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G4EBT > FILMS 01.02.08 20:57l 147 Lines 5617 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Some notable Oz films
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I mentioned earlier that my favourite Oz film has to be the multi-award
winning "Strictly Ballroom" but several other Oz films sprang to mind,
so I thought I'd have a dig around for other Oz film success stories.
Here are just a few of the main award winners - there are scores of
others.
*The Sentimental Bloke (1919) is especially interesting. It's an
Australian silent film based on the 1915 Australian poem The Songs of a
Sentimental Bloke by C.J. Dennis, written in "strine" (Oz slang).
I seem to recollect that the poem has been on packet,
but I'll give it another outing anyway.
The film was made by Raymond Longford and Lottie Lyell, at that time the
best known partnership in Australian cinema. It starred Lyell and the
vaudeville comedian Arthur Tauchert and was filmed mainly in the inner
city Sydney suburb of Woolloomooloo.
Tauchert played the 'sentimental bloke' - a Sydney larrikin, who vows to
abandon his life of gambling and drinking when he falls in love with
Doreen (Lyell), who works in a pickle factory.
How romantic!
The Sentimental Bloke used intertitles taken from the original poem
written in Australian slang and was a hit when it opened in Melbourne Town
Hall on October 4, 1919, breaking all existing box office records.
It was also popular in Britain and New Zealand, but didn't succeed in the
U.S., where test audiences failed to understand the language. Despite
being recut with Americanised intertitles, having some scenes cut out, and
being renamed for the American market as The Story of a Tough Guy, it was
withdrawn from distribution.
The film was rediscovered in the 1950s, and a new print was screened at
the Sydney Film Festival in 1955. Longford was found to be working as a
night watchman on the Sydney wharfs - Lyell had died in 1925 of
tuberculosis.
Since then, the original negative sent to the U.S. has been discovered
(mislabelled as The Sentimental Blonde) at the Film Archive at George
Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester,
New York.
Found to be a different version and of a better quality print than
any of the Australian copies, this 'new' version premiered at the 2004
Sydney Film Festival and has played at the 2005 London Film Festival.
*In the Wake of the Bounty: (1933) - The first film to introduce
Errol Flynn - an iconic Australian "swashbuckler" character.
*Kokoda Front Line (1942) - First Australian film to
win an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 1942
*They're a Weird Mob (1966) - Said to have been one factor leading to the
founding of the Australian Film Industry. Based on a novel of the same
title
*Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) - One of the first Australian films to
reach an International audience, based on a book of the same title.
*Mad Max (1979) - Held world record as the highest profit-to-cost ratio of
a motion picture and introduced Mel Gibson to an international audience.
*The Man from Snowy River was a highly acclaimed Australian film released
in the 1980s, along with Crocodile Dundee which boosted the nations
economy and tourism industry. The Year My Voice Broke is also held in high
regard, also having been released in this decade.
*Gallipoli (1981) - AFI winner for Best Film.
Re-invigorated interest in the Gallipoli Campaign.
*Crocodile Dundee (1986) - Received International acclaim,
Nominated for an Oscar, for Best Screenplay
*Romper Stomper (1992) - A multi-award winning film,
one of the first major films starring Russell Crowe.
*Strictly Ballroom (1992) - Nominated for Golden Globe, with additional
16 wins and 11 further nominations. AFI winner for Best Film
*The Piano (1993) - Won 3 Oscars and received a further 5 nominations.
AFI winner for Best Film, starred Holly Hunter and Harvey Keitel.
*Muriel's Wedding (1994) - AFI winner for Best Film with worldwide
success, one of the first films introducing Toni Collette and Rachel
Griffiths
*Babe (1995) - Won an Oscar, for Best Achievement
in Visual Effects and nominated for a further six
*Shine (1996) - AFI winner for Best Film, won Best Actor Oscar.
*Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997) - 10 AFI nominations winner of 4 (Best
Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Original Music Score and Best Costume
Design)
*Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Widely credited with revitalizing the musical
genre. Has won 7 major awards and a further 10 nominations.
*One Night the Moon (2001) - AFI winner and New York International
Independent Film & Video Festival Genre award winner. A musical (winner,
Screen Music Awards, Australia) based on the true story of a young girl
who went missing in the Australian outback in 1932.
*Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) - AFI winner for Best Film. Based on the book
Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence. Stirred debate over its historical
accuracy.
*Ten Canoes (2006) - First film made with entirely native Australian
Aboriginal spoken languages. AFI winner for Best Film
*Happy Feet (2006) - The most expensive Australian film made,
won Oscar, for Best animated feature film
Watch this space:
*Australia (2008) - A highly anticipated upcoming
film, expected to be an Australian epic.
For the full list see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Australian_films
Quote of the day:
"A good film is..."
"A good film is when the price of the dinner, the
theatre admission and the babysitter were worth it".
(Alfred Hitchcock).
Best wishes
David, G4EBT @ GB7FCR
Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
Message timed: 18:06 on 2008-Feb-01
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