Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows actors Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown talking about the Australian film industry of the 1970s and early 1980s. Thompson describes what he sees as the distinctive qualities of the industry and Brown attributes the success of Australian films overseas to the fact that they had something to say.

Educational value points

• In the 1970s and early 1980s, Australian film experienced a revival, referred to as the 'new wave’ of Australian cinema. About 400 feature films were produced between 1970 and 1985, more than had been made in the industry’s history. The revival was aided by the introduction of government-financed film-funding bodies and tax concessions for filmmakers. It was also aided by the launch of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in 1973, whose first students included directors Gillian Armstrong and Phillip Noyce.

• In the clip, Thompson describes the industry as having 'a sense of being young’, but during the silent era (c1906–28) Australia had a burgeoning film industry, producing about 150 feature films, including The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), which may have been the world’s first feature-length film. By 1929 the growing stranglehold on the Australian market by US and British distributors, and the economic effect of the Great Depression, saw a decline in Australian film production that lasted until the 1970s.

• The discussion in the clip suggests that Australian films in the 1970s and early 1980s were distinguished by their content. The 1970s film revival coincided with a period in which Australians began to reassess their cultural heritage. This reassessment was reflected in films that explored the Australian experience and national identity. In the 1970s two types of films predominated: ocker comedies such as The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) and arthouse films such as My Brilliant Career (1979). The 1980s saw the emergence of 'blockbusters’, including Gallipoli (1981) and Crocodile Dundee (1986).

• As indicated in the clip, a number of Australian films produced in the 1970s and early 1980s enjoyed commercial and critical success overseas, including Breaker Morant (1980), Gallipoli (1981), Mad Max 2 (1981) and The Man From Snowy River (1982). These films were well received at international film festivals, where Australian films gained a reputation for their high production values, strong emphasis on storytelling and character development, and good use of the Australian landscape.

• In the clip, Thompson and Brown are optimistic about the future of Australian film. In 1980 the introduction of significant tax breaks for film investors, known as the 10BA tax scheme, resulted in a rapid increase in film production, but many investors were interested in a tax write-off rather than box-office revenue and as a consequence some mediocre films were made. However, the scheme also fostered big budget productions, including Crocodile Dundee (1986) which became the highest grossing Australian film and which was world number one at the box office in 1986. The 10BA scheme is still in operation but the tax breaks for investors have been heavily reduced. In 1988 the Australian Film Finance Corporation was established.

• The acting career of Jack Thompson (1940–), who features in the clip, coincided with the revival of the Australian film industry. He appeared in significant Australian films in the 1970s and 1980s, including Sunday Too Far Away (1975) and Breaker Morant (1980). He was the first Australian actor to receive an award at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, for his role in Breaker Morant, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1986 for contributions to Australian cinema. Thompson has also enjoyed success overseas while remaining based in Australia.

• The clip shows actor Bryan Brown (1948–), who was a key figure in the Australian film revival and who established himself as a leading actor in Breaker Morant (1980). A champion of the Australian film industry, he began producing films from the 1990s that told uniquely Australian stories, including Dead Heart (1996) and Dirty Deeds (2002). He also produced the highly successful television series Twisted Tales (1996), which featured new Australian writers and directors. Brown says, 'Filmmaking is in our blood. We’d [Australia] made 14 films before Hollywood had made one’.

Jack Thompson and Bryan Brown are interviewed separately. Jack is seen sitting inside in front of a door.
Jack Thompson I remember saying to someone once – they said, you know, ‘Will you leave the Australian industry? Will you go and work somewhere else?’ I’ll go and work on a film anywhere in the world – wherever there’s a good script, and a good director, I’d love to go and work. But I will come back here to live and to remain a part of this industry that has a sense of cohesion, a sense of modesty, a sense of being young and a sense of a cresting wave. And I trust, that as we grow older and more sophisticated in our industry, that we never lose that feeling. Because, if we do, we will lose a lot of the special qualities that make Australian film.

Bryan Brown is interviewed on a balcony outside, looking across to the ocean.
Bryan Brown I think the element that makes – makes our movies, uh, popular overseas is that, outside of everything, there’s a lot of heart in our movies. I think that whether we tell the story well, um, indifferently or- or badly, there’s still a earn- a- desire on the part of the filmmaker to get something across, um- it’s not, uh, out to impress or to have some – some eff- or not – it’s not starting looking for the result. It’s actually having something to say. Now, whether you tell that well or not is another matter. But the feeling that people are trying to say something in the movies is what’s touched people, I think what’s got people on side.