Tooth, made in 1997 was my first attempt at a long form movie, and the original cut was 75 minutes long. When Triangle TV first went to air in Auckland Tooth was screened round the clock alternating with other material.

Tooth is a documentary about people who hate dentists. Since I hate dentists I felt especially qualified to make a movie on this subject. It would seem from the favourable response the movie gets whenever screened that the movie ‘touches a nerve’ in many of us.

The movie was originally shot on SVHS and then edited on an expensive Avid suite.

In 2003 I recut it radically to make a 26 minute cut that plays much better than the original. The pace is much faster, the editing much better, and with new music the movie is much more lively and funny that the original.

You can find the recut of Tooth in the special features of the Belief DVD. The original cut can be found n the New Zealand Film Archive.

Credits for the original cut:

Director / Camera / Editor / Soundtrack: PHIL DAVISON

Camera: PAMELA SECCOMBE

Voice overs: NORA WEST, PAUL GLEN-JONES

Features: MIKE BEBAN, RALPH BENNET, KATHLEEN HARRIS, JANE PREBBLE, SHAYN WILLS, KIM TAIT (STORIES FROM ALAN ROBSON & JOHN X), TIM BOWMAN (PLIERS STORY FROM CHRIS BRANDSO), BRUCE BISSET, MELANIE TAHATA (STORY FROM KIT MESSICK), SHIGERU SHIBATA, THOMAS KOOL (DENTIST), KARL HARRIS, GLEN ELLIOT, JOSEPH HARTZENBURG PATRICK GRIFFIN, ROSALIE GAMMAN, SONIA.