# Australian Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2013, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040 "2013-11-29T01:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/21 "2013-11-29T07:18:13Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > The Man from Snowy River Just wanted to note that, if it weren’t for some great Snowy Mountain landscapes and some impressive horse-riding, this film would have no redeeming features whatsoever. It is possibly the most trite and cliched story ever put to celluloid, with some very good actors hamming it up through some of the worst dialog imaginable. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/22 "2013-11-29T07:55:12Z")
Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of the best creepy movies I’ve seen. Sunday Too Far Away, The Cars That Ate Paris, and The FJ Holden are all thoroughly enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/23 "2013-11-29T08:36:39Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Let’s not forget [The Dish](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205873/?ref_=fn_tt_tt_1), a true little gem. > > Also liked [Sirens](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111201/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_31). [Oscar and Lucinda](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119843/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_49) is another good one. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/24 "2013-11-29T09:53:07Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > _The Sum of Us_ - fun light drama/comedy about the relationship between a man and his gay son You didn’t mention - with Russell Crowe as the son. Loved this movie. One not listed that I’d recommend: [Cosi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosi_%28film%29). ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/25 "2013-11-29T10:01:34Z")
I’m very fond of [Malcolm](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091464/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5), partly because I’m a Melbourne tram fangirl, but also - it’s just great fun. The recent [The Sapphires](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673697/?ref_=nv_sr_1) was pretty good too. On the obscure side: [Soft Fruit](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0180181/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) (much more obscure than it should be) Also: Proof, Priscilla, Muriel, Strictly Ballroom - hell yeah. I like the quirky ones 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/26 "2013-11-29T10:03:24Z")
_The Sound Of Music_. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/27 "2013-11-29T11:02:08Z")
_Sweetie_ > **[Sweetie (1989) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098725/?ref_=nv_sr_1)** > > Sweetie: Directed by Jane Campion. With Geneviève Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling. An introspective young woman's life is upturned by the arrival of her maladjusted sister. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/28 "2013-11-29T11:45:53Z")
I like [Malcolm](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlaA_TPMXqY) (trailer), too. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Bragg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4bbf92/32.png) [@Stealth\_Bragg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Bragg)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/29 "2013-11-29T12:47:34Z")
I love Australian movies, something about the close-ups of grotesque faces. How about the early Peter Jackson movies: Braindead, The Frighteners, BAd Taste? (probably NZ though, hummm) ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/30 "2013-11-29T13:30:18Z")
I have fond memories of [Young Einstein](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096486/). ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/31 "2013-11-29T14:06:13Z")
[Wake in Fright](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_in_Fright) Brilliant existential horror film without any hint of the supernatural. Bizarre tacked on disclaimer at the end that states “the survival of the Australian kangaroo is seriously threatened” which can only have been added for the benefit of Americans, since any Australian knows that the kangaroo was not then and is not now in any way threatened as a species. That’s really the only fault in an otherwise perfect film. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/32 "2013-11-29T14:49:52Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > _The Sound Of Music_. Dummkopf! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/33 "2013-11-29T15:01:48Z")
For those interested, I recommend Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! It’s a documentary on the rise of Ozploitation movies in the 1970’s. It was interesting. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/34 "2013-11-29T15:08:26Z")
Probably not quite what the OP had in mind, but the first Australian “movie” that I thought of was “[Northern Safari](http://northernsafari.com/dvd.html)” (RIP Keith Adams ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/35 "2013-11-29T16:11:27Z")
I am shocked - shocked! - that the OP’s list didn’t include _Breaker Morant_, which is not only the best Australian movie, but in my top five of greatest movies _ever_. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/36 "2013-11-29T16:13:41Z")
I would go with Road Warrior over Mad Max. More thought out and more iconic. I can see why some would prefer the more raw energy of the first one, though. Breaker Morant felt like homework to me. Maybe because too many people had recommended it to me. Walkabout was like professional basketball – a bit of a slog for two hours, with an awesome minute at the very end. 😉 I still watch Crocodile Dundee whenever I run across it. Everything about it is adorable. I’m disappointed to see that Hogan and Kozlowski have just filed for divorce. I have a soft spot for Young Einstein, but I’m afraid to ever watch it again, because I know I’ll be left thinking, “what was I thinking?” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/37 "2013-11-29T16:42:12Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > The Man from Snowy River > [@mhendo](#): > > Just wanted to note that, if it weren’t for some great Snowy Mountain landscapes and some impressive horse-riding, this film would have no redeeming features whatsoever. It is possibly the most trite and cliched story ever put to celluloid, with some very good actors hamming it up through some of the worst dialog imaginable. I thought that was _Quigley Down Under_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/38 "2013-11-29T16:45:21Z")
[Mary and Max](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_and_Max) ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/39 "2013-11-29T16:47:39Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Not yet mentioned, the sequential coming of age films _The Year My Voice Broke_ and the rather better _Flirting_ ( starring a young Thandie Newton and Nicole Kidman ). I was going to add these. Meet the Feebles ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2013, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040/40 "2013-11-29T16:47:55Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > The Castle … A superb, charming, hilarious film! 🆒 😃 Federal Court Judge: And what Law are you basing this argument on? Darryl Kerrigan: The Law of bloody common sense! Steve Kerrigan: Dad, you haven’t let anyone down. I don’t know what the opposite of lettin’ someone down is… but you done the opposite Dale Kerrigan: Dad reckons fishing is 10% brains and 95% muscle, the rest is just good luck. Dale Kerrigan: The real estate agent said ‘location location location’ and we were right next to the airport! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-movies/675040.md?page=3)