Movie Number 32 of 2023
The Movie: Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story
The Cinema: Village Cinemas, the Rivoli, Camberwell.
Stars: 5
If you love Australian Music as much as I do, this documentary is an absolute must see.
Michael Gudinski - the man, the legend, who died suddenly in 2021. This film is a tribute, a love song to this enigmatic bloke from Caulfield, Melbourne, who nearly single-handedly took Australian music to the world.
As somebody who cut her teeth on Australian music from a young age, watching Countdown religiously, being a Skyhooks groupie as a young child, this film encapsulated my childhood and beyond. Skyhooks was one of Gudinski's first finds.
Through a series of interviews with Australian music royalty - artists including Kylie Minogue, Ed Sheeran, Jimmy Barnes, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Taylor Swift... the list goes on and on, you get to see what went on behind the enigma, from his early days as a music promoter to him creating Mushroom records, to the making of the Frontier touring company, you get a view of who Michael Gudinski actually was in life. A Jewish boy from Caulfield, the son of Lithuanian refugees. A ratbag music promoter in the sixties and seventies. A man with an incredible energy and an amazing feel for what will make a hit, even if he did turn down Men at Work in the eighties.
Michael Gudinski was universally loved and respected throughout the industry and this film is a testament to the feelings most had for this amazing man.
Behind the scenes, Gudinski was a loving husband and father, and you get to see what the man was like off duty.
It was wonderful to see the clips of many Australian musicians when they were starting out. What Gudinski achieved in his 67 years was nothing short of amazing.
I loved every minute of this 110-minute runtime. I laughed. I cried. And I remembered just how lucky we are to have had a man like Michael Gudinski championing our musicians and helping them gain a global presence.
For those who love Australian music, search this one out - sit back, and reminisce over some wonderful musical memories.
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