Watch the Shadows Dance

3.4
1988 1 hr 27 min Action , TV Movie

Robbie and his girlfriend, Amy, are among a group of students who play their private night games in the romantic thriller that catapulted Kidman to center stage. On screen throughout, Kidman discovers what will happen when a friendly game becomes real life ... and real life becomes a deadly game.

  • Cast:
    Nicole Kidman , Joanne Samuel , Craig Pearce , Paul Gleeson , Mark Hennessy , Christopher Truswell , James Lugton

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Reviews

Cubussoli
1988/01/01

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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CommentsXp
1988/01/02

Best movie ever!

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SpunkySelfTwitter
1988/01/03

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

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Dynamixor
1988/01/04

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

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Killa42
1988/01/05

Do you like 80s action-drama films with weird plots that kind drag, but are interesting nonetheless? Than this is for you! Do not be mislead by the fact that it's one of Nicole Kidman's first films and by that get the impression that this is something else. This movie is more like American Ninja than a drama. Only, this is Australian Ninja. I really enjoyed the movie because it had an original plot and a good moral in the end. I was moreover pleased with the conclusion and how the writer tied all things together in the end, leaving zero holes and answers all questions brought about. The other reviewers seem to be displeased because they were expecting something else. But if you go in knowing that you're about to view an 80s action-drama, you might just enjoy this.

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loz4cs
1988/01/06

I wasn't sure at first whether or not it was a convincing plot - however the acting is very good. Kidman is freshfaced and delivers her role very well, despite there not really being a complexed plot to work with.Tom Jennings is very convincing too, not seen him in any-thing else at all actually which is a shame. If any-one has any more info on him would be grateful. The film is set within a school where kidman and jennings are both members of what seems to be a martial arts club. They're both trained by their master who much to their dismay a drug dependent loony who in anger kills one of their fellow pupils. Yes extreme but subtly done - as it is quite randomly fragmented. (ie His dream sequence) However for a unique Australian gemstone of a film you have to watch it - the dubbing of the martial arts sequences are pitiful but to see kidman and jennings running about in ninja suits is truly priceless

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BigHardcoreRed
1988/01/07

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you seem to know everybody around and all the places you were at, but somehow it didn't match up? For instance, you're at the Raiders game with your grandmother and a drug dealer and you're singing Christmas carols. Doesn't quite go together very well.That is what this movie is like. I couldn't tell if the characters were at their school, martial arts gymnastics dojo or some big boiler room or if they were all the same place. At one point I got the distinct feeling that I was in the Cobra Kai dojo from the Karate Kid.The lack of any plot, it seems, makes this movie totally uninteresting in even the slightest manner.I do realize that this review doesn't make much sense, but that is because this movie makes no sense either. It's just hard to explain.I did, however, watch a young Nicole Kidman pretty closely. She looked so different and yet, still just as recognizable. She definitely has "It", even at such a young age. She is the only thing that kept this movie from being unwatchable.Even despite Kidman, I give this movie 3 stars out of 10. Not recommended at all.

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a.v. boy
1988/01/08

Really a shame, poor direction ruined what could have been a far better film. Solid, believable performances from a very young Nicole Kidman and a fine martial-arts actor, Tom Jennings, just aren't enough to save this. The screenplay didn't quite realize the basic concept of a bunch of older kids staying up all night to play Ninja war games in an abandoned power plant, much to the neglect of their school work. It was, to say the least, a bit muddled. There were some good futuristic elements thrown in, but not convincingly enough to play true. As to what year of school these "kids" were in, it's hard to guess. They're clearly too mature for an American high school, but then again, it's an Australian movie, set in the future.With better editing, this movie could have been a bit more watchable, but I suspect there just wasn't enough footage shot that the editor had much choice. Some sequences were reused in pointless mini-flashbacks that really didn't belong in the film. This makes me wonder if it wasn't being padded to play on television. And the director just didn't seem to be able to tell a story. He did frame the occasional dramatic picture, but not often enough to achieve the artsy effect I think he was going for. Besides, without being able to accomplish the basics, you should be careful with the frills.However, it's a treat to see the young Kidman. Despite the bad direction, muddled script, all the martial arts sequences executed in the dark, and her thick Australian accent, you can see what everyone saw in her, even then. Tom Jennings wasn't bad either, seemed to show a lot of potential, but I wonder what happened to him. According to IMDB, he made one more movie in '88 and then dropped out of sight.I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way to see this one, but it lapsed into the public domain and is available very cheaply from a number of sources. I can only think of two reasons to see this: 1) You're a die-hard Kidman fan who would watch ANYTHING if she was in it, or 2) You're lazy and dishonest and looking for an obscure script to recycle for a student film project.

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