Firstly, my DVD version is the final disc (of 12) in the Australian Cinema Collection and is in good, clear 'tall' widescreen. Therefore I do not need to cover ground about the quality issues surrounding the transfer that other Amazon reviewers have, apart from that it's fine.Irish Daniel Morgan (a suitably way-out casting choice and performance from American acting legend Dennis Hopper) goes a bit awry and is subsequently incarcerated into a penal regime that demands 12 years hard labour from him. Here, he is raped, tortured and generally abused by officers and inmates who find pleasure in such things.Calling himself 'Smith', he is freed on parole after serving half his sentence, but Morgan is emotionally damaged and wild with anger and revenge. The film, directed by Philippe Mora, is certificate "M", for 'Mature', as it's an Australian release, is probably between a 15 and 18, over here in the U.K. Thus, it shows the natural side to bush life, as Morgan starts out a free man as a horse thief. Therefore, if such things as aboriginal methods of pulling off a snake's head to extract a 'medicine' are going to spoil your viewing pleasure, then do, look elsewhere, such as the first disc in the boxed -set, the cert U 'Picnic at Hanging Rock'.When Morgan is left for dead after a skirmish with those he was trying to steal from, the aboriginal youth mentioned above nurses him back to health and teaches him methods of survival. This is at times illuminating but also clumsy - such as Hopper's bushy, shiny false beards that can be spotted a mile off and gun wounds to a head that's obviously made of something very synthetic.These anomalies aside, this is a pretty good yarn, with Hopper well able to carry the central character. The locational scenery is often splendid and the supporting cast well able, too. Excesses in violence do occasionally mar, as they do look gratuitous, but not, say in the almost stately manner that Sam Peckinpah managed and seem almost jokey.All in all, this is a pretty good film and actually one of the best in my boxed set, which was slightly surprising.

well i went to a store and they had dvds for for really cheap, and i saw this, and dennis hopper on the front, and i bought it, and I'm pretty glad i did, it was really good for a 70's cheap budget western. Dennis Hopper like always, was good, it was kinda uncomfortable to watch, because of how old it was and how they shot, and the picture was in bad shape, but the acting was good, from most of the actors, the dialogue was good, and overall it was really good, which is surprising for a 70's low budget movie, but if it didn't have dennis hopper in it, i probably wouldn't like it as much, so if any of u see at like a rental place or store, buy it!

The movie was like watching a "B" western.Very violent.Dennis Hopper was perfect for the part.He made it believable. I actually felt sorry for "Mad Dog". Was "Mad Dog" a crazy man or an illiterate man who was unlucky?? I saw the horrors of prison and how men in the 1800"s were treated. I wonder if prison changed him from a thief to a murdering thief. The Australian people were friendly to him but the Australian Army was hateful to him.Dennis Hopper rambled on and on when "mad Dog" as talking to people. This made the character believable. I could actually picture the real "Mad Dog" doing this. Unfortunately I'll never know what the real "Mad Dog Morgan" was like. I can only see this movie and read stories about him and his legend.

I've been searching for this movie for years, and now thanks to a recent DVD release here in Australia I've finally been able to see it. And best of all, it's a bloody good movie! 'Mad Dog Morgan' was made in Dennis Hooper's "wilderness" years where his reputation and behaviour meant that mainstream Hollywood was too nervous to employ him. During this period he made some of his most interesting movies, often overseas, with some of his bravest and most honest performances. Movies like 'Tracks', 'Bloodbath', 'The American Friend' and this one. Sadly little seen and rarely talked about. Hopper plays Irish immigrant turned bushranger (that's outlaw to non-Australians) Daniel Morgan, hero to the more famous folk hero Ned Kelly. Hopper, by the look of him in the 25 minute documentary included on the DVD, could out drink and drug Robert Downey Jr and Christian Slater combined and STILL give a remarkable performance. Hopper is helped by a supporting cast of the (then) cream of Aussie acting, most of whom are probably not all that known to overseas audiences apart from Jack Thompson, and maybe David Gulpilil ('Walkabout', 'The Tracker'), Bill Hunter ('Newsfront', 'Muriel's Wedding') and the legendary Frank Thring ('Ben-Hur', 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'). Director, Australian ex-pat Philippe Mora, went on to an eclectic and eccentric career which included cult favourites 'The Beast Within' and 'Communion'. 'Mad Dog Morgan' is one of the most underrated and overlooked movies ever made in Australia and deserves to be rediscovered.