334* Australian films (extended list)
Not to be confused with my non-poll related original list of Australian movies which I rate or are reminders for me to watch:
http://www.imdb.com/list/DzjzMdh1q-c/
I'm adding today (02/05/2014) box office results for these films via information from Wikipedia. I'll try and add data about how many AFI (i.e. Australian Film Institute) Awards some of these films got as well...but I won't be fanatical about this.
N.B. The A.F.I. Awards are now knows as AACTA Awards! Wikipedia states:
"The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Awards".
Hopefully the following URLs are useful for people looking for box office information on Australian movies:
Various all time box office records:
http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/statistics/boxoffice.aspx
http://www.mpdaa.org.au/customers/mpdaa/mpdaa.nsf/HistoricalBoxOffice?ReadForm
http://www.moviemarshal.com.au/
Current weekly box office results and archives from early 1997:
http://www.urbancinefile.com/home/boxoffice.asp
Weekend and yearly takings from 2000 onwards:
http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/australia/
Year on year total admissions and total box office results:
http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/statistics/wcboadmission.aspx
I initially started out giving Wikipedia box office results in Australia for a small number of films but am now using the Screen Australia link for top 100 Australian movies of all time box office returns...which I think Wikipedia maybe citing in any case. The all time box office ranking also comes via Screen Australia's list of the top 100 grossing Australian movies of all time, in Australia.
*N.B. I should point out that the order of box office takings films would no doubt change once you adjust for inflation...which these rankings aren't...see an example of this in my entry for "Crocodile Dundee".
AFI Best film winners and nominees:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AACTA_Award_for_Best_Film#Winners_and_nominees
Related sites:
http://www.ozmovies.com.au/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_films
[P.S. I've added the number to my list heading as sporting cultural reference. One of these days I'll work on this list to make it 'end' with that number of films in it but to do that I'll probably have to remove some titles and mention them in other titles, e.g. where the removed film was a sequel and I mention all sequels in the entry for the first in the series. Maybe a good final list is one that ends for the year 2025 with all Australian best film award winners included. N.B. IMDB's "Save list order" feature is a troll when it comes to tinkering with the order to alphebatise it.]
http://www.imdb.com/list/DzjzMdh1q-c/
I'm adding today (02/05/2014) box office results for these films via information from Wikipedia. I'll try and add data about how many AFI (i.e. Australian Film Institute) Awards some of these films got as well...but I won't be fanatical about this.
N.B. The A.F.I. Awards are now knows as AACTA Awards! Wikipedia states:
"The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Awards".
Hopefully the following URLs are useful for people looking for box office information on Australian movies:
Various all time box office records:
http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/statistics/boxoffice.aspx
http://www.mpdaa.org.au/customers/mpdaa/mpdaa.nsf/HistoricalBoxOffice?ReadForm
http://www.moviemarshal.com.au/
Current weekly box office results and archives from early 1997:
http://www.urbancinefile.com/home/boxoffice.asp
Weekend and yearly takings from 2000 onwards:
http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/australia/
Year on year total admissions and total box office results:
http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/statistics/wcboadmission.aspx
I initially started out giving Wikipedia box office results in Australia for a small number of films but am now using the Screen Australia link for top 100 Australian movies of all time box office returns...which I think Wikipedia maybe citing in any case. The all time box office ranking also comes via Screen Australia's list of the top 100 grossing Australian movies of all time, in Australia.
*N.B. I should point out that the order of box office takings films would no doubt change once you adjust for inflation...which these rankings aren't...see an example of this in my entry for "Crocodile Dundee".
AFI Best film winners and nominees:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AACTA_Award_for_Best_Film#Winners_and_nominees
Related sites:
http://www.ozmovies.com.au/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_films
[P.S. I've added the number to my list heading as sporting cultural reference. One of these days I'll work on this list to make it 'end' with that number of films in it but to do that I'll probably have to remove some titles and mention them in other titles, e.g. where the removed film was a sequel and I mention all sequels in the entry for the first in the series. Maybe a good final list is one that ends for the year 2025 with all Australian best film award winners included. N.B. IMDB's "Save list order" feature is a troll when it comes to tinkering with the order to alphebatise it.]
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334 titles
- DirectorEsben StormStarsBill HunterRobert McDarraDavid CurtissA middle-aged "metho" drinker joins Alcoholics Anonymous and undergoes a psychiatric examination. As a consequence, he is committed to a hospital for the criminally insane, to be detained indefinitely under the notorious Section 27A of the Queensland Mental Health Act.Wikipedia states:
1974 AFI Winner Best film
Budget: A$36,000
The film is a about an alcoholic who voluntarily submits himself for psychiatric treatment instead of serving a prison term over a minor criminal offence. "27A" is a section of the Queensland Mental Health Act at the time which allows institutions to keep people in care until they are fit for release. - DirectorCameron CairnesColin CairnesStarsOliver AcklandPaul BlackwellWard EveraardtReg and Lindsay run an organic fertiliser business. They need a fresh supply of their "secret ingredient" to process through the meat grinder. Reg comes across two guys and a girl with a broken-down vehicle on their way to a music festival.
- DirectorCharles ChauvelStarsGrant TaylorBetty BryantChips RaffertyThree young Australians join the army at the beginning of World War I and are assigned to the Australian Light Horse cavalry, which is serving in Palestine. The three eventually take part in the attack during the Battle of Beersheba, which was the last cavalry charge in modern warfare.Wikipedia states:
"It was a massive success at the box office, grossing £10,000 within its first three weeks of release, enabling Famous Features Ltd to buy out the interest of the New South Wales government for £15,000. The film was seen by 287,000 in Sydney alone during a ten-week run on first release.
Female lead Betty Bryant was sent to Singapore for the film's premiere in June 1941. While there she met MGM executive Mauriece Silverstein who she would later marry, leading to her retirement from acting" and:
Budget: £30,000
Box office: £130,000
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Australia#Other_popular_Australian_films - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsBarry CrockerBarry HumphriesDick BentleyYoung Australian, Barry McKenzie, travels to England with his Aunt Edna after his father dies and a request is revealed in his will.Followed by its sequel "Barry McKenzie holds his own" (1974).
Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$250,000
"This was the first Australian film to surpass $1 million at the national box office, and it led the Australian box office in 1972. The film recovered its $250,000 budget within a few months after release". - DirectorStephan ElliottStarsHugo WeavingGuy PearceTerence StampTwo drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.Australian box office: A$16,459,245
#12 Australian movie of all time by box office gross in Australia. - DirectorEddie MartinStarsTas PappasBen PappasTommy CaudillBrothers Tas and Ben Pappas become the kings of professional skateboarding, but their hedonistic ways lead to a hard fall from grace.Saw this discussed on At The Movies this week (2nd week of July, with Judith Lucy and Jason Di Rosso filling in for Margaret and David). Sounds very interesting...about two brothers from Australia who were ranked #1 and #2 in the world of skateboarding and rivals to Tony Hawk. Apparently it's a Shakespearean tale to be told about them!
- DirectorTim BurstallStarsGraeme BlundellAbigailLynette CurranWaterbed salesman Alvin consults a psychiatrist about his irresistibilty to women.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$202,000
Box office: A$4,720,000
"The film was a massive success and took $4,720,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $36,721,600 in 2009 dollars. This is 7th highest grossing Australian film of all time when adjusted for inflation" and
"It was accompanied on release by a 48 minute promotional documentary Inside Alvin Purple directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith.This film was pulled from screening due to censorship concerns but was passed after some cuts had been made".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Australia#Other_popular_Australian_films - DirectorDavid BilcockRobin CoppingStarsGraeme BlundellAlan FinneyGus MercurioAlvin Purple, the world's most unlikely sex symbol stumbles from woman to woman and job to job in this zany, sexy Australian comedy.See "Melvin, son of Alvin" for the next in this series.
- DirectorMichael RymerStarsJohn LynchJacqueline McKenzieColin FrielsTwo schizophrenics meet during therapy and fall passionately in love. Ahead of them lies the inevitable road to disaster - one they share to the end.Wikipedia states:
1995 AFI Winner Best film
Budget: A$3.5 million
Box office: A$1,070,726 - DirectorDavid MichôdStarsJames FrechevilleGuy PearceJoel EdgertonA seventeen-year-old navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$5 million
Box office: A$6,019,846
2010 AFI Winner: Best film; Best actress, Jackie Weaver; Best supporting actor, Joel Edgerton;
Won numerous international awards too, including many for Jackie Weaver. - DirectorGil BrealeyStarsAngela Punch McGregorDrew ForsytheLiddy ClarkDue to an ignorant misdiagnosis, a three-year-old disabled girl was institutionalized and subsequently spent her entire childhood in a hospital for the severely retarded. A caring therapist helped her to prove her intellectual capability.Wikipedia states:
1984 AFI Winner Best film
Budget: under A$1 million
A.k.a. "A test of love".
Based on a true story about a woman with a disability. - DirectorRob SitchStarsJosh LawsonRachael TaylorDaniel HenshallFor Ben, life couldn't be better. A well paid job, friends, parties, girls and nothing to tie him down. But when he is invited back to his high school for a speaking engagement, he starts to reassess the direction his life is headed in.Another Working Dog production.
Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$11,000,000
Box office: A$2,839,714 - DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsMichael ShanksAlexandra DaviesSaskia HampeleWhen a solar eclipse sends a colossal blast of super chilled air towards the earth, it then sets off a catastrophic chain of events that threatens to engulf the world in ice and begin a new Ice Age.Brian Trenchard-Smith film.
Co-production with Canada.
Did not include BTS's previous film "In her line of fire" (2006) as it's a U.S. production.
Subsequent films mentioned in Wikipedia are either U.S. produced or tv movies or don't have linked articles. As of today (03/06/2014) those films are:
The cabin (2011, tv movie)
Absolute deception (2013, U.S.)
Drive hard (2014)
Antony I. Ginnane produced this Australia/Canada co-production according to Wikipedia.
His previous film was the UK film "Ten dead men" which was the sequel to "Left for dead". He executive produced that film. - DirectorJack GavinStarsAgnes GavinJack GavinSid HarrisonAccording to Wikipedia a silent, "lost" film with a budget of:
£300 - DirectorSimon HeathStarsAngry AndersonGordon ElliottJohn FarnhamA small town mayor rigs an election with hilarious and unpredictable results. A comedy extravaganza starring some of the biggest names in Australian showbiz in the most unlikely and wackiest roles.
- DirectorTim BurstallStarsJohn Phillip LawMel GibsonSam NeillA group of Australian commandos launch a secret mission against Japanese forces in World War II.[Maybe it was this week or the week before - today is 19/06/2014 - ABC TV had a story on this real life commando unit from World War II. Might have been on a programme like "Australian story"...or a one off documentary on this topic.]
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanHugh JackmanShea AdamsIn 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.From Screen Australia link at top,
Australian box office: A$37,555,757 (Australian take in Australian dollars)
#2 Australian film (all time). - DirectorJennifer KentStarsEssie DavisNoah WisemanDaniel HenshallA single mother and her child fall into a deep well of paranoia when an eerie children's book titled "Mister Babadook" manifests in their home.If I'm reading Wikipedia correctly, this film was equal winner of:
2014 AACTA Winner Best Film (along with "The water diviner")
Wikipedia states that this film was critically acclaimed and earned:
Budget: $2 million
Box office: $5.4 million - DirectorDon FeatherstoneStarsMichelle TorresBob MazaKevin SmithRole reversal study of the historically inaccurate "plight" of Australian Aborigines in modern Anglo-Saxon society. Indigenous "whities" [sic] are being persecuted by racist black people who invaded the fictitious country of BabaKiueria. Politically incorrect and inconvenient facts about infant mortality rates are ignored by a "reporter" who lives with a typical white family in a white "ghetto" for six months.Wikipedia states:
"The film won the 1987 United Nations Media Peace Prize". - DirectorChris NoonanStarsJames CromwellMagda SzubanskiChristine CavanaughGentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other animals accept him?S.A. figures:
Australian box office: A$36,776,544
#3 Australian film (all time). - DirectorGeorge MillerStarsMagda SzubanskiElizabeth DailyMickey RooneyBabe, fresh from his victory in the sheepherding contest, returns to Farmer Hoggett's farm, but after Farmer Hoggett is injured and unable to work, Babe has to go to the big city to save the farm.
- DirectorRolf de HeerStarsNicholas HopeClaire BenitoRalph CotterillBubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and nihilistic life begins.Wikipedia states:
Budget: USD$750,000
Box office: A$808,789
AFI Winner: Best director; Best lead actor, Nicholas Hope; Others - DirectorTony MartinStarsMick MolloyBob FranklinJudith LucyBen Kinnear and Mike Paddock are two undercover detectives with way too much publicity.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$4.5 million
Box office: A$2,317,820 - DirectorKimble RendallStarsXavier SamuelSharni VinsonAdrian PangA freak tsunami traps shoppers at a coastal Australian supermarket inside the building - along with 12-foot Great White Sharks.
- DirectorRobert ConnollyStarsJane HampsonBea ViegasChristine MartinsWar correspondent Roger East and the young Jose Ramos-Horta travel to East Timor to investigate the murders of the Balibo Five in 1975.Based on a true story.
Australian box office: A$1,330,863 - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsBarry CrockerBarry HumphriesDonald PleasenceBarry McKenzie's Aunt Edna is kidnapped by Count Von Plasma, the vampire head of an isolated Eastern European dictatorship who mistakes her for the Queen of England and thinks that kidnapping her will draw tourists to his country. Barry and his mates set out to rescue her and bring her back to Australia.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$450,000
Box office: A$1,407,000
"Most of the film was shot on location in England, Wales...British unions constantly objected to Australian cast and crew working in Britain". - DirectorGlendyn IvinStarsShane JacobsonLachy HulmeCameron DaddoThe true story of Brant Webb and Todd Russell, who were trapped nearly a kilometer below the surface.Wikipedia states that this was intended to be a mini-series but morphed into a tv movie. About a mine collapse in Australia which made national headlines due to some survivors being trapped underground.
- DirectorRachel WardStarsBen MendelsohnSophie LoweMaeve DermodyA writer reawakens his childhood trauma from the past when he returns home, at the request of his estranged sister, to grieve their father's impending death.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$4,300,000
Box office: A$1,618,490 - DirectorIvan SenStarsDannielle HallDamian PittJenna Lee ConnorsLena is the daughter of an Aboriginal mother and Irish father and Vaughn is a Murri boy doing time in a minimum security prison in North West NSW. Dramatic events throw them together on a journey with no money and no transport.Aboriginal movie with many numerous film awards both here and internationally.
Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$2.5 million
Box office: A$548,416 - DirectorJeremy SimsStarsBrendan CowellHarrison GilbertsonSteve Le MarquandIn 1916, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company is tunneling beneath German fortifications and bunkers to detonate massive explosive charges.Based on true story from World War 1.
Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$8,140,500 - DirectorJack GavinStarsAgnes GavinJack GavinA silent film, considered "lost".
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsGillian ArmstrongKerry CarlsonDiana DomanThe follow-up documentary to "Fourteen's good, eighteen's better", after the first in this series "Smokes and lollies". Next in the series were:
Bingo, bridesmaids and braces
Not fourteen again
Love, lust & lies - DirectorElissa DownStarsRhys WakefieldLuke FordToni ColletteAll Thomas wants is a normal adolescence but his autistic brother, Charlie, thwarts his every opportunity. Will Thomas, with the help of his girlfriend, Jackie, accept his brother?2008 AFI Best film winner.
Wikipedia states:
Australia/UK co-production.
Budget: A$5 million
Box office: $2,136,663
Won many overseas films awards too. - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsLothaire BluteauAden YoungSandrine HoltIn the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.
- DirectorAna KokkinosStarsFrances O'ConnorMiranda OttoDeborra-Lee FurnessSeven lost children wander the night streets while their mothers await their return home.Mentioned in "David Stratton's stories of Australian cinema" (first broadcast on 06/06/2017) in regard to films made by women.
Wikipedia states:
Box office: A$457,898 (Australia) - DirectorYoram GrossStarsRobyn MooreKeith ScottRoss HigginsAfter his home is destroyed by deforestation, Blinky Bill sets out on a quest to find his displaced mother.Wikipedia states that: "Blinky Bill: The Mischievous Koala grossed $1,903,659 at the box office in Australia".
Based on the books of Dorothy Wall, which have been turned into films and TV series: "The books are considered quintessential Australian children's classics, and have never been out of print in Australia".
Other titles;
The new adventures of Blinky Bill (TV series, 1984-7).
The adventures of Blinky Bill (TV series, 1993).
Blinky Bill the movie (2015, box office $4.3 million).
The wild adventures of Blinky Bill (TV series, 2016 - current).
Video games
"Blinky Bill received critical acclaim, and has become a national icon for Australia. Both the books and TV series are recognised internationally and regarded as children's classics". - DirectorRay LawrenceStarsBarry OttoLynette CurranHelen JonesAfter a near-death experience, a man wonders if he actually did die and is now in Hell.Wikipedia states:
1985 AFI Winner Best film
Budget: A$3.4 million
Box office: A$1,144,863 (Australia); $660,537 (USA only) - DirectorCarl SchultzBruce BeresfordStarsHardy KrügerGreg RoweJohn JarrattBased on the children's novel by celebrated South Australian author 'Colin Thiele', this is an emotional father and son story about tuna fishing of Southern Blue Fin tuna in South Australia's Port Lincoln fishing district. Accident prone son Snook is forever making mistakes much to the chagrin of his father Pascoe. But when tragedy strikes the fishing boat during a deep sea fishing trek in the Southern Ocean, the boy is called on to become a man in a rites of sea passage to reconcile is past mishaps and save both his father and the ship from certain disaster.
- DirectorRoss DimseyStarsCathryn HarrisonMark HoldenPeter CumminsA girl's love of horses meets with her father's disapproval.Produced by Antony I. Ginnane. Wikipedia notes that this children's movie is a departure from his normal horror/sex movies.
Budget: A$231,000 - DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsDavid ArgueJohn LeyNicole KidmanA trio of teen BMX enthusiasts become entangled with a group of bank robbers after discovering their cache of walkie-talkies.Nicole Kidman's first feature film. By Brian Trenchard-Smith. This film seems to get mentioned a lot in Australian comedies...notoriously bad or something. Wikipedia mentions some other references to this movie in international pop culture.
Australian box office: A$124,649 - DirectorPhilip BrophyStarsGerard KennedyAndrew DaddoIan SmithResidents of peaceful Pebbles Court, Homesville, are being used unknowingly as test experiments for a new 'Body Drug' that causes rapid body decomposition (melting skin etc.) and painful death.Made a list of the top 20 "body horror" movies of all time: Taste of cinema, 08/04/2014).
- DirectorDein PerryStarsVaughan SheffieldChristian PattersonLisa PerryCharismatic tap dancing Sean tries to find a way out of working at the steel mill. When failure brings him home he starts his own dance group wearing hardhats. He must then find inspiration in the steel mill he once tried to escape.
- DirectorRowan WoodsStarsDavid WenhamToni ColletteLynette CurranBrett Sprague is a violent and psychopathic man, who is released on parole after serving a sentence for assault. As he returns to his family house and we watch him and his brothers, Stevie and Glenn, for the next 24 hours, it becomes clear this day will not end well.Wikipedia states that the soundtrack was nominated in that category for the ARIA Awards (the Australian music awards).
- DirectorKevin CarlinStarsGlenn RobbinsMick MolloyBob Franklin"Boytown" concerns a successful 80s boy band of the same name reforming their band in contemporary times in the hope that they can capture some of their former glory and that the fans will still be interested. Tommy, Corey, Benny and two others try to reform Boytown in 2005, but now they are all in the late 30s and are not sure whether people will still be interested in them. What follows is their tale as they try to recapture some of their former magic.Wikipedia states:
"BoyTown grossed $3,135,972 at the box office in Australia".
Interesting entry in Wikipedia over an unreleased mockumentary entitled "BoyTown confidential:
"The official BoyTown website features clips from a mockumentary BoyTown Confidential, hosted by Tony Martin as "Kenny Larkin", his character from the movie.
The mockumentary was supposed to be included in its entirety on the DVD release of BoyTown, but was not included. Mick Molloy's Molloy Boy Productions has commented that it was left out due to lack of post-production funding, however Tony Martin said that he would have paid the estimated $5000 post-production cost as he believed it was one of his finest works. Speculation persists that Molloy thought the mockumentary would upstage the film itself. This has led to an ongoing rift between longtime collaborators Martin and Molloy".
I'm a fan of Tony Martin. - DirectorSunny AbbertonMacario De SouzaStarsRussell CroweKelly SlaterCheyne HoranA film about the cultural evolution of the Sydney beach side suburb of Maroubra and the social struggle faced by its youth - the notorious surf gang known as the Bra Boys.Can't say that this surf movie rings a bell (someone suggested this movie for that topic and with its title I thought they were winding me up!) but Wikipedia has some good things to say about it:
"The documentary became Australia's highest-grossing non-IMAX documentary film and won the Best Documentary at the 2008 Movie EXTRA Filmink Awards". - DirectorRachel PerkinsStarsRocky McKenzieJessica MauboyErnie DingoAn Aboriginal student on the west coast of Australia in the late '60s runs away from a Catholic boarding school with his cruel headmaster in hot pursuit, meeting eccentric characters along the journey back to his hometown.Aboriginal film with film awards here and internationally.
Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$7 million
Box office: A$7,509,061 - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsEdward WoodwardJack ThompsonJohn WatersThree Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.Wikipedia states:
1980 AFI Winner Best film
Budget: A$800,000
Box office: A$4,735,000, $3.5 million
'Breaker Morant grossed A$4,735,000 at the box office in Australia,which is equivalent to A$16,809,250 in 2009 dollars'. - DirectorJim JeffreyStarsPeter CouldwellAlan DearthTerry BentleyA new surf club started on an Australian beach struggles through its infancy.Wikipedia states:
"It was the second film made by the British Children's Film Foundation, following Bush Christmas." - DirectorGraeme CliffordStarsJack ThompsonNigel HaversGreta ScacchiA story based on true events about two explorers on a doomed journey trying to cross Australia on foot in the 19 century.Based on the ill-fated expedition of these two explorers. I believe that Prince Charles and Lady Diana watched the premier of this movie in Australia, as part of their royal tour here...coz, I happened to be in Bourke St. that day and caught a glimpse of them! Maybe it's because I wanted to see them that I "happened" to be there!
See also "Wills & Burke" for the comedy released the same year about this iconic expedition. Also, "A romance of Burke and Wills expedition of 1860" (1918).
Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$8,900,000 (estimated)
Box office: A$1,567,000 - DirectorOliver TorrMatt ZeremesStarsCeleste BarberBianca BiasiWinston CooperShot in inner city Sydney, Burke and Wills is about two young men - Burke, a fragile, troubled soul; and Wills, a naive, talkative dreamer - going through a life transition. The two are thrown together in a share house after Wills outstays his welcome in the home of his girlfriend, and a newspaper classified ad leads him to Burke, who has a room to rent. The beginnings of an awkward relationship develop through beer-assisted conversations about cooking, travel, and the importance of satisfactory toilet visits. Common, everyday events lead the two men to open up about their lives. When Burke's much loved grandmother dies, his already fragile state is put under serious strain. Burke financially benefits from his grandmother's death which irrevocably changes his trajectory, shattering his fragile sense of stability and self. Burke's downfall inspires Wills to re-think his life and ultimately leads him to adopt a more conventional path. From this point, Burke and Wills' relationship splinters, and the two withdraw into worlds of their own where the other becomes the enemy. The areas the two have tried to keep hidden from the world begin to emerge, creating an inhospitable environment, impossible for both to live in...Unrelated to the famous (but doomed) Australian explorers known by that phrase. No entry for this title on Wikipedia.
- DirectorRalph SmartStarsChips RaffertyJohn FernsideStan TolhurstIn Australia, five children pursue horse thieves through the mountains.Wikipedia states:
Budget: £25,000
UK/Australia co-production.
"It was one of the first movies from Children's Entertainment Films, later the Children's Film Foundation". - DirectorHenri SafranStarsJohn EwartJohn HowardMark SpainIn the Australian outback a family struggles to keep its farm from foreclosure. Their only hope is that their horse, Prince, will win money in a New Year's race. But when Prince is stolen the children embark on a dangerous and exciting adventure to get him back.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$950,000
Box office: A$122,035 - DirectorDonald CrombieStarsHelen MorseTakis EmmanuelJack ThompsonSydney, Australia in the mid-1920's. Proud and classy Caddie Marsh is forced to get a job as a barmaid and raise two children on her own after her rich cad husband walks out on her. Despite numerous hardships such as the Great Depression, Caddie still manages to catch the eye of smooth dandy Ted and strikes up a romantic relationship with dashing Greek gentleman Peter.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$400,000
Box office: A$2,847,000 - DirectorAlfred RolfeStarsAlfred RolfeLily DampierRaymond LongfordEdgar Dalmore, an impulsive youth, quarrels with his father, and in the heat of anger is disowned. Edgar's cousin, Vincent Lennox, is hard pressed for money, owing to his gambling proclivities. With aid of his friend, John Sterling, he beats Edgar's father into insensibility, robs the safe and accuses Edgar of having committed the crime. The father dies, and Edgar is sentenced to prison for life. At the end of six months, Edgar escapes from prison. As an escaped convict, he is welcomed into the Hellville band of bushrangers, made their captain, and called "Captain Midnight." He leads his band on several daring adventures, including an attack on and robbery of the government gold coach. After a thrilling chase by the bandits, the escort of the coach are overpowered and the chest of gold stolen. The mounted police chase Edgar and his band, and Edgar is separated from the bushrangers. Edgar meets his sweetheart, Thelma, who prevails upon him to renounce his bushranger connections. Elsa Harling, who is in love with Edgar, but whose love is not returned, sees Edgar with his sweetheart. She decides to turn Edgar over to the police and lays a plan for his capture. Edgar visits her at her father's cabin in the forest. The police surround the cabin. Elsa relents at the last moment, and helps Edgar to escape by cutting a hole in the back of the hut, thus eluding the police. Another exciting chase follows, during which Edgar has to swim across a river. Elsa overhears Vincent Lennox and his friend Sterling quarreling about the division of the money they have stolen after murdering Edgar's father. Her presence is discovered. She is seized by Lennox and Sterling, and tied to a tree. Lennox bargains with one of the bushrangers to do away with Elsa. Edgar, in his flight from the police, discovers Elsa tied to the tree, rescues her and in a thrilling scene he and Elsa overcome the two bushrangers and escape. Elsa notifies the police of the guilt of Lennox and Sterling, and the police start on the trail of the criminals. Edgar decides to cross the border and to live an honest life. He marries Thelma, and as they are coming out of the church they are seized by Lennox and Sterling and their followers, but Elsa arrives with the police in time to save Edgar and his wife. The stolen notes are found on Lennox, and he and Sterling are arrested for the murder. Through Elsa's noble sacrifice, Edgar is free to join his bride.
["Captain Midnight, the bush king"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Midnight,_the_Bush_King
Many films in my list will display a different title at various times. When that happens, I'll include a Wikipedia entry with perhaps the "correct" title, or at least the one which the film is known as in Australia. This film is displaying sometimes as "The bushranger's wife".]
According to Wikipedia, a silent "lost" film with a budget of:
£800 - DirectorAlfred RolfeStarsLily DampierLottie LyellAugustus NevilleWikipedia states:
"It was based on Alfred Dampier's stage adaptation of the novel Robbery Under Arms.It is considered a lost film." - DirectorCarl SchultzStarsWendy HughesRobyn NevinNicholas GledhillHis mother dead, PS lives in Sydney with working-class Aunt Lila and Uncle George. When he's six or eight, his posh Aunt Vanessa descends from England. Named a co-guardian by PS's feckless, absent father, she asserts her rights and convinces Lila to have PS live with her weekdays. PS is happy at Lila's, playing with children, running about, speaking up. At Vanessa's, there's a regimen of private school, round vowels, piano and riding lessons, and lonely indoor play with fancy toys. He's miserable and when he objects, she sues for complete custody. Will anyone listen to him? And will he take on Vanessa's challenges to find out who he is and to love someone?Wikipedia states:
1983 AFI Winner Best film
Budget: A$2.2 million
Box office: A$2,431,126 - DirectorSamantha LangStarsJessica MaraisAnita HeghEamon FarrenBased on the extraordinary life of the iconic Les Girls headliner and Australian transgender pioneer, Jessica Marais, stars as Carlotta. A universal story about identity, family, tolerance and acceptance, Carlotta lays bare the life of the confused teenager named Richard and his flight into the turbulence of the hedonistic sixties and seventies. Against the threat of criminal prosecution as well as social rejection, Carlotta emerges as the all conquering drag queen and performer.How many working class Balmain boys grow up to be showgirls? Not just any showgirl but a household name, a legend of Kings Cross, a daytime TV star, and a symbol of generational change. Spanning forty years, Carlotta is an uplifting celebration of finding your place in the world and making your mark against all odds.About a well known Australian transexual cabaret (Les Girls) performer. TV movie. Wikipedia also mentions that Carlotta was an inspiration behind the Australian movie "Priscilla, queen of the desert" which is also in this list.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsTerry CamilleriJohn MeillonKevin MilesThe small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.
- DirectorRob SitchStarsMichael CatonAnne TenneyStephen CurryA working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.Australian box office: A$10,326,428
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsTommy LewisFreddy ReynoldsAngela Punch McGregorAfter suffering racist abuse throughout his life - which intensifies following his marriage to a white woman - a half-Aboriginal farmhand finds himself driven to murder.
- DirectorDean MurphyStarsPaul HoganShane JacobsonRoy BillingA father and son who travel from Victoria to Cape York to fulfill their lifelong ambition to fish off Australia's northern tip.Featuring the stars of "Crocodile Dundee" and "Kenny".
Wikipedia states (via external link info):
Box office: A$$3,438,120 - DirectorPaulette McDonaghStarsMarie LorraineArthur GreenawayJohn FaulknerThe daughter of the head of a criminal gang falls in love with the son of her father's most bitter enemy.Mentioned in the current documentary series (which started airing on 06/06/2017) "David Stratton's stories of Australian cinema), this film was produced by women, for possibly the first time anywhere in the world (well, the McDonagh sisters' first film, 1926's "Those who love" - see this list here for that title - would be in line for that honour). Stratton also notes that this film is amongst the earliest films (anywhere in the world?) to experiment with sound.
Stratton states that no McDonagh sisters' film remains intact today...only fragments exist, which he calls a "tragedy". - DirectorRolf de HeerStarsDavid GulpililPeter DjigirrLuke FordDispleased with the intervention of whitefella laws, Charlie takes off to live the old way and sets off a chain reaction of enlightening difficulties.A Rolf de Heer film (Bad boy bubby), starring David Gulpilil.
Wikipedia states:
Nominated for a Best Film honour at the 2014 AACTA Awards.
Charlie's Country currently holds an approval rating of 92% on Rotten Tomatoes - DirectorAndrew DominikStarsEric BanaSimon LyndonVince ColosimoChopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.Wikipedia states:
AFI Winner: Best director; Best actor in a leading role; Others.
Won multiple international awards too. - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsJack ThompsonGraham KennedyFrank WilsonBoardroom and dressing-room intrigues spill on to the field at the Australian Rules football club.
- DirectorWayne HarrisonGrant DodwellStarsRonald FalkRon HaddrickEdwin HodgemanSix senior Aussie men, mates since war service, meet one morning each week in a gymnasium...they exercise together, chew the fat together, talk about their families, laugh, tease and sing. Together they solve the problems of the world, always agreeing to disagree. But some surprising and disturbing elements enter to test and challenge their comfortable relationships with one another and to the world around them. Secrets, differences and loss of trust threaten to destroy their long-established friendships.This film was mentioned in The Herald Sun today (11/03/2015):
"Young & Jackson is a prequel to [Don] Reid's 2006 award-winning comedic play Codgers, which [Wayne] Harrison turned into a feature film of the same name in 2011". - DirectorPeter MaxwellStarsTerry McDermottGary GrayLynette CurranIn this movie version of Bellbird (1967) a reporter, Philip Henderson stirs up the town further when they are already suffering with a drought.Based on the "Bellbird" tv series.
- DirectorPaul MoloneyStarsMick MolloyBill HunterFrank WilsonA local bowling club faces potential takeover due to dwindling membership and increasing overheads. A thrilling battle ensues, involving young and old, greed and good, and extraordinary circumstances.Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$3.5 million
Box office: A$8.6 million - DirectorPeter FaimanStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAn American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.Australian box office: A$47,707,045
...which is equivalent to A$104,001,358 in 2009 dollars.
The #1 Australian movie in Australia (all time). - DirectorJohn CornellStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAustralian outback expert protects his New York love from gangsters who've followed her down under.Australian box office: A$24,916,805
... which is equivalent to $48,843,593 in 2009 dollars.
#7 Australian film, all time. - DirectorSimon WincerStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJere BurnsAustralian Outback adventurer Mick "Crocodile" Dundee travels to Los Angeles with his young son while his longtime companion suspects foul play at a movie studio.Australian box office: A$7,759,103
It grossed only $39 million worldwide, well below the total gross of the previous two films. - DirectorArch NicholsonStarsJohn JarrattNikki CoghillMax PhippsA park ranger is tasked with dealing with a killer crocodile that appears to have a spiritual connection with the local Aboriginals.Wikipedia states:
Produced by Antony I. Ginnane.
Budget: A$4,808,232 - DirectorAlex ProyasStarsRufus SewellKiefer SutherlandJennifer ConnellyA man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.Wikipedia states:
Budget: $27 million (est)
Box office: $27,200,316 - DirectorMichael SpierigPeter SpierigStarsEthan HawkeWillem DafoeSam NeillIn the year 2019, a plague has transformed almost every human into vampires. Faced with a dwindling blood supply, the fractured dominant race plots their survival; meanwhile, a researcher works with a covert band of vamps on a way to save humankind.#8 in the magazine FilmInk's list of the top 10 Australian sci-fi movies of all time (May/June 2015 issue).
Wikipedia states:
Budget: (A?)$20 million
Box office: US$51.4 million - DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsEdward John StazakJohn StantonJames RichardsA martial-arts expert goes after a criminal gang and its boss, who were responsible for the death of his partner.Brian Trenchard-Smith film. 1st in a series, followed by "Strike of the panther". A 3rd in the series, "Escape of the panther" was planned but not made according to Wikipedia.
Australian budget: A$500,000 - DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsNicole KidmanSam NeillBilly ZaneAfter a tragedy, John Ingram and his wife Rae are spending some time isolated at sea, when they come across a stranger who has abandoned a sinking ship.Wikipedia states:
Budget: (A?)$10.4 million
Box office: US$7,825,000 + A$2,444,407 - DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsNed ManningNatalie McCurryPeter WhitfordIn a dystopian future Australia, a health nut and his tag-along girlfriend become trapped in a drive-in cinema that has become a concentration camp for delinquent youths and immigrants.Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith.
Notable for being based on a work by award winning Australian author Peter Carey (Wikipedia lists that work as "Crabs").
Another film on my "To do" list.
Australian box office: A$68,000
Budget: A$2,500,000. - DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsJohn HargreavesGrant PageMargaret GerardTwo best friends, Vietnam War veterans-turned-stuntmen, are sent as spies to the Philippines on a top secret mission for the Australian government.Wikipedia lists this film as being one word.
Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith.
Australian box office: A$30,000
Budget: A$157,000. - DirectorJohn RuaneStarsSam NeillZoe CaridesJohn ClarkeCarl Fitzgerald is down-on-his-luck until he meets Sophie, a beautiful Greek girl. He gets a job as a cook, but accidentally kills a fellow worker. He turns to his unscrupulous best friend for help and they attempt to dispose of the body.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsCharles McCallumJohn FrawleyArthur DignamFred Schepisi's first feature is this lushly photographed period drama detailing a young boy's coming-of-age in a strict Catholic seminary in 1950s Australia.Wikipedia states:
1976 AFI Winner Best film
Budget: A$306,000
Box office: A$334,000 - DirectorDavid CaesarStarsBryan BrownToni ColletteJohn Goodman1973 Sydney: An Australian gangster sees booming business, due to U.S. soldiers being in town for relaxing between their tours to the Vietnam war, attracts the attention of first the Chicago mafia, and then their East Coast competitors.I saw this film at the cinema. Not a particularly good one but for some reason I still remember the scene where John Goodman's character is surprised by Australian pizzas.
- DirectorRob SitchStarsSam NeillBilly MitchellRoz HammondA remote Australian community, populated by quirky characters, plays a key role in the first Apollo moon landing.Australian box office A$17,999,473
#10 Australian movie, all time. - DirectorRichard LowensteinStarsMichael HutchenceSaskia PostNique NeedlesTwo man are the key members of a band called 'Dogs in Space' and share a house in a Melbourne suburb with a variety of young music fans and social misfits, including a college student and a transient and apparently nameless teenage girl.Not seen this film myself (interested in doing so though)...think that it's sort of fact based and maybe covers the kind of scene that Nick Cave's first band, The Boys Next Door, evolved from.
Wikipedia states:
Budget: A$2 million or $3 million
Box office: A$367,351 - DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsJohn HargreavesPat BishopGraham KennedyOn the night of the 1969 Australian election, Don holds a party in his suburban Sydney house, where his raucous, rude, embarrassing, extrovert friends discuss sex, politics, and their lives, and seduce each others wives.Wikipedia states:
"Phillip Adams originally distributed the film himself. Don's Party grossed $871,000 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $4,503,070 in 2009 dollars". - DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsKate WinsletJudy DavisLiam HemsworthA glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.Mentioned in "David Stratton's stories of Australian cinema" (06/06/2017) as an example of films made by women.
Wikipedia states:
Budget $11.9 million
Box office $24.11 million
Winner, 5th ACTAA Awards (2015): People's Choice Award for favourite Australian film. Won numerous other category's at that year's ACTAAs too. - DirectorIvan SenStarsMichael J. MinorDaniel RobertsTasma WaltonDan Freeman an obsessive UFO Hunter roams the Nevada desert around AREA 51 searching the skies for contact, but alone in the desert he awakens to a deeper mystery.Hopefully this is the right entry for this film. If not, it's the title in the link, below:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1524125/reference
#10 in the magazine FilmInk's list of the top 10 Australian sci-fi movies of all time (May/June 2015 issue). - DirectorPeter CollinsonStarsWilliam HoldenRicky SchroderJack ThompsonDiagnosed with a terminal form of cancer, Patrick Foley has returned to his native Australia to die in the peace and quiet of the wilderness. His simple plan is complicated, however, when he meets a young boy who has just lost his parents.Can't say if I actually saw this film...maybe I did. Looking at the box office results from Wikipedia it looks like not many people saw this US/Australia co-production which had two American stars in a film set in Australia.
Australian box office: A$72,000 - DirectorAlby MangelsStarsAlby MangelsMichelle ElsLucinda DunnThe sequel to "World safari" and "World safari II: The final adventure" (the latter obviously falsely advertising itself!).
- DirectorLawrence JohnstonStarsLes FoxcroftNoel Jordan
- DirectorArthur CornwallGeorge Cornwell
- DirectorHarry WattStarsChips RaffertyJane BarrettJack LambertIn 1854, Australian gold rush miners struggle for their rights against an oppressive government.A British film starring Australians and shot in Australia.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsMeryl StreepSam NeillDale ReevesA mother whose child was killed in a dingo attack in the Australian Outback fights to prove her innocence when she is accused of murder.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Angels_(film)]
A.K.A. "A cry in the dark" outside of Australia (e.g. in the U.S.).
Wikipedia states:
1989 AFI Winner Best film (again, odd year, as for "Flirting" too, because of its release day being the previous year).
Budget: $15 million
Box office: $6,908,797 (United States)[
"Evil Angels grossed A$3,006,964 at the box office in Australia. This was considered a disappointment considering the publicity and subject matter". - DirectorPaulette McDonaghStarsMarie LorrainePaul LonguetGaston MervaleCherry Carson is a rich girl who falls in love with a gentleman she meets by chance on a train trip. Little does she know that he is the son of her father's greatest enemy, and their love is doomed to suffer.A McDonagh sisters' produced film. This title came up for their Wikipedia entry for "The cheaters" (see this list for that title). A reviewer for that later film at the time wasn't positive about it and said it wasn't as good as this earlier picture. Wikipedia also states that "The far paradise" was well received both critically and at the box office.
David Stratton states (in his "Stories of Australian cinema" series) that no McDonagh sisters' film remains intact today...only fragments exist. - DirectorRichard FranklinStarsJohn HolmesUschi DigardCandy SamplesProfessor Jungenot A. Freud explores ten common female sexual fantasies as described by some of his patients.Wikipedia states:
Directed by Richard Franklin under the pseudonym of Richard Bruce. He said that the film's success allowed him to get the funding to make "Patrick".
Produced by Antony I. Ginnane
Budget: A$50,000
Box office: A$650,000
A sequel was made: "Fantasm comes again" but it is not listed on this site for this List.
Budget: $85,000
Directed by Colin Eggleston using the pseudonymn "Eric Ram".
Produced by Antony I. Ginnane.
The film sold well around the world but was not as popular as Fantasm at the Australian box office. Ginnane blamed the fact by the time it was released there was a glut of sex films on the market and the delay caused by censorship hold ups. (In 1980 David Stratton called it "the most censored of the new Australian films.") . - DirectorFrank ShieldsStarsMichael NouriDarlanne FluegelMaxwell CaulfieldA swirl of flashing lights streaks through the Norwegian night. The mysterious lights set off a bizarre chain of events: unexplained disappearances, violent illnesses and slaughtered livestock. Two reporters pursue this hot U.F.O. story.[edit in: this film is called "Fatal sky":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_Sky]
Antony I. Ginnane film. Australia/USA co-production according to Wikipedia. Straight to video release.
Ginnane's previous film was "The siege of Firebase Gloria", a US production, released in 1989. - DirectorRaymond LongfordStarsMaster AnsonMiss ClareTom CosgroveWikipedia lists this film as having (at the time) the greatest box office by an Australian film of:
₤18,000 (est.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Australia#Other_popular_Australian_films - DirectorMatthew SavilleStarsJoel EdgertonJai CourtneyTom WilkinsonAn accident involving a young child sets off a chain of events that brings an Australian police officer's world crashing down.Released this week, I believe (today is 28/08/2014).
Wikipedia states:
"Joel Edgerton wrote, produced and also co-starred in the film". - DirectorRobin AndersonBob ConnollyStarsRichard OxenburghDaniel LeahyMick LeahyAbout an undiscovered tribe in New Guinea.
Wikipedia states that's its box office was:
A$120,000
It won an AFI for best feature documentary and an Academy Award nomination in the same category. - DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorThandiwe NewtonNicole KidmanTwo freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.2nd in a proposed trilogy, following on from "The year my voice broke". No 3rd film as of yet.
Australian box office: $1,655,044
Wikipedia says in part:
"The movie was widely critically acclaimed. It featured on Roger Ebert's Top 10 Best Films List of 1992. Later it was ranked number 46 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies".
Also, 1990 AFI Winner Best film (which is odd, as it was released in 1991, the year that "Proof" won the AFI Best film for that year).
"Flirting grossed $1,655,044 at the box office in Australia[2] and $2,415,396 in the USA". - DirectorMiles ManderStarsCharles FarrellMary MaguireJames RaglanSandy, an adventurer in Australia, travels from place to place doing various jobs. At a sheep farm he meets Mary and they fall in love, but he runs away in the end. He later meets Dr. John Vaughan, who has sentimental problems of his own and takes a job as a flying doctor. Destiny will reunite the thee of them again.Wikipedia lists this as a British-Australian co-production. Even more surprising, world sporting legend - Australian cricketer Don Bradman -appears as himself in this film!
IMDB also mentions a 1959 tv series...will have to check out info on that.
IMDB also states that this movie was a winner and a nominee in two categories at the Venice Film Festival.
Budget:
£45,000
Running time:
92 min. (Aust)
67 min. (UK)