Although it's nicely done, the film covers only the first half of the book.
The aircraft on the dust airstrip at Willesdon? was a De Havilland (DH90) Dragonfly - VH-UTJ which was destroyed in a refuelling fire shortly after filming.
It does only cover the first part of the story, but I think it is enough for the story to be told and the makers were right to concentrate on the first part only. The wonderful miniseries: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081949/ covered more.
shareJust saw this movie and was so disappointed that there was next to none of the Australian part of the story :(
Desperate to see the mini series but there is only a couple of overpriced vhs copies on EBay :( Umbrella Entertainment *MAY release it on dvd however they need enough interest so please email them at info AT umbrellaent.com.au and ask them to bring the dvd out.
This film covered so little of the book, it almost wasn't worth the time to watch it. McKenna & Finch were OK in this film, but the mini-series with Helen Morse, Bryan Brown and Gordon Jackson is 5 hours long and covers the whole story beautifully.
The film leaves you wondering so many things..the mini-series tells you what happened..in color and great locations in Australia, Malaysia, and London, and especially, the Outback. Wonderful supporting cast.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081949/
This is available on VHS tape from Amazon dealers at a very reasonable price.
"If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything!"....
I have to ask you about the quotation at the bottom of your post - "If you can make a girl laugh, you can make her do anything!" - is it from a film or attributable to a specific source? The quote made me smile and, as a woman, I would have to say the quotation is not far off the mark!
"You must be the change you seek in this world." Gandhi
The quote is by Marilyn Monroe.
"Namu-myoho-renge-kyo"
That's the danger of comparing a movie to the book, or indeed the mini series. It's apples and oranges. If you want apples, don't bother with oranges. Personally, I can appreciate each for what it is and this was a very good movie.
shareI managed to find the DVD of the 1956 movie as part of a boxset at www.ezydvd.com.au
Spent AGES trying to find the miniseries either on vhs or dvd. I really did not want to pay the outrageous prices ($70-300) on ebay. Finally managed to find it on DVD at my local video store for hire. I asked about buying, and they managed to get me a copy for AU$15 so am off to buy it today :)