Attack Force Z

This article concerns the 1982 fictional movie. For information about the actual Commando unit, see Z Special Unit.

Attack Force Z
Region 4 DVD cover for Attack Force Z
Directed by	Tim Burstall
Produced by	John McCallum George F.H. Chang Lee Robinson
Written by	Roger Marshall
Starring	Mel Gibson Sam Neill John Phillip Law John Waters
Cinematography	Hung-Chung Lin
Editing by	David Stiven
Distributed by	Jef Films
Release date(s)	June, 1982
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Australia
Language	English

Attack Force Z is a 1982 Australian World War II film, directed by Tim Burstall. It is based on an actual event that took place during World War II, and was shot in Taiwan in 1980. It was screened at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 1981.

The film is noted for starring Mel Gibson and Sam Neill, who were relatively unknown (in the U.S) at the time but who went on to become international stars.

Plot

Captain P.G. Kelly (Gibson) leads an elite squad from the Z Special Unit. Z Special Unit often known as Z Force, was a joint Australian, British and New Zealand commando unit, which saw action against the Empire of Japan during World War II. They are dispatched to rescue survivors of a shot-down plane on an island in the South Pacific which is occupied by the Japanese. One of the survivors is a defecting Japanese government official, and he is believed to hold a secret that could end the war. He must be rescued at any cost.

Main cast

• Mel Gibson — Captain P.G. Kelly
• Sam Neill — Sergeant D.J. Costello
• John Phillip Law — Lieutenant J.A. Veitch
• Chris Haywood — Able Seaman A.D. Bird
• Ned Chun — Rice farmer
• John Waters — Ted King
• Sylvia Chang

Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (January 2008)

• The original director, Phillip Noyce, was replaced by Tim Burstall shortly before production began due to creative differences.
• The movie is also known as The Z Men.

See also

• 1982 in film

References

External links

• Attack Force Z at the Internet Movie Database
• Attack Force Z at Rotten Tomatoes
• Attack Force Z at the National Film and Sound Archive

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