Better Australian Movies:
There should be lots of them,
I can think of one right off of the top:
"the man from snowy river".
A Town Like Alice
The Far Country
ANZACS
The Lighthorsemen
Any film directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, particularly 'The Man from Hong Kong'. Classic.
Last movie seen at cinemas: 'the King's Speech'
Last dvd bought: 'Dead end Drive-in'
No doubt I am being parochial, but there have many fine Australian films, though some may argue how many of them can be counted as "greats" in the annals of world cinema.
My favourite Australian film (and an all time favourite) is Breaker Morant (1980) directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown.
Many of the Australian films of directors like Bruce Beresford, Peter Weir, Paul Cox and Phillip Noyce are well worth a look. Also films with fine Australian actors such as Geoffrey Rush, Colin Friels, Cate Blanchett, Richard Roxborugh, John Hargreaves, Wendy Hughes, Hugo Weaving, Judy Davis, Barry Otto, Ben Mendelsohn, Graham Kennedy and Julia Blake are worth catching.
Here are a list of my favourites from "classics" to some small scale gems and quirky little comedies (although I have to admit I have seen few Australian films from the last ten years or so and not much liked those I have seen).
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Peter Weir
The Picture Show Man (1977) John Power
Newsfront (1978) Phillip Noyce
The Odd Angry Shot (1979) Tom Jeffrey
Breaker Morant (1980) Bruce Beresford
The Club (1980) Bruce Beresford
Gallipoli (1981) Peter Weir
Lonely Hearts (1982) Paul Cox
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) Peter Weir
Careful, He Might Hear You (1983) Carl Schultz
Man of Flowers (1983) Paul Cox
My First Wife (1984) Paul Cox
Bliss (1985) Ray Lawrence
Malcolm (1986) Nadia Tass
Travelling North (1987) Carl Schultz
The Big Steal (1990) Nadia Tass
Father (1990) John Power
Return Home (1990)
Black Robe (1991) Bruce Beresford
Strictly Ballroom (1992) Baz Luhrmann
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) Stephan Elliot
Babe (1995) Chris Noonan
Children of the Revolution (1996) Peter Duncan
Cosi (1996) Mark Joffe
Shine (1996) Scott Hicks
The Castle (1997) Rob Sitch
Paradise Road (1997) Bruce Beresford
Thank God He Met Lizzie (1997) Cherie Nowlan
Crackers (1998) David Swan
Dark City (1998) Alex Proyas
The Interview (1998) Craig Monaghan
Chopper (2000) Andrew Dominik
Lantana (2001) Ray Lawrence
One Night the Moon (2001) Rachel Perkins
These films appealed to me far more than Baz Luhrmann's Australia (2008) and you will see actors who were in Australia in far better roles such as Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson and Bill Hunter
Nice list cracklight, thank you. I tried to watch this film, but maybe was too knackered, I kept falling into sleep.
I had privilege of seeing The Man From Snowy River last month while on Christmas holiday in Aus. Was first time I had ever seen this wonderful film; seeing it for first time while on the continent on which it was filmed, made it all the better
screwtape2713, most of your list were tv mini series. But no-one has mentioned 'Robbery Under Arms' a great bushranger film with Sam Neill. There's old ones with David Gulpilil like 'Walkabout' or 'Storm Boy'. No-one has mentioned the quirky 'Priscilla, Queen of the Desert' either.
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