Beneath Hill 60, now in cinemas, unearths the little-known story of Australian miners who tunnelled under German lines on the western front during the First World War. We commemorate Anzac Day on the site by highlighting other dramatic stories of the 'war to end all wars’.

The Hero of the Dardanelles (1915) was Australia’s first feature film about Gallipoli. Paul Byrnes has now re-curated this feature in its extended version, containing an additional ten minutes of footage reconstructed by Dr Daniel Reynaud in collaboration with the National Film and Sound Archive. As well as new and revised curator notes, we have also published an additional clip.

Other seminal features re-creating the First World War include Charles Chauvel’s Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940) and Peter Weir’s Gallipoli (1981). The lesser-known features Diggers (1931) and Broken Sun (2008) both return to the war in flashback.

On the small screen, Billy and Percy (1974) explores the relationship between wartime prime minister Billy Hughes and his private secretary. This telemovie was a big hit at the AFI Awards in 1974–75, winning the Golden Reel (in the General category) as well as prizes for Best Direction (John Power), Best Actor (Martin Vaughan) and a Bronze Medallion for Geoff Burton’s cinematography. Eight years later, the ABC won the Logie for Best Mini-series for 1915 (1982).

Look for more First World War material on ASO soon, as Paul Byrnes is currently curating rare footage from the Australian War Memorial and more feature films from and about the period.

See titles tagged Gallipoli.