Sunday Movie: Utu

Never before have some of the darkest days in New Zealand ’s history been so dramatically documented as in UTU, the feature film screening on Māori Television on Sunday October 24 at 9.30 PM . And, never before has a New Zealand feature film so eloquently portrayed its grizzly subject in a single word.

UTU is the classic Utu Productions feature film that captures the turbulent period in New Zealand ’s history circa 1870, where vast casualties were suffered by both native Māori and British colonialists following the New Zealand Wars.

Leading a group of colonial troops through his country as a scout, Te Wheke (Anzac Wallace) is devastated to discover a burning village whose inhabitants have been massacred in military blunder by the British troops. Furthermore, the victims are his own people.

Without further delay, the film then lurches into recurrent and horrific battles as Te Wheke is consumed by utu (revenge) and seeks retribution. Ultimately, his war path leads him to the door of British colonialist Jonathan Williamson (Bruno Lawrence) where a final confrontation seals both men’s fates.

Released in 1983, this powerful epic was director Geoff Murphy’s third feature film, following successes with Wild Man and Goodbye Pork Pie.

UTU also catapulted main protagonist Anzac Wallace into the public eye for his performance as Te Wheke, and he went on to land roles in further feature films including The Silent One, The Quiet Earth, Mauri and Rapa Nui.

Revisit the past to place the present into perspective with UTU, screening on Māori Television on Sunday October 24 at 9.30 PM .

PROGRAMMES COMING UP

KAI TIME ON THE ROAD – Ohiwa Oyster Farm – Monday October 11 at 6.30 PM

Hosts Pete Peeti and Te Hamua Nikora head to the Ohiwa Harbour – just out of Whakatane – to pick plump, fat Pacific Oysters. Indulge in the famous delicacy alongside special guest Te Hau Tūtua.

IN WHOSE HONOR? – Tuesday October 19 at 9.00 PM

Native American Indian nicknames have been used in US sports for years and team brands have been firmly rooted in collective consciousness. So what is the problem?
A mother leads a national Native American movement protesting the use of Native American icons and language in sporting slogans in this award-winning documentary.

LAND OF THE KIWI – Wednesday October 20 at 9.30 PM

Tune into this New Zealand documentary looking at the adaptation of New Zealand’s most loved native animals and the volcanic nature of Godzone.

TE OHĀKĪ Ā NIHE – Thursday October 21 at 7.00 PM

Screening this week on Māori Television, a televised play by Selwyn Muru exploring the relationship of a whānau with their koroua – an old kaumatua whose values are two generations away from his mokopuna. (Māori language with English language sub-titles).

COAST – Friday October 22 at 9.30 PM

Nau mai, haere mai to Māori Television’s Newmarket studios at 9-15 Davis Crescent, Newmarket for our live music programme COAST. This week, features sell out Hip Hop sensation P Money, lucid three-piece Goodnight Nurse, up-and-comers Wordperfect and new talent Renee Louise Carafice.

FIRST SCIENTIST – Saturday October 23 at 3.00 PM

View this fascinating documentary that explores Native American indigenous knowledge as a pre-emption to modern day science.

TE HĪKOI MĀHANGA – Raglan – Sunday October 24 at 9.00 PM

Travelling surfing twins Te Kauhoe and Wharehoka Wano are interested in the parallels between the proposed foreshore and seabed laws, and the land confiscations that happened at Eva Rickard's marae in Raglan this week on TE HĪKOI MĀHANGA.

Getting to Air

Our daily schedule is:

Tuning in to Māori Television

Viewers can tune in to Māori Television in five ways:

To receive Māori Television via the UHF frequency, viewers need to have a UHF aerial and be within the coverage area.

Via Satellite

If viewers are not within our UHF coverage area, they can access Māori Television via satellite by purchasing a satellite dish and receiver from their local television aerial installation service.

SKY Digital subscribers will find Māori Television on Channel 33 of their SKY remotes. They can tune in to Channel 33 now to catch highlights of programmes on Māori Television.

SKY UHF subscribers will find Māori Television on button 6 of their SKY remotes.

Via Saturn TV
If you receive Saturn TV, you can tune into Māori Television through channel button 33. Saturn Customers please: leave your decoders switched on to be able to receive this channel.

For More Information

Check our website www.maoritelevision.com or for guidance on how to tune-in call 0800 MA TATOU ( 0800 62 82868 )

Issue 34, 18 - 24 October 2004

1. Sunday Movie: Utu
2. Programmes Coming Up
3. Getting To Air
4. Tuning in to Māori Television
5. More Information

LOOKING BACK: A GUIDE TO ANCIENT MĀORI WEAPONRY

An urban Māori club goes traditional in every sense of the word in a look at ancient Māori weaponry on HE RARANGA KŌRERO : Tīhei Mauriora – Challenges, Chants, Weapons and Warfare, screening on Māori Television this Saturday October 23 at 4.00 PM .

The Saturday afternoon documentary spot on Māori Television features this week the 1973 exhibition, black and white documentary that was produced by the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC), in association with the Ngāti Poneke Young Māori Club.

Narrated by a long-locked Don Selwyn, the instructional-styled documentary includes studio footage of club members demonstrating the uses of a range of ancient Māori weaponry, including the taiaha, pouwhenua, patu, mere, rākau and more.

Ngāti Poneke was the Wellington City-based cultural group that was founded in the 1930s and became one of the first of the wave of urban-based Māori cultural groups.

While the group lends credibility to the demonstrations – including the correct stances for particular phases of battle – it also extends to encompass war-related rituals, such as the wero, haka and waiata-ā-ringa.

Furthermore, the link between Māori prowess in the battlefield in pre-European times and the golden age of the Māori warrior – as a Māori Battallion soldier during WWII – is explored and finishes off the half-hour documentary.

HE RARANGA KŌRERO : Tīhei Mauriora – Challenges, Chants, Weapons and Warfare will screen on Māori Television on Saturday October 23 at 4.00 PM.