Howzat! Kerry Packer's War (2012)

Howzat! Kerry Packer’s War (a miniseries in 2 parts) is a historical and biographical drama (based on a true story) about the Australian media mogul Kerry Packer and his conflict with the world of cricket (1976-1979). It was shown on Australian television (Channel 9) and released on DVD in 2012. Here are some basic facts about it:

** Directed by Daina Reid
** Screenplay written by Christopher Lee
** Produced by Mimi Butler & John Edwards
** Partially based on The Cricket War by Gideon Haigh (1993, 2007)
** Musical score composed by Stephen Rae
** Run time: 84 + 80 minutes = 164 minutes

The cast (which can be divided into two groups) includes the following:

GROUP A – Kerry Packer and the people around him:

** Lachy Holme as Kerry Packer (1937-2005)

** Abe Forsythe as John “Strop” Cornell – businessman

** Cariba Heine as Delvene Delaney – John’s wife

** Peter Houghton as Ritchie Binaud (1930-2015) – sports commentator

** Nicholas Coghlan as Austin Robertson – businessman

** Mandy McElhinney as Rose Mitchell – Kerry’s secretary (a fictional character)

** Doug Walters as Gavin Warner – Kerry’s financial manager (a fictional character)

GROUP B - the players

** Matthew Le Nevez as Dennis Lillee

** Clayton Watson as Ian Chappell

** Damon Gameau as Greg Chappel

** Hamish Michael as Doug Walters

** Ryan O’Kean as Jeff Thomson

** Brendan Cowell as Rodney Marsh

** Alex England as Tony Greig (1946-2012)

** Andrew Carbone as Max Walker (1948-2016)

** Richard Davies as David Hookes (1955-2004)

Since this movie is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore I feel free to mention some of them here in this review.

While this movie is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Not everything happened exactly as shown here. Some facts were changed, and two fictional characters were added for dramatic reasons. But the basic story-line is true.

As stated above, this is a movie about cricket. But before you stop reading, because you don’t care much for cricket, let me tell you that it is much more than that. It is a movie about sport and its role in society.

You do not have to love cricket – you do not even have to understand it – in order to enjoy and appreciate this movie. While it is about cricket, the game is placed in a political, economic, and cultural context. And this is why it is worth watching, even if you don’t care much for cricket (which I don’t).

The time frame is 1976-1979. The story begins in 1976 when two events happen and two persons come together. The world of cricket would never be the same after that.

PERSON # 1

Kerry Packer had inherited a media empire from his father who died in 1975. The empire included a television channel known as the Nine Network or Channel 9. Kerry loved cricket and he wanted to show the game on his television channel. There was only one problem: the Australian Cricket Board (ACB) had always sold the right to broadcast the games to ABC. The price was a secret, but Kerry knew they paid ca. 200,000 dollars per year.

In a meeting with the top leaders of ACB, Kerry offered them 1.5 million dollars for exclusive television rights over three years. Much more than they were getting from ABC. But they turned him down. Kerry was used to getting his way. But this time, it seemed, his money was not good enough. He was furious!

PERSON # 2

John “Strop” Cornell – a businessman and a film producer – was friends with several cricket players. During a conversation with them he discovered that the ACB was making a lot of money on the games, but the players (who did the hard work) were paid next to nothing. This was not fair. He was furious!

In 1976 John pays Kerry a visit and they talk about the situation. Both of them love the game. Both of them feel there is something seriously wrong with the way in which the ACB is doing its business. What can they do about it? Together they hatch a plan to challenge the monopoly which ACB has on the game of cricket.

THE PLAN
Secretly, they contact some of the best players in the world and ask them to sign up for a parallel organisation, the World Series Cricket (WSC). Once the WSC is ready to go public, it will challenge the old boys’ network, the ACB, and in this way force them to change their tune.

In 1977, when the story is suddenly leaked to the press, it causes an uproar. The players who had signed up with the WSC are declared unfit, i.e. they are banned from any game organised by the ACB and its partners around the world. This means war. And the war will go on until 1979. Hence the subtitle of the drama: Kerry Packer’s War. 

This is how the story begins and this is where my presentation ends. If you want to know what happened during the war and how it ended, you will have to watch the movie all the way to the end.

Obviously, you may also just google a few keywords, such as Kerry Packer and the World Series Cricket, but watching the drama is much more interesting. Trust me!

What do reviewers say about it? On IMDb it has a rating of 78 per cent, which corresponds to (almost) four stars on Amazon. If you ask me, this average rating is too low.

On Amazon UK there are 13 reviews of this product. The average rating is 4.5 stars. If you ask me, this average rating is more appropriate. Why?

The script is well-written and the actors play their roles well. The story is captivating, dramatic and emotional. In addition, it is based on a true story. I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars.

PS # 1. What about the title: Howzat! What does it mean? It is a technical term from the game. A player may ask the umpire if the ball is in or out. The player will ask: “How is that?” But when he says it very fast, it sounds like “Howzat!” Hence the title of the movie.

PS # 2. In this drama, Kerry is often a horrible boss who yells at the people who work for him. People who knew him say that the real Kerry could be rude to people when he thought they deserved it. But they also say that he would never humiliate his own people. Once he had hired them to work for him he stood by them and supported them.

In this drama, two fictional characters were created so that Kerry could shout at them whenever something was going wrong: the secretary Rose and the financial manager Gavin. These characters were created for dramatic reasons. This is a case of artistic or poetic license and I will not complain about it.

While Kerry is often a horrible boss, who yells at people who cannot fulfil his wishes fast enough, we cannot help liking him. And we really hope he will win the war against the old boys’ network. Somehow, in spite of his frequent yelling, he is on the side of justice.

PS # 3. When part one begins, we hear a song by the Australian band the Angels: Am I ever gonna see your face again? This song is well-chosen, because it was released on a single in 1976. It was also included on the band’s first album that was released in 1977.

PS # 4. The drama was nominated for no less than twelve awards. It won four of them. If you ask me, these awards are well-deserved.

PS # 5. John “Strop” Cornell co-wrote and co-produced the 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee, which became an international hit. He also produced and directed the 1988 sequel Crocodile Dundee II. He was not involved in the 2001 sequel Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, which failed to match the success of its predecessors.

PS # 6. For more information about the Packer family, the Murdoch family, and their media empires, see the following items (in each case a miniseries in 2 parts):

** Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo (2011)

** Paper Giants: Magazine Wars (2013)

** Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story (2013)

*****