Rats in the Ranks

Rats in the Ranks

1996 · 93 min · ★ 7.8 · Documentary, History, TV Movie

Every September Sydney's inner-suburban Leichhardt Council re-elects it mayor. Incumbent Larry Hand was popular with the citizenry but they don't vote for mayor - the 12 councillors do - and after three years of Larry, at least four councillors were after his job. When film-makers Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson settled in at Leichhardt Council in early 1994 the knives were already being sharpened. A battle royal was in the making, and so it came to pass. By the end of September Larry had fought the fight of his life, with Connolly and Anderson documenting every bit of it on film. Ambition, courage, envy, hatred, loyalty, betrayal, disaster, triumph... in other words, a classic study in politics.

Directed by Robin Anderson · Written by Bob Connolly

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 31m together

Rats in the Ranks

First Contact

Both from Robin Anderson.

More from Robin AndersonSee all →

Joe Leahy's Neighbors

Joe Leahy's Neighbors · 1988

Joe Leahy's Neighbors

MovieDocumentary

Joe Leahy and his complicated relationship with the Guniga people in the Papua New Guinea highlands.

Black Harvest

Black Harvest · 1992

MovieDocumentary

Joe Leahy is the half-caste son of one of the first explorers of the Papua New Guinean interior. The documentary explores his relationship with the tribes that work his coffee plantation and explores what happens when the coffee market situation becomes more difficult.

First Contact

First Contact · 1982

MovieDocumentary

"First Contact" is a 1983 documentary by Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson which recounts the discovery of a flourishing native population in the interior highlands of New Guinea in 1930 in what had been thought to be an uninhabited area. It is based on the book of the same name by the same authors. Inhabitants of the region and surviving members of the Leahy brothers' gold prospecting party recount their astonishment at this unforeseen meeting. The film includes still photographs taken by a member of the expedition and contemporary footage of the island's terrain. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Facing the Music

Facing the Music · 2001

Facing the Music

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Anne Boyd, one of Australia's leading contemporary composers, teaches music at the publicly funded University of Sydney. This documentary chronicles a year in the life of an academic department that's under the financial gun.

Franklin River Journey

Franklin River Journey · 1980

Franklin River Journey

MovieDocumentary

Follows amateur botanist Antonius Moscal's raft journey down the Franklin River (Tasmania, Australia).

More Like This

The Corporation

The Corporation · 2003

The Corporation

MovieDocumentary

Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.

Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon · 2008

MovieDramaHistory

For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans. Likewise, Frost's team harboured doubts about their boss's ability to hold his own. But as the cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

Gallipoli

Gallipoli · 1981

MovieWarHistory

Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter