Autopsy on a Dream

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 Utzons dismissal Weileys 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 voiceover 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 fortyfive years on Dream of Perfection tells the story of the 1968 film from commission to destruction to surprise resurrection