Search - Utu on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1983 DVD Release: 12/19/2000 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Letterbox for TV Audio Tracks: English, Maori SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 58 mins Studio: Kino Members Wishing: 14 Genres: Adventure, Historical Film, Political Drama

Utu is the Maori word for "Retribution," which sums up the chief motivating factor of this New Zealand-produced drama. Set in the 1870s, the film details the exigencies of British Colonial rule. A Maori scout, Te Wheke (Anzac Wallace), stumbles across a native village that has been destroyed in a British raid. Since it is the scout's own village, he deserts the British army, the better to seek "utu." Leading a vigilante force consisting of his fellow Maoris, Te Wheke kills as many British settlers as he can get his hands on. The feverish conviction of his crusade is in stark contrast to the attitudes of the British, who seem more concerned with material possessions than with human beings. Popular down under star Bruno Lawrence is cast as a vengeance-driven settler who makes it his personal mission in life to end Te Wheke's reign of terror. The most expensive New Zealand-filmed project to date, Utu was an enormous success upon its first domestic release; the American version runs some 15 minutes shorter than the original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Anzac Wallace - Te Wheke
Bruno Lawrence - Williamson
Kelly Johnson - Lieutenant Scott
Wi Kuki Kaa - Wiremu
Tim Elliott - Col. Elliot

Utu is the Maori word for "Retribution," which sums up the chief motivating factor of this New Zealand-produced drama. Set in the 1870s, the film details the exigencies of British Colonial rule. A Maori scout Anzac Wallace stumbles across a native village that has been destroyed in a British raid. Since it is the scout's own village, he deserts the British army, the better to seek "utu." Leading a vigilante force consisting of his fellow Maoris, Wallace kills as many British settlers as he can get his hands on. The feverish conviction of Wallace's crusade is in stark contrast to the attitudes of the British, who seem more concerned with material possessions than with human beings. Popular "down under" star Bruno Lawrence is cast as a vengeance-driven settler who makes it his personal mission in life to end Wallace's reign of terror. The most expensive New Zealand-filmed project to date, Utu was an enormous success upon its first domestic release; the American version runs some 15 minutes shorter than the original. ~ All Movie Guide