The Castle (1997) on Netflix
Darryl Kerrigan and his family live beside an airport runway outside Melbourne. When a letter confirms the compulsory acquisition for airport expansion, Darryl hires lawyer Dennis Denuto.
- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb7.7/1019,114 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes87%
Trailer
Plot summary
Darryl Kerrigan lives with his family in Coolaroo, on the edge of Melbourne, in a house the Kerrigans built themselves on a former landfill a short distance from an airport runway. Darryl drives a tow truck, races greyhounds and keeps adding half-finished rooms, and the whole family takes pride in the place. When a valuer comes to assess the house, Darryl shows off its features, expecting the visit to raise its value. A letter then informs him that the government intends to acquire the property so the airport can expand. Neighbors Jack, Evonne, Farouk and Tabula receive the same notices. Darryl refuses to move, so airport agents try bribes and threats, and he hires Dennis Denuto, a lawyer he knows, to argue his case.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Castle (1997)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The name Kerrigan was chosen for the family so that tow trucks could be borrowed from an existing Melbourne tow truck company with that name; the company still operates today.
- In January 2011 the Bonnie Doon property that appeared as the Kerrigan family holiday house was listed for sale, and its real estate agent reported that many callers, on hearing the asking price, replied with the film's line "Tell him he's dreamin'."
- For the US version several lines of dialogue were changed: "rissole" became "meatloaf", "two-stroke" became "diesel", references to Hey Hey It's Saturday became Funniest Home Videos, and Australian cars like the Camira became ones sold in both countries, like the Corolla.
- Made on a budget of A$750,000, The Castle grossed A$10,326,439 at the box office in Australia, more than 13 times what it cost to make.
- A stage adaptation written by Sitch, Gleisner, Cilauro and Kennedy, due to premiere at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne on 23 March 2027, set a new box office record around 24 hours after it was announced, with the highest first-day ticket sales for a play in the theater's history.
- Paramount Pictures bought UK and South African rights but refused the North American rights, setting off a bidding war between Gramercy Pictures, Miramax Films and LIVE Entertainment that Miramax won for a rumored $6 million.
- The Castle was Eric Bana's film debut, in a cast that included Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Anthony Simcoe, Sophie Lee and Wayne Hope as the Kerrigan family.
