The Year of Living Dangerously - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Year of Living Dangerously or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Year of Living Dangerously

[kristen]

This film was released seventeen years after the events depicted in the film took place.

[bernard]

Prior to this film being made, Phillip Noyce was also interested in directing an adaptation of the novel.

[gerald]

The source novel won the National Book Council Award for Australian Literature, as well as newspaper The Age's Book of the Year Award, including being the winner of the 1978 Imaginative Writing Prize, and the 1978 Book of the Year, joint winner.

[norma]

First filmed adaptation of a novel by C.J. Koch. The second and final to date was the unsuccessful Boys in the Island (1990).

[jeffrey]

First major role in a motion picture for Linda Hunt.

[charlie]

The only time Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver have worked together on-screen.

[miriam]

Linda Hunt was the first person to win an Oscar for portraying an Australian character.

[brent]

Mark Egerton: The film's Australian shoot production supervisor and first assistant director as an embassy aide.

[kylie]

Director Peter Weir cast Linda Hunt in the role of Billy Kwan after failing to find an actor who could play the part in the way he wanted.

[norma]

Linda Hunt replaced David Atkins in the role of Billy Kwan.

[liam]

According to the January-February 1983 edition of American movie magazine "Coming Attractions", during filming, "At one point, during a reenactment of the 1965 storming of the American embassy, the action became so real that pistol shots were fired over the crowd to restore order, when more than a thousand extras got carried away hurling stones at the building. This incident, along with a bomb threat from militant Muslims, precipitated the crew's return to Australia ahead of schedule."

[albert]

This film was banned in Indonesia until 1999. The movie was banned there by former Indonesian dictator Suharto for its graphic depiction of his tumultuous and bloody rise to power in the 1960s. The picture was finally first screened in Indonesia on November 6, 2000, two years after Suharto had been forced from office, after thirty-two years of autocratic rule.

[linda]

Linda Hunt's Oscar winning performance in this film is her only Academy Award nomination.

[bernard]

This film was part of a cycle of pictures made during the 1980s that featured journalists covering war. The movies include Salvador (1986), Under Fire (1983), Circle of Deceit (1981), Witness in the War Zone (1987), Cry Freedom (1987), The Killing Fields (1984), and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982).

[sandra]

The car that was used throughout the film is a 1964 Chevrolet Impala sedan. What is rather unique about this Impala sedan is that this sedan sports a very subdued exterior trim and very basic/plain interior for an Impala. This is a common pratice for a foriegn built Chevrolet at that time. The overseas built Impalas were basically plain as American built Chevrolet Biscaynes for fleet purposes. Overseas built Chevrolets were usually powered by a 235 inline six cylinder with a 3 speed manual or a 283 2bbl V8 with a Powerglide automatic.

[ella]

Filming in Manila was halted after three weeks due to death threats to the production. Reportedly, these were directed at Mel Gibson and Peter Weir. The threats alleged that the film being made was intended to be anti-Islam. For the protection and safety of the cast and crew, the whole production moved to Sydney to complete principal photography. The move was costly, and put a huge strain on the picture's art department.

[dustin]

Playing an Asian dwarf in this movie, Linda Hunt's height at the time of this film was reported in Time Magazine as being four foot nine inches.

[duane]

Linda Hunt's Best Supporting Actress Oscar win was this film's only Oscar nomination.