"I'd read a lot about Ned as a kid. I was excited at the thought of giving life to the legend", says Heath Ledger. "For a while Gregor and I had been looking for a project to do together and there had been a number of ideas floating about. When Gregor called and said he would not do this without me, I thought, Let's go for it." In the lead up to filming Ledger was given a photograph, "Of the real Ned two days before he was hanged, and I looked into that portrait and it's all in his eyes, he is very dignified, very proud, and that was enogh." HEATH LEDGER [Ned Kelly]

At A Glance As most Australians know very little about Ned Kelly, other than the fact that he was a notorious bushranger, a murderer and ended up at the end of a hangmans rope, the romanticizing and internationalization of a national hero will probably go mainly un-noticed. The theme for "Ned Kelly" the movie is "You can kill the man. But not the legend." In fact the film does just that. If Ned Kelly had managed to escape the gallows, reformed himself and gone on to become Prime Minister of Australia then he would have indeed escaped death. Unfortunately poor old Ned doesn't do any of the afore-mentioned in "Ned Kelly". So what of the legend of "Ned Kelly" the fiercesome young man of Irish stock who took on the state of Victoria and despite some pretty innovative armour still managed to end up at the end of the hangmans rope. What will "Ned Kelly" the movie do for the status of this young man who was persecuted from an early age by corrupt coppers and forced into a life of crime? On the international stage it will only serve to enhance his feeble reputation for after all, the best way to build a legend is to ensure that those you tell the story to haven't a clue about what you are telling them and to make sure that plenty of good old aussie bullshit is used to dress up the story because those who are listening to you [or reading your bullshit] wouldn't have a clue anyway. I know what you're thinking and I can here your cries. "Blasphemy, string the bastard up [yeh go on, I dare you, after all I'm already a legend], traitor, get a life you moron" and "lets get him" don't scare me a bit. Hey, they didn't scare Ned Kelly either [but look where it got him]. Of course any film about a bunch of non-descript aussie will sell well if you add a heap of scenes which contain furry animals like koala's, kangaroos, the odd cockatoo and a few gum trees. But in case that fails there's always the old standby, illicit sex. Yes folks, poor old Ned Kelly has been given a bit of crumpet to spice up his life story. Not just any old bit of crumpet but, wait for it, a piece of married crumpet. No, not the local inn-keepers big fat ugly wife, but a gorgeous, scrumptious, slim, blonde wife of a gentleman. Bloody hell, next to being caught stuffing a jumbuck [in its tuckerbag] on the banks of the local billabong, stuffing a gentlemans wife was a sure fired way to end up on the gallows way back in the late 1800's. But it seems no-one believed that the true story of Ned Kelly was good enough to stand on its own [which is a damn shame], something that would have the first of the aussie battlers turning in his grave. And I agree! Why make a true story about a bunch of four young men from Australia whose only claim to fame was that they went around sticking up banks and stage coaches with a bucket on their heads and half a plough blade on their chests. Not the stuff the yanks would find entertaining. That is unless you cast Steve "The Crocodile Hunter" Irwin as Ned Kelly. Now that may just work. But to be totally honest I can see their point and to tell you the truth, even though there are a few little sticking points for us "true blue aussies", they've done a pretty good job on good old Ned Kelly. The Story Young Ned Kelly [Heath Ledger] is about to learn a hard lesson in life when he finds a saddled horse roaming free and decides to return it to its rightful owner. The local copper sees Ned as an easy target and arrests him. Charged with stealing Ned is imprisoned. Four years pass before Ned Kelly is once again a free man. Even though he works hard and earns his money through legitimate means it seems trouble is never far away. When Ned's sister rejects the advances of Constable Fitzpatrick the wheels of justice once again turn in the wrong direction for Ned. Now his mother is in jail and he is falsely accused of attempted murder. Ned is now forced to retaliate. With his brother Dan, Steve Hart and Joe Byrne, Ned and the Kelly Gang hit the establishment hard by robbing banks and taunting the Premier of the day the Hon Mr Berry. The government responds by sending Superintendent Hare [Geoffrey Rush] and an army of police troopers to capture the bushranger and bring him to justice. It leads to a showdown at the Glenrowan Inn. The Verdict "It's a colorful tale about one of Australias greatest legends, "Ned Kelly". A mixture of fact, fiction and poetic license, "Ned Kelly" the movie should serve to further immortalize the exploits of the notoriuos Kelly Gang. This is a pretty good attempt to capture the spirit of this 'hero' from the past. Heath Ledgers performance as "Ned Kelly" is both believable and credible. Plenty to keep you interested here." The Cast & Crew

Heath Ledger Orlando Bloom Geoffrey Rush Naomi Watts Laurence Kinlan Phil Barantini Joel Edgerton Kiri Paramore Kerry Condon Emily Browning Jonathan Hardy Peter Phelps Peter O'Shea Nick Bourke Karen Davitt Declan Simpson Andrew S. Gilbert Rachel Griffiths Brooke Harman Charles 'Bud' Tingwell

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Ned Kelly Joe Byrne Superintendent Hare Julia Cook Dan Kelly Steve Hart Aaron Sherrit Const Alexander Fitzpatrick Kate Kelly Grace Kelly The Great Orlando Const Thomas Lonigan Mr Reardon Martin Cherry Anne Jones Johnny Jones Stanistreet Mrs Scott Maggie Premier Berry

Directed by Gregor Jordan Written by Robert Drewe & John M McDonagh Original Music by Klaus Badelt & Ramin Djawadi Cinematography by Oliver Stapleton Film Editing by Jon Gregory & Ian Seymour Casting by Jina Jay & Christine King Production Design by Steven Jones-Evans Art Direction by Ian Gracie Set Decoration by Jill Eden Costume Design by Anna Borghesi Art Department Richie Dehne Sound Department Gary Wilkins Visual Effects by Stefan Drury Rated M [AUST] Run Time 104 minutes Copyright ©2003 - Universal Studios - All Rights Reserved Copyright©2003 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved