A short overview of the history of Australian feature films.

2. Seeing your own country on the big screen is

important.
 Hearing your own language and accent.
 Seeing your own landmarks
 Your own stories.
A matter of national pride and identity.


3. Bushranger

Bush culture

War and military culture

Larrikin culture

Young and Urban

Action and Horror

These types went in and out of fashion and

reflect different stages of Australian identity.

4. Many based on novels

Some based on real events

Some are period pieces.


5. The Salvation army presented this lecture.

It was shown in the Melbourne Town Hall.

It consisted of 13 short films, spoken material

and songs.
It is sometimes considered the first feature

film ever made.

6. Inauguration of the Australian

Commonwealth
Filmed in Sydney on January 1, 1901

Sponsored by the New South Wales

Government
Ran for 30 minutes – five times longer than

any previous production.

7. Possibly the first feature film made in the

world was called The Story of the Kelly Gang.
It was made in 1906.

It was made by the Tait Brothers in Australia.


9. Unfortunately authorities did not approve of

bushranger stories.
They were banned in Victoria, South Australia

and New South Wales within five years.

10. Why do you think bushrangers were a

popular choice for silent films?
Why do you think the authorities banned

these bushranger films?

11. Ken Hall (On Our Selection, 1932)

Charles Chauvel

Raymond Longford (The Sentimental Bloke,

1919)

14. 1911: Australia pioneers the double bill

The Glacarium Cinema in Melbourne played

the Australian film The Lost Chord.
It was supported by the Italian film The Fall of

Troy (1910).

15. In 1911 there were 52 Australian narrative

fiction titles released.
 Many were bushranger flicks.
This was the highest level of production until

1975.
In 1911 Australia produced more feature films

than any other country.

16. Film was becoming big business.

American and British companies were taking

over distribution.
 Often they would not show local films.
 In 1922 – 23 ninety-four percent of films shown in
Australia were from America.
There was a Royal Commission into the

industry’s decline in 1928.
 This did little to slow the decline.

17. The first talkie was an American film called

“The Jazz Singer”.
It set a new record.

 Showed for 46 weeks in 1928 – 1929 at Sydney's
Lyceum Theatre.

19. Audiences went up when talking pictures

arrived.
187 million tickets were sold that year.

29 cinema admission for every person in

Australia.

20. How many films did you see in the cinema in

the last twelve months?
How many of these were Australian films?


21. Showgirl’s Luck began production in June

1930.
 There were many technical problems and it was
released in 1931.
Two films with sound segments were also

completed by this time.
 Fellers
 The Cheaters

22. In The Wake of the Bounty (1933)

Directed by Charles Chauvel.

Paid £30 for three weeks work.

Became of the world’s biggest movie stars

within two years.

24. Available film used for newsreels and

propaganda films.
Films sent to troops in New Guinea and

remote parts of Australia.

25. A government rule in 1951 about raising

capital for companies all but destroyed the
industry.
Between 1952 and 1966 there were an

average of two films made in Australia
including co-productions.

26. Many actors left Australia in these years.

Some did very well.

 Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell (Murder She Said, 1961)
 Rod Taylor (The Time Machine, 1960)
 Diane Cilento (Tom Jones, 1963)
 Ray Barrett (The Reptile, 1966)
 Leo McKern (The Day the Earth Caught Fire, 1961)
 Peter Finch (The Trials of Oscar Wilde, 1961).

27. The Skyline drive-in opens in Burwood.

The first of 330 drive-ins.

Numbers fall dramatically when home video

was introduced in the 1980s.
There are fewer than 20 drive-ins in Australia

today.

28. The first Australian film shot in colour.

Directed by Charles Chauvel.

To first to have serious Aboriginal characters.


29. Channel 9 in Sydney began regular

transmissions.
The first show was called “This is television”.

By 1959 28% of cinema’s in Sydney had

closed and 33% of Melbourne’s indoor
cinemas.
Between 1960 and 1966 only seven feature

films were made in Australia.

30. Prime Minister Gorton created the Australian

Film Development Corporation
Creates the Experimental Film Fund with

$100,000
Creates the Australian Film and Television

School (AFTS), which opened in 1973.

31. Australia produced nearly 400 feature films

between 1970 and 1985.
More than had ever been made before.

New talent emerged.


32. Directors

 Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career)
 Peter Weir (Picnic at Hanging Rock)
 Phil Noyce (Backroads)
 Bruce Beresford
 Fred Schepisi (The Devil’s Playground)
Actors

 Judy Davis
 Sam Neill
 Mel Gibson

34. Stars Graeme Blundell


35. Based on a famous book and real incident.

Directed by Peter Weir

Did very well overseas.


36. Admission went from 68.4 million in 1974 to

28.9 million in 1976.
Australian box-office admissions did not

exceed 60 million again until 1994 (68.1
million).

37. Starring Jack Thompson


40. Animated and live action.

Kids film.


41. Set in the Boer War

Stars Bryan Brown


42. Directed by George Miller.

Starred Mel Gibson


43. Directed by Gillian

Armstrong
Starred Judy Davis and

Sam Neill

44. Changes to Australian taxation law saw an

explosion of films in the 1980s.
Some revisited war and bush culture

Increasingly these films were confident and

urban.
Includes more crime films.


45. Based on the famous David Williamson play.

Starred Jack Thompson


46. Period kids’ film.


47. Directed by Peter Weir


52. Did better than Star Wars in Australia.


53. Starring Nicole Kidman

Urban kids films


54. Does very well in Australia and America.


55. Directed by Nardia Tass

Starring Colin Friels


56. Directed by John Duigan

Starring Noah Taylor and

Ben Mendelsoh.

61. Urban crime flick

Stars Russell Crowe


62. Urban period piece

Anthony Hopkins

Ben Mendelson


63. Directed by Baz Luhrmann


65. Bill Hunter and Toni Collette


66. Russell Crowe

Jack Thompson


71. Geoffrey Rush wins an

Academy Award for his
performance.

73. Urban crime film.

Heath Ledger


76. Urban crime.

Based on a book.


77. Anthony LaPaglia

Geoffrey Rush

Kerry Armstrong


78. A Baz Luhrmann film.

Ewan McGregor

Nicole Kidman


80. Central Aboriginal

characters
Based on a true story

Period drama


81. Bushranger period film.

Heath Ledger


83. Stars Cate Blanchette and Sam Neill

Urban and bleak


84. Urban realism.


85. Horror


86. First Aboriginal language feature produced.


89. Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish

Urban
