Mother and Son – The Clock (1991)
Maggie (Ruth Cracknell) has stolen a clock from a neighbour’s house where she’s been snooping. The house is for sale and is open for inspection. The real estate agent (Paula Duncan) saw her take the clock and comes across the ... [read more]
The Blainey View – Footprints (1982)
Australian historian Geoffrey Blainey takes us from the southernmost reaches of Tasmania to the edge of the continent in the Northern Territory to tell the extraordinary history of the first humans to live in Australia, from their earliest footprint on ... [read more]
It’s Ruth: Ruth Cracknell, Actor (1994)
It’s Ruth provides a glimpse into the professional life of one of Australia’s most well-recognised and loved actresses, Ruth Cracknell (1926-2002). The documentary features generous excerpts from Cracknell’s theatre performances (including Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, 1991, and Oscar Wilde’s The ... [read more]
Shine (1996)
David Helfgott (played as a child by Alex Rafalowicz) is a piano prodigy, growing up in Perth in the 1950s. His father Peter (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is a loving authoritarian, determined to keep his family together at all costs, a legacy ... [read more]
Bit of Black Business – Done Dirt Cheap (2007)
Not far from the bustling Kalgoorlie mines, local Aboriginal couple Amos (Trevor Jamieson) and Gracie (Wendy Martin) are fossicking for gold with a pick and shovel. It seems they have hit paydirt so Amos heads to town where gold is ... [read more]
Mother and Son – The Funeral (1984)
Maggie (Ruth Cracknell) and Arthur (Garry McDonald) set out with Uncle Tom (Peter Gwynne) to the funeral of another of Maggie’s brothers, Andrew. Maggie holds up the whole procession of cars while she buys a bag of oranges from a ... [read more]
The Beach (2000)
Inspired by Geoffrey Dutton’s book Sun, Sea, Surf, and Sand: The Myth of the Beach (1985), this film looks at how Australia came to be the most beach-conscious nation on Earth. This is reflected in the way the beach has ... [read more]
Backchat, Episode 216 (1988)
On Backchat, viewers of ABC television and ABC radio listeners could write or phone in their response to the weekly output of the public broadcaster, which in this program includes Countrywide and Geoffrey Robertson’s Hypotheticals. There’s also an ... [read more]
Lantana (2001)
In the midst of a midlife crisis, detective Leon Zat (Anthony LaPaglia) investigates the disappearance of a prominent psychiatrist, Dr Valerie Somers (Barbara Hershey). Zat suspects her husband John Knox (Geoffrey Rush) of having had a homosexual affair with Patrick ... [read more]
The Eye of the Storm (2011)
Washed-up, UK-based thespian Sir Basil (Geoffrey Rush) and Dorothy (Judy Davis), an impoverished minor European princess, return to their Sydney family home as their eccentric, wealthy mother, Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling), recovers from a stroke. The siblings are more interested ... [read more]
Riot or Revolution (2005)
A partly dramatised documentary about the Eureka Stockade in colonial Victoria. The civil revolt was triggered by the government’s imposition of a gold licence for gold miners. The documentary consists of photographs and drawings of the event, some dramatic recreations, ... [read more]
Candy (2006)
Dan (Heath Ledger) and Candy (Abbie Cornish) are young and in love – with each other, and with heroin. He’s an aspiring poet, she’s an aspiring painter. Their days and nights are full of lovemaking and dope, often a gift ... [read more]
Bran Nue Dae (2009)
Broome boy Willy (Rocky McKenzie) must choose between studying to become a priest or following his heart and pursuing his love for Rosie (Jessica Mauboy). Rosie, an aspiring singer, loves to hang out at the bar and is invited to ... [read more]
Lockie Leonard – The Human Torpedo (2006)
For ‘surf rat’ Lockie Leonard (Sean Keenan), ‘life is proving to be one long whack in the goolies’. Discovering that his new home is a dump on the edge of a swamp, starting high school in a new town without ... [read more]
‘A miracle’ (1997)
Oscar (Ralph Fiennes) delivers the glass church to Reverend Hasset (Ciaran Hinds). This clip also features narration by Geoffrey Rush. [read more]
Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? (2006)
Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler retraces the investigation into the deaths of brilliant CSIRO scientist Dr Bogle and his lover, Mrs Margaret Chandler, whose bodies were found beside the Lane Cove River, ... [read more]
Ned Kelly (2003)
Edward (‘Ned’) Kelly (Heath Ledger) defends himself in a fight against police in the main street of Greta, after one officer wrongfully accuses him of stealing a horse. Kelly gets three years in prison. Returning to the family farm in ... [read more]
Babakiueria (1986)
This is a drama pretending to be an ethnographic documentary examining the customs of the white natives of ‘Babakiueria’, from the perspective of the country’s black colonisers. Babakiueria is named as a result of first contact between the colonisers and ... [read more]
The greatest Australian prime minister (1966)
Political expert Professor Geoffrey Sawer discusses Deakin’s role in the first decade of Federation. Former prime minister Sir Robert Menzies (1949–66) hails Deakin as Australia’s greatest prime minister. [read more]
The essence of comedy (1994)
In this clip, actors Ruth Cracknell and Garry McDonald rehearse a scene from Mother and Son (1985-94) with director Geoff Portmann. Portmann talks about Cracknell’s acting method and Cracknell reflects on the role of comedy in presenting serious subjects. The ... [read more]
