Home > Movies > Documentary > Autopsy on a Dream (2013)

Autopsy on a Dream (2013)

Name: Autopsy on a Dream
Director: John Weiley
Genre: Documentary, History
Released: 2013-10-20
Duration: 1 h 30 min
Rating: 7.5
Cast: Bob Ellis, John Weiley, Jan Utzon, Lin Utzon, Jorn Utzon

IMDb 7.51h 30mDocumentary History

Find Where to Stream

Plot Summary

In 1968, John Weiley shot 'Autopsy on a Dream' - a film about the Sydney Opera House detailing its construction process and the politics of Jorn Utzon's dismissal. Weiley's film was controversial; it was screened once and then he was told it had been destroyed. Forty five years later a copy was discovered in the BBC vaults by an ABC producer looking for archive footage of the Opera House. Weiley was contacted and told about a film that had no sound track. Weiley was overjoyed; for years he had kept the original sound. So began the painstaking process of restoring this record of a unique moment in Australian culture to its former glory, complete with updated voice-over from the original narrator, Bob Ellis. It is set in context by a 30 minute prologue entitled 'The Dream of Perfection'. Made by the same filmmaker, John Weiley, forty-five years on, 'Dream of Perfection' tells the story of the 1968 film - from commission to destruction, to surprise resurrection.