Titles curated by Kate Matthews
90 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 next
1960s
Pick a Box – Episode 170 television program – 1963
An episode of the classic quiz show featuring celebrity contestant Barry Jones, who later became a state and federal member of parliament.
The Mavis Bramston Show – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1964
A weekly variety show featuring topical satire, sketches and songs.
Homicide – The Decimal Point television program – 1965
When Homicide first aired, Australian television drama, complete with Australian cops and accents, was a novelty on screen.
The Mavis Bramston Show – Series 2 Episode 1 television program – 1965
Although Mavis Bramston’s topical satire is no longer current, it is still sharp.
1970s
Dynasty – Have You Got the Numbers? television program – 1970
A drama series that revolves around the Mason family, owners of a media empire in the tradition of the real-life Packer and Murdoch clans.
Homicide – The Superintendent television program – 1970
This extraordinary episode breaks away from many of the usual Homicide conventions and dispenses with the customary police investigation in record time.
Division 4 – The Return of John Kelso television program – 1971
This superb hour of drama was Division 4’s most awarded individual episode. It sustains a mood of simmering tension and the supporting cast deliver deliciously malicious performances.
Matlock Police – Episode 1, Twenty-six Hours television program – 1971
From an opening sequence strongly reminiscent of Easy Rider (1969) to a rollicking country car chase at its climax, this is a bumper first episode.
Homicide – The Friendly Fellow television program – 1973
This was star Charles 'Bud’ Tingwell’s favourite Homicide episode.
Ask the Leyland Brothers – Episode 23 television program – 1976
The Leyland Brothers answer viewer requests and visit Broken Hill and Uluru.
Cop Shop – Episode 109 television program – 1978
This episode of Cop Shop is notable for bringing together Mel Gibson, Steve Bisley and Joanne Samuel a short time before they all starred in George Miller’s landmark Mad Max (1979).
The Naked Vicar Show – Series 2 Episode 2 television program – 1978
The Naked Vicar Show is a sketch comedy series that lampoons suburban Australian society.
Patrol Boat – Never Under the White Ensign television program – 1979
Patrol Boat is a television drama about the crew of a navy patrol boat, whose job it is to guard Australia’s coastal waters.
1980s
All the Green Year – Episode 2 television program – 1980
This mini-series about growing up in the years between the world wars recalls a type of small-town society which is now fading into the past.
Kingswood Country – There’s No Place Like Rome television program – 1980
A sitcom that lampoons suburban Australian culture, while being equally fascinated with it.
Rusty Bugles television program – 1980
Based on a banned 1948 stage play, this telemovie follows a group of soldiers posted to a remote base in the Northern Territory during the Second World War.
An Exercise in Discipline: Peel short film – 1982
In Jane Campion’s Palme d’Or winning student short, a bickering red-headed family on a weekend road trip reach a standoff by the side of a country road.
Winner Take All – Downside Risk television program – 1982
An ABC TV series about the fast-paced world of big business, Winner Take All is an early ‘80s time capsule.
Cop Shop – Episode 485 television program – 1983
This episode is a good example of the relatively adventurous single-episode stories featured in Cop Shop at this point in its run. These appeared alongside the more usual crime and soap-oriented plotlines.
A Girl’s Own Story short film – 1983
In this short film by Jane Campion about changes afoot in 1960s society, teenage girls get in trouble for acting out Beatles concerts in the playground.
Passionless Moments short film – 1983
Jane Campion’s student short film delivers funny, fragmentary tales with an unsentimental whimsy.
D-Generation – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1985
While the D-Generation credits read like a who’s who of two decades’ worth of Australian comedy, at the time these comedians were unknowns.
Babakiueria short film – 1986
A mockumentary surveying the culture and customs of the white native people of the land of ‘Babakiueria’, from the perspective of the country’s black colonisers.
Cyclone Tracy television program – 1986
A fictional account of one of Australia’s worst natural disasters – a major turning point in the history of Darwin.
Pleasure Domes short film – 1987
The first Australian animation to compete at Cannes, Pleasure Domes is a reflection on the inevitability of attaching associations to perceptions of landscape.
The Comedy Company – Series 1 Episode 11 television program – 1988
The Comedy Company, with its array of familiar, daggy suburban characters, was a popular sensation.
Living Room documentary – 1988
This beautiful, unsettling experimental documentary is a meditation on Australian suburbia and notions of home.
The Big Gig – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1989
There’s a rowdy beer-hall type atmosphere to this comedy-variety show, which tapped into a vibrant ‘80s live comedy scene in Melbourne.
Central Australia: The Eighth Wonder television program – 1989
Bushie explorer Ted Egan tours places of wonder in Central Australia.
G.P. – Toss a Coin television program – 1989
G.P. is a medical drama that looks at topical social issues.
The Money or the Gun – Heroin television program – 1989
Denton defends comedy as a means of being serious as he tackles the topic of heroin.
1990s
Let the Blood Run Free – Episode 2 television program – 1990
When it first screened in 1990, this was one of the earliest examples of interactive television, allowing viewers to phone in and vote on what would happen next.
DAAS Kapital – Faith television program – 1992
The Doug Anthony All Stars serve up heavy doses of the nonsensical and the bizarre, plus dashes of sexual innuendo, cartoon-style violence and deliberate tastelessness.
Fast Forward – Series 4 Episode 3 television program – 1992
A sketch comedy show from the late 1980s and early ‘90s featuring some big names in Australian comedy.
One Way Street: Fragments for Walter Benjamin documentary – 1992
One Way Street is a timely exploration of a figure who was on the way to being recognised among the great 20th century philosophers.
Blue Heelers – A Woman’s Place television program – 1993
This first episode of Blue Heelers combines police drama with soap elements and introduces us to the show’s key country locations and the central 'family’ of contrasting characters.
The Damnation of Harvey McHugh – From Here to Maternity television program – 1994
Amid TV’s throng of lawyers, doctors and cops, public servant Harvey McHugh stands out as an unlikely small screen hero.
Full Frontal – Series 3 Episode 4 television program – 1995
This sketch comedy series features early work from performers like Eric Bana and Shaun Micallef.
Hayride to Hell short film – 1995
This short film featuring Kylie Minogue is part rock’n'roll moment, part homage to the mysteries and mood of film noir.
Swinger short film – 1995
A story of changing luck told through messages on an answering machine and a messy apartment.
What I Have Written feature film – 1995
A layered mystery that revolves in part around the classic question of the unreliable – or perhaps reliable? – narrator.
McLeod’s Daughters television program – 1996
The McLeod’s Daughters telemovie about independent women running a rural Australian property inspired the later successful TV series.
Water Rats – Dead in the Water television program – 1996
This feature-length pilot packs in more action, location shoots and story strands than a standard episode of Water Rats.
Yindi: The Last Koala? television program – 1996
A young koala is rescued from danger, but the whole species is still threatened.
Halifax f.p. – Afraid of the Dark television program – 1997
A forensic psychiatrist finds she has to solve a petrol station shooting without getting too personally involved.
Murder Call – Black Friday television program – 1997
Murder Call’s take on the crime genre combines a slick look and feel with offbeat story-lines that hark back to the clue-puzzle tradition of fictional sleuths.
The Picture Woman short film – 1997
Over a series of seemingly unrelated images, a woman speaks in voice-over of taking a photo of herself every other day.
Wildside – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1997
The raw style of Wildside is characterised by intense, semi-improvised performances, observational camerawork and sometimes frenetic editing.
Cheap Blonde short film – 1998
A humorous experimental word game which examines gender representation and authorship in the cinema.
Fetch short film – 1998
This short film is a comic escalation of mishaps with a double-barrelled payoff. It was selected to compete at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.
