In celebration of the iconic Australian film’s 20th anniversary, it was announced that Chopper starring Eric Bana was making a limited return to cinemas with never-before-seen bonus footage. Digitally remastered to ensure the best possible viewing experience, the flick that put both the Aussie film industry and Bana himself on the map was set to return back in July. Of course, lockdown threw a spanner in the works. But in one of the greatest consolation prize offerings in the history of consolation prizes: that same digitally remastered edition of Chopper starring Eric Bana is now available to stream via Amazon Prime and YouTube for the very first time in Australia.
Prior to the biographical film depicting the almost-mythological life and times of famed outlaw Mark Brandon “Chopper” Read, the majority of Aussie households simply knew Eric Bana as a comedian who had most notable appeared on the sketch comedy series Full Frontal; later making an appearance in yet another one of the country’s most iconic flicks, The Castle.
After gaining 13 kilos and growing a moustache to take the lead in Andrew Dominik’s production, however, he’d no longer go by unnoticed. In the year post-Chopper, Bana would be cast in Ridley Scott’s seminal Black Hawk Down, gaining even wider attention from Hollywood, Ang Lee’s Hulk a few years after that, before shooting Wolfgang Petersen’s historic epic Troy opposite Brad Pitt and Steven Spielberg’s gritty drama Munich back-to-back.
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“I’m proud of how unique Chopper is,” Eric Bana explains to News Corp.
“It’s easy to forget just how controversial the idea of the film was, there were a lot of people really angry we were even making the film in the first place. It was a real risk, we didn’t really know what it would do.”
“We didn’t win Best Film that year, it had plenty of detractors, but it’s far more important for a film to have longevity than to have a massive opening.”
“Any time you can be part of a character that lives on for more than five minutes is a privileged opportunity. I’ve never not been grateful for it.”
As previously mentioned, much to the annoyance of countless fans, Chopper has never been available to stream throughout the entirety of its existence up until this point. And the latest development could very well be an opportunity for Uncle Chop Chop to reach a new generation who never encountered Bana in all his glory through VHS cassette or DVD.
“Chopper has been in the wrecking yard for a little while, waiting to be dusted off,” adds Eric Bana.
“As a film buff, for the preservation of all Australian films, it’s great when the best technical version of them can be resurrected and established.”
The digitally remastered 20th-anniversary edition of Chopper can now be streamed via Amazon Prime and YouTube. The only catch? You’ll have to shell out a few bucks for rental or purchase – although it’s money well spent in our books.
How to watch Chopper starring Eric Bana in Australia
Amazon Prime Video
- Sign up or log into your Amazon Prime Video account.
- Arrive at the movie’s page here.
- Pay $4.99 to rent or $9.99 to own Chopper starring Eric Bana.
- Stream away.
YouTube
- Sign up or log into your Youtube account.
- Arrive at the movie’s page here.
- Pay $3.99 (SD) / $4.99 (HD) to rent or $9.99 (SD) / $17.99 (HD) to own Chopper starring Eric Bana.
- Stream away.
Side note: apparently the Chopper screenings originally planned earlier this year are now going ahead – suss your local theatre today.
