DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE AUSTRALIAN FILM?

Was "Shine" Australian? Because I liked that film!

How about "The Piano"?

Shine was Australian.

The 1989 sailing thriller "Dead Calm" with Nicole Kidman and Sam Neil.

So many good films mentioned here!
But tell me, though: where/how do you non-Oz folk get to see Oz movies? (I can't imagine, say, The Year My Voice Broke or Gallipoli would be shown in a mainstream theatre). So I assume you either rent a video, oe else maybe watch on cable television?

Almost all the films above have shown on cable - Priscilla, Dead Calm, Flirting, Breaker Morant, Gallipoli, High Tide, and The Year of Living Dangerously quite often. My first viewing of almost all of these was on video.

Haven't ever noticed the following on tv -
The Dish
The Year My Voice Broke
We of the Never Never
Strictly Ballroom
Sweetie
The Castle
The Fringe Dwellers
Romper Stomper
Ground Zero
Prisoners of the Sun

The Turner Classic Movies channel that I've referred to repeatedly frequently shows movies that have never before been on american tv. They were the first to show Picnic at Hanging Rock on US tv. Restored, and in letterbox format too, always the best. They frequently have themed days and months - Italian movies a couple of months ago - Woody Allen before that. They would be the logical place for many of these movies to show up some day. They are commercial free and steer clear of pleasing pop culture tastes.

LarryBS

That's interesting! Couldn't figure out how all of you had seen so many of them!

Here's one I used to loath, but learned to really like.:
MURIEL'S WEDDING
http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1995/03/970471.html

Very funny & quite cynical in parts. Also some sad & touching moments.
I like the way it "takes the Mickey" out of Oz suburbia ... A constant theme in australian films.

dlowan

The name of the film is NEWSFRONT. For those who haven't seen it, it's a terrific little film about the demise of the Oz news/filming industry. Nostalgic stuff. In b&w (if my memory if correct) & home great footage of old Oz news clips included. Bill Hunter is in this one, too, as well as Muriel's Wedding. Very good as the typical, decent Aussie of old in this one, but quite sinister as the father in Muriel's Wedding.

LarryBS

That sounds great! A choice of good movies every night of the week!

Lightwizard

I didn't mean the story of Picnic at Hanging Rock was dated ... (It's an Australian classic novel.) I meant Weir's treatment of the story. Loved that film when it first came out, but was disappointed when I saw it again, not long ago.

LarryBS

You mentioned one of my long-standing favourites, The Year My Voice Broke. Wonderful stuff! If any of you haven't seen it yet, take a look next time it's on cable. Noah Taylor is wonderful as "round peg in a square hole" in a small country town. It has a lovely nostalgic poignancy about it. Moves me each time I see it ... never fails!

Larry R

You reminded me of one I really enjoyed, but had forgotten about: The Winter of Our Dreams. Not sure, but I think that one was also made by John Duigan, who directed The Year My Voice broke. Judy Davis & Bryan Browne a very good in this sad little story, I agree. I found the end very moving indeed.

LarryBS

What is "letterbox format"? Not familiar with the term.

One director whose films haven't been mentioned yet (I think!) & whose work is always interesting is Paul Cox. (Who, incidentally, lives & works in Melbourne.)
Perhaps you've seen some of his films? Do any of these titles ring a bell?:
Man of Flowers
Lonely Hearts
My First Wife- And a recent film, Innocence

His work often deals with themes such as art, the isolation/alienation of the individual within society, people in crisis ...
Unfortunately I didn't catch his highly acclaimed film on Vincent Van Gogh (during the full 5 minutes it was showing in cinemas here! ) but here's a review from Eberg you might find interesting:

http://www.suntimes.com/ebert/ebert_reviews/1989/01/332757.html

If I recall correctly, he had to mortgage his home to make some of his films. Not considered "commercial" enough for investors. He's an extremely serious & interesting director, I think.

msolga - Also known as Wide Screen format, when you have the dreaded black areas at the top and bottom of the screen. This is an item of much controversy in the US, is it in Oz? Drives most dedicated moviegoers to distraction, surprised there have been no horrible crimes in the name of someone wanting to watch the Full Screen version of a movie, another insisting on the Wide Screen, Letterbox version. I am firmly and vociferously in favor of the latter. There is a nice new Film Forum topic for you.

I love Noah Taylor, and especially the Year My Voice Broke, though I haven't seen it in years. Noah was Flirting too I believe, with Nicole and that other very pretty girl.

I am still in the Don't Like camp of Muriel's Wedding, but only because I didn't like the main character at all. But it is one of those I want to see again because I'm often wrong in my first go round with some movies.

"takes the Mickey out of?"

Have you ever seen The Last Wave? Ran across it while looking for Aussie titles. Sounds interesting.

Thanks for the Paul Cox mention, I didn't think I'd heard of any of his movies, until I got to Lonely Hearts. Its one of those movies that has showed up on lists of unknown films deserving mention, and I saw it a few years ago. I loved it, and I'll keep a closer eye for those other titles. He likes Wendy Hughes doesn't he - she was in a bunch of his films.

Something odd is happening: There should be a page 4 to this thread ... There are posts that appear in the "view posts from the past 24 hours" ("as page 4 of 3" ) but can't be viewed when you open the thread from the beginning ... What's going wrong?

Ah, it seems to have come good!
Does anyone know what was wrong?

I have clicked on "show 50 posts per page," so with me, it doesn't split off onto a second page until post 51. I think I heard that complaint on another thread, nothing to worry about - you might mention it to craven though.

LarryBS

VERRRY, verrry odd goings on .... As well as the A2K glitch, my computer just cut out (ping! ) & shut down ... Without me asking it to!
THEN my phone recorder proceeded to talk (It's right next to the computer)... So I deduce there was some sort of power short/outage ..

Now, what was I saying before I was so rudely cut off? Ah yes: Wide screen format. Like watching Lawrence of Arabia on a band aid on your TV screen? I seem to recall watching some film on TV in this mode as the director had apparently insisted that it could only be shown this way ... Chopping off the edges to fit the TV screen was considered tampering with his artistic creation, or something to that effect ...

"Taking the Mickey" is something akin to "taking the piss" out of someone with illusions about themselves, bringing them down to earth, but not in a particularly nasty way, humorously...

I think Flirting was meant to be the next stage of Noah's life, after The Year My Voice Broke. I'm trying to recall who Nicole's pretty friend was, but with no success.

Yes, saw The Last Wave a long, long time ago .... At the time I was very impressed by the "message", the way that Weir created that sense of menace & suspense ... And that last scene! (gulp! )

Yes, I felt the same way about Muriel's Wedding on first viewing ... But it sort of grew on me ... There are some quite clever & moving moments. But yes, Muriel WAS a wee bit irritating at times. Made it difficult to sympathize with her.

p.s.

Judging by the films you've mentioned, I think you'd like Paul Cox. Man Of Flowers, or Innocence were both very good.

Nicole's pretty friend was also in Mission Impossible II with Tom Cruise, I believe - I think that was her.

Thandie Newton

If you haven't seen A Picnic At Hanging Rock on widescreen, you've missed half the film.