
04/24/04
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com
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3/5

A ride that doesn't take us far enough.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/14/04
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals
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3/5

Details such as the film's stark Victoria locations and the clunky suits of steel armor the Kellys fashion for the climactic showdown root things in a distinctive time and place, allowing viewers to experience the familiar storyline in a fresh way.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/03/04
Michael Tunison
Boxoffice Magazine
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N/A

A hefty dose of Australian history and legend, magnificently enhanced by a landscape that serves as more than just travelogue.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/30/04
Susan Michals
FilmStew.com
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N/A

If Ned Kelly is supposed to be an anti-hero to root for, his speeches border on parody and his cause is really unclear.

Full Review | comment Comment
03/29/04
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
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