Australia at the movies
Today's Australia Day - I wouldn't have known of not for Dina's post at Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo :) I've never been to Australia and all I know of it comes from movies and books and stuff on tv, but still it's made an impression and I thought I'd mention some of the Australian-related movies I've rented or seen on tv ....
- On the Beach ...
a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck (USS Sawfish captain Dwight Lionel Towers), Ava Gardner (Moira Davidson), Fred Astaire (scientist Julian—John in the novel—Osborne) and Anthony Perkins (Royal Australian Navy lieutenant Peter Holmes). It was directed by Stanley Kramer, who won the 1960 BAFTA for best director. Ernest Gold won the 1960 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Score.
- Walkabout ...
is a 1971 film set in Australia, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg (credited as Lucien John) and David Gulpilil. Edward Bond wrote the screenplay, which is loosely based on the novel Walkabout by James Vance Marshall. Walkabout premiered in competition at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.
- The Last Wave ...
a 1977 Australian film directed by Peter Weir. It is about a white Australian lawyer whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case for Aborigine defendants. He discovers that he shares a strange and unexplained mystical connection to the small group of local Australian Aborigines accused of the crime.
- Mad Max ...
a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story of breakdown of society, love and revenge.
- Breaker Morant ....
a 1980 Australian film about the court martial of Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring British actor Edward Woodward as Harry "Breaker" Morant. The all-Australian supporting cast features Bryan Brown, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, and Jack Thompson.
- Gallipoli ...
a 1981 Australian film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They are sent to Turkey, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign.
The Man from Snowy River .....
is a 1982 Australian drama film based on the Banjo Paterson poem The Man from Snowy River.
- The Thorn Birds (TV miniseries). OK, not really a movie, but how can I leave it out? :) ....
a television mini-series broadcast on ABC between 27 and 30 March 1983 ... based on a novel by Colleen McCullough. Set primarily on Drogheda, a fictional sheep station in the Australian outback, the story focuses on three generations of the Cleary Family and spans the years 1920 to 1962.
Rabbit-Proof Fence ...
a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It is based on a true story concerning the author's mother, as well as two other mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who ran away from the Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, to return to their Aboriginal families, after having been placed there in 1931.
- On the Beach ...
a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck (USS Sawfish captain Dwight Lionel Towers), Ava Gardner (Moira Davidson), Fred Astaire (scientist Julian—John in the novel—Osborne) and Anthony Perkins (Royal Australian Navy lieutenant Peter Holmes). It was directed by Stanley Kramer, who won the 1960 BAFTA for best director. Ernest Gold won the 1960 Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Score.
- Walkabout ...
is a 1971 film set in Australia, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg (credited as Lucien John) and David Gulpilil. Edward Bond wrote the screenplay, which is loosely based on the novel Walkabout by James Vance Marshall. Walkabout premiered in competition at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.
- The Last Wave ...
a 1977 Australian film directed by Peter Weir. It is about a white Australian lawyer whose seemingly normal life is disrupted after he takes on a murder case for Aborigine defendants. He discovers that he shares a strange and unexplained mystical connection to the small group of local Australian Aborigines accused of the crime.
- Mad Max ...
a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller and revised by Miller and Byron Kennedy over the original script by James McCausland. The film stars Mel Gibson, who was unknown at the time. Its narrative based around the traditional western genre, Mad Max tells a story of breakdown of society, love and revenge.
- Breaker Morant ....
a 1980 Australian film about the court martial of Breaker Morant, directed by Bruce Beresford and starring British actor Edward Woodward as Harry "Breaker" Morant. The all-Australian supporting cast features Bryan Brown, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, and Jack Thompson.
- Gallipoli ...
a 1981 Australian film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Army during the First World War. They are sent to Turkey, where they take part in the Gallipoli Campaign.
The Man from Snowy River .....
is a 1982 Australian drama film based on the Banjo Paterson poem The Man from Snowy River.
- The Thorn Birds (TV miniseries). OK, not really a movie, but how can I leave it out? :) ....
a television mini-series broadcast on ABC between 27 and 30 March 1983 ... based on a novel by Colleen McCullough. Set primarily on Drogheda, a fictional sheep station in the Australian outback, the story focuses on three generations of the Cleary Family and spans the years 1920 to 1962.
Rabbit-Proof Fence ...
a 2002 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce based on the book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington Garimara. It is based on a true story concerning the author's mother, as well as two other mixed-race Aboriginal girls, who ran away from the Moore River Native Settlement, north of Perth, to return to their Aboriginal families, after having been placed there in 1931.
posted by crystal | 2:28 PM
2 Comments:
So many Aussie movies? Such a nice idea to post them together for Australia Day.
I haven't seen any of them. Shame
Hi Dina,
I realized as I looked at what I'd posted that pretty much all of those movies were sad or depressing or scary ... maybe it's just as well that you missed them :)
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