BMX Bandits

They're burning up the streets!
BMX Bandits (1983)
Timing: 1:32 (92 min)
5.5/10
7 241
—
no scores
5.6/10
164
5.5/10
6600
Rate the movie:
Release date
Country
Production
Budget
$1 050 000
Revenue
$2 536 531
Website
Actors
Angelo D'Angelo, James Lugton, Nicole Kidman, David Argue, John Ley, Bryan Marshall, Brian Sloman, Peter Browne, Bill Brady, Linda Newton
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Patrick Edgeworth
Producer
Tom Broadbridge, Paul F. Davies
Operator
Composer
Frank Strangio
Artist
Ross Major
Audition
Susie Maizels
Editing
Alan Lake
All team (42)

Short description

Three Sydney teenagers who live for BMX riding stumble onto a box of walkie-talkies and take them. The devices were meant for a gang of criminals, who plan to use them to listen in on police communications during a bank robbery. Once the trio works out who the radios belong to, they find themselves pursued both by the crooks and by the authorities, and their skill on their bikes becomes the thing that might get them out of trouble. The film is set in Sydney, Australia, at a time before mobile phones were common.

Brian Trenchard-Smith directed, working from a screenplay by Patrick Edgeworth, with Tom Broadbridge and Paul F. Davies producing. It followed his 1982 film Turkey Shoot in his directing career and came several years before the run of titles he made from the mid-1990s onward. Angelo D'Angelo plays PJ, James Lugton plays Goose, and Nicole Kidman plays Judy; David Argue, John Ley and Bryan Marshall appear among the criminals. Twenty-two cast members and forty-two crew members are credited.

Made for about 1 million US dollars, the film took roughly 3 million US dollars worldwide, a return that outweighed its modest production cost. On IMDb it holds 5.5 out of 10 from around 6,600 votes, and on TMDB 5.6 out of 10 from roughly 164 votes, indicating limited but steady viewer interest. A critics' rating of 6.3 out of 10 from nine reviews places professional assessment slightly above the audience scores.

What's left behind the scenes

  • For the filming of this movie, Nicole Kidman learned to ride a BMX trick bicycle. She was chosen from over 200 applicants for the role of Judy.
  • All the stunts in the film were performed by the three best BMX riders. Young actors did not perform any complex bicycle stunts due to their difficulty and the risk of injury.
  • The film was shot in 41 days. This is longer than usual, but this duration is explained by the strict limitations imposed on filming minors.
  • Initially, the film was supposed to take place in Melbourne, but director Brian Trenchard-Smith ordered it to be moved to Sydney, where it was easier to film action scenes.
  • Nicole Kidman's stunt double was an eighteen-year-old young man who filmed in a wig; the reason was that the filmmakers failed to find a female stunt double with a similar build and height who could also ride BMX trick bikes.

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