Submitted 3 weeks ago by zero_gravitas@aussie.zone to australia@aussie.zone
In 2004, Stratton and Pomeranz moved to the ABC, where they hosted At the Movies with Margaret and David until 2014.
Because SBS introduced advertising! They didn’t move on a whim.
The first midnight movie screening I saw was something that was unbanned in the 90s that David recommended. I thought it was Clockwork Orange or Eraserhead but neither of those are listed as having been banned here. I can’t remember what it was if it wasn’t either of those.
Because SBS introduced advertising! They didn’t move on a whim.
Interesting. Have you got a source for that? If it was such a principled stance you’d think it’d be something they’d have shared publicly, but all my search results are finding news from today.
Not directly no but I think it was heavily implied at the time.
The list of all films ever banned in Australia, for anyone interested: en.wikipedia.org/…/List_of_films_banned_in_Austra…
What a huge loss!
I lost all touch with movies when they wrapped up The Movie Show. You always knew whether a movie was in your wheelhouse based on who out of David and Margaret hated it and why.
But that was a different time.
It sort of feels like he’s died a second time to me, the first coming when he retired fully (he was still doing some regular review stuff even after leaving the ABC). He was not really a reviewer for the casual cinemagoer, he was a reviewer for people who loved film like he did. Even if you didn’t agree with his opinions, you could always understand and respect the level of thought he put into his analysis of a film (though he did have some funny quirks, my favourite being his hatred for “shaky cam”). I was fortunate to meet him and Margaret Pomeranz at The Mercury cinema in Adelaide when they did a Q&A after a screening of something. Seeing them in person surrounded by all these other film lovers in a small, independent cinema sort of reaffirmed to me how much I loved the art. I have a couple of his books, ‘Australia at the Movies’ which was published last year is really good and I’d strongly recommend it to anyone who wants to watch more Australian feature films or just read his opinions on basically every single one released in the last 30 years.
The loss of a cultural icon, and what a beautiful life at that. He left all of us wanting more–which I guess is as good an impact as any of us can hope for in our lives.
The loss of an Aussie institution. I have memories of David and Margaret and their movie reviews when I was growing up.
Nath@aussie.zone 3 weeks ago
When they disagreed, and I loved when they disagreed, I usually fell into Margaret’s camp. But he always had great insights, and it was rare for me not to be able to see where he was coming from. He was a kind and patient man, and I miss them on TV.
The biggest thing he taught me wasn’t even about movies. It was how to have a full on heated discussion with love and respect and remain friends after. Farewell David, you never knew the many thousands of people you touched. But we’ll remember you.