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Saturday, April 28, 2007

Australian Films




Australian Films on Revue.


There is an Australian show running on television currently, it’s called
20 to 1, it covers a wide range of things with a rating of 20 to 1 a
recent topic was Australian films and being a movie fan I jotted their
choices down and will list them below.
While I don’t necessarily agree with the order of choice I feel there
are other equally good films that were not mentioned, however when I
came to trying to fit them in I was faced with the problem of which
ones to leave out?

The shows 20 to 1 top Australian Movies are;

20 Muriel’s Wedding; 1994 movie starring Toni Collette, the inclusion
of Toni is enough to earn it a place.

19 Wolf Creek; 2005 thriller starring John Jarrett (who is normally
Mr. Nice Guy) this is not a film to watch alone on a dark stormy night,
but is never-the-less a great movie.

18 Babe; 1995 this is a delightful blend of animation, real actors and
real animals it is based around a pig who thinks he is a sheepdog,
one for the whole family.

17 Chopper; 2000 movie based on the life of a real life criminal
Mark ‘Chopper’ Read not a nice man but was saved by Eric Bana’s
excellent portrayal.

16 Romper Stomper; 1992 a violent movie about racism in
Australia, a strong performance by a young Russell Crowe but only
suited to a mature audience.

15 Storm Boy; 1976 it is another great family film about a young boy,
played by Greg Rowe, living in near isolation with his fisherman father,
he develops a friendship with a pelican who he names Mr. Percival and
an Aboriginal named Fingerbone Bill played by the brilliant aboriginal
actor David Gulpilil.

14 Strictly Ballroom; 1992 A Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) film
starring Paul Mercurio, it’s a feel good movie about ballroom dancing
(surprise, surprise)which isn’t my favourite subject matter, but this is
done so well everyone likes it.

13 Young Einstein; 1988 Yahoo Serious (yes I’m serious) wrote,
produced, directed and starred in this satirical gem which was based
on the premise that Albert Einstein not only developed the theory of
relativity but also invented Rock ’n’ Roll. It’s a great fun movie.

12 Shine; 1996 Based on the true story of pianist David Helfgott,
Geoffrey Rush gave an Oscar Award winning performance in this
excellent movie.

11Puberty Blues; 1981 Based around a surfing culture this is the
only movie I have not seen in this group so I can’t really preview it
here.

10 Sunday Too Far Away; 1975 During the 1950s there were
ongoing disputes between the land owners and the shearers over
fair rates of pay, this movie is set in that era.
Jack Thompson stars in a classic movie about the “Bush”.
The title came about because of a common situation,
Friday- too tired, Saturday- too drunk, Sunday- too far away.

09 The Adventures of Pricilla Queen of the Desert; 1994
Two Drag Queen’s and a Transexual head for the “Outback” in a
converted school bus “Pricilla” to a soundtrack of ABBA Music,
let your imagination work on their reception in this “man’s world”
the movie won an Oscar for costume design, on a budget of
$12,000.

08 My Brilliant Career; 1979 A movie about an independent young
woman who at the turn of the century chose to live her life a little
differently to most of her peers, starred Judy Davis with an excellent
performance.

07 The Man From Snowy River; 1982 A great movie about the
cattlemen from the high country, Tom Burlinson gave a memorable
performance as “The Man” in a scenically beautiful film. Based on the
poem of the same name written by A.B.(Banjo) Paterson in 1890.

06 Breaker Morant; 1979 Based on a true story about 3 soldiers
who were executed during the Boer War. Starred Edward Woodward,
Bryan Brown and Jack Thompson.

05 Mad Max; 1979 Set in the desolate near future the film depicts a
police force struggling to maintain order on the roads. Things go
awfully wrong for Mel Gibson’s character bringing about some hectic
action. American studios ignored this film until the success of the
sequel Mad Max 2 The Road Warrior.

04 Picnic At Hanging Rock; 1975 Set in 1900 the film tells of the
disappearance of three girls and a teacher while on an outing from their
nearby school.

03 The Castle; 1997 A comedy about a family’s struggle to retain their
home in danger of resumption by the Government. Michael Caton as the
head of the family is brilliant, a minor roll for Eric Bana before his big break.

02 Crocodile Dundee; 1986 This brilliant comedy launched Paul
Hogan’s film career onto a world stage that was just waiting for this
sort of comedy, another chance to see the wonderful David Gulpilil.

01 Gallipoli; 1981 Telling the story of the badly advised landing of
Australian and New Zealand troops at Gallipoli and the subsequent loss
of life in the ANZACs first battle in WW1.

As I said I didn’t agree with all of the choices made for the TV
show. I would have omitted numbers 08, 16 & 17 and substituted.

Phar Lap; 1983 A great movie about Australia’s (and possibly the
worlds) best racehorse who died under mysterious circumstances in
America
in 1933. Another great roll by Tom Burlinson.

Dons Party; 1976 The interaction of a group of young suburbanites
who gather to watch the results of an election on television. A chance
to see Graham Kennedy (the King of Australian TV) in action.

Kenny; 2005 This low budget comedy come documentary has grown a
huge cult following in a very short time. When you consider that Kenny
spends his time moving portable toilets around the countryside this
comes as a bit of a surprise.

Ok I won’t get pedantic about where these films fit into the list
but I am still unhappy that I didn’t find a spot for at least another
4 films.

Lantana; 2001 A slick film about the frailty’s of human nature.
Anthony LaPaglia, starred.

The Dish; 2000 Story of the Parke’s radio telescopes role in tracking
the Apollo 11 moon mission.

On The Beach; 1959 Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner came and joined
an Australian cast for this “end of the world” movie.

They’re a Weird Mob; 1966 A comedy about the problems that
“new Australian’s” faced after immigration to Australia, learning to
speak English and then Australian and the strange habits of the locals.








17 comments:

Christina said...

I have only seen a few of the movies on that list - I have seen # 2, 5, 7, 13 and 18. Unfortunately I have not seen any of you additions to the list - may have to check some of them out.

I loved yesterday's post about the petition. Good example of how many people are ready to jump on every bandwagon to come along without researching their decision at all.

Anonymous said...

I have seen a third or more of them. Breaker Morant and Gallpoli were two favorites. Mad Max and Croc Dundee were good.

wazza said...

Gidday Peter,
I would of left out No's 17;16;15;11 and 4 and replaced with:-
1.Odd Angry Shot with Graham Kennedy about Vietnam War.
2.Newsfront with Bill Hunter & Wendy Hughes about movienews cameramen.
3.Dead Calm that put Nicole Kidman on the road to stardom.
4.Man Who Sued God. Love Billy Connolly
5.Death of a Soldier with James Coburn about a American Serial Killer during World War 11.
In no particular order and there's more but this could go on forever.
Mind you I still like the 3 you replaced and even the other 4.
It's a good thing that we all have different tastes, otherwise we'd all end up with the same sort of things.

Cliff said...

Croc Dundee and The Man From Snowy River are the only two I've seen. You know a lot of things Peter.

Pamela said...

I love Babe, and Man from Snow River.
and Croc Dundee.

Puss-in-Boots said...

Peter, you forgot "The Castle"! You know, the one about the little man's fight against bureaucracy to save his house. Michael Caton was brilliant as Darryl Kerrigan.

But I must agree with "Gallipoli" for No. 1. Great movie, and a tissue movie as well (for me anyway).

They're a Weird Mob - I thought the radio series was actually better than the movie. But...there you go.

How's your weekend so far?

Meow (aka Connie) said...

I've seen most of those, Peter.
I reckon there should be a couple more on the list ...
The Nugget and
Crackerjack
Two hilariously funny movies, along the line of The Castle.
Good fun.
Take care,
Meow

Puss-in-Boots said...

Told you I needed new glasses...snort!

Jeanette said...

Hi peter Ihave seen 15,12,9,7,6,4.3,1,Iagree Phar Lap and Dead Calm should have been in that list, heres another couple, Rabbit Proof Fence, The Chant Of Billy Black smith and The Shirallee, Bryan Brown.

Merle said...

Hi Peter ~~ A lot of good Australian movies, not too many of which were shown overseas by the sound of it.
I have seen most of them but chose nor to see Chopper or Romper Stomper.
I really enjoyed The Castle, No.3 on the list and the first Crocodile Dundee, as well as Breaker Morant and Gallipoli. Jan is right, the Rabbit Proof Fence was good too. Take care,
Merle.

Unknown said...

I've seen a few of those, 20, 18, 13, 7, 6, 5, 2, 1 and Phar Lap to be precise. I'm fairly certain that a few others have had showings here in Canada but it is sometimes hard to hear enough about films made outside of North America here in Canada because of all the clamour that the American Films make.

It is a funny coincidence that this post went up today. I watched a brilliant romantic comedy called Danny Deckchair last night which is, I believe, an Australian film.

I was wondering how 20 to 1 determined a films place on the list? Was it based on the money they grossed at the box office?

Peter said...

Hi c'est moi, as far as I know the films were rated by a panel on their personal opinions, the box office winner, by a large margin is "Crocodile Dundee"

Granny said...

Not that you asked my opinion:

1. On the Beach - I could watch it over and over

2. Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

The kids love Babe and I liked Shine. I'll have to check out some of the others.

Granny said...

Oops. Forgot I rented Gallipoli. Make that #3 on my list.

Walker said...

I know a few of the ones they used and none of the ones you think should noy have been added so you must be right. I have seen Phar Lap and Latania and both were exelent movies. IGalipoli was one of my favorites as were the Mad Max series.
Breaker Morant was an exelent movie as well.

Suzz said...

I know six of the films were hits here in the U.S. I loved Babe and Pig in the City as well as the Crocodile Dundee series. Just saw a rerun of Mad Max on TV this afternoon. Dead Calm scared me so much I won't watch it again. My all time favorite is African Queen. They just don't make 'em like the used to.

Jamie Dawn said...

I LOVE the movies Strictly Ballroom and Babe.

I saw a long, long movie (mini-series no doubt) made in Australia years ago. It was called Return to Eden. This lady gets revenge on her ex who tried to kill her by crocodile. She survives, gets amazing plastic surgery, and seeks her ex out.

There's another one I really like, but I can't remember the title. I think it was called Alice Springs, but I'm not sure. Oh well, they are good movies from your great country.