All titles in the ‘Drama’ genre
233 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 next
0-9
1915 television program – 1982
The television series 1915 cleverly uses First World War historical footage and successfully moves between the action at the front and events at home in Australia.
2000 Weeks feature film – 1969
2000 Weeks (1969) was one of the first features of the modern era in Australian cinema. Autobiographical and intensely personal, it’s still highly watchable.
27A feature film – 1974
Robert McDarra won the 1974 AFI Award for his portrait of an alcoholic imprisoned in a Queensland psychiatric hospital. He died in 1975.
A
Alexandra’s Project feature film – 2003
If Steve is an average Australian male, his insensitive treatment of his wife is by implication a serious indictment of not only him, but Australian men in general.
All the Rivers Run television program – 1983
This program won a swag of awards and has arguably been watched by more people, more often, than any other Australian mini-series of the prolific ’80s.
Amy feature film – 1998
Amy has an amazing voice, once she discovers it, making this an unusual combination of sentiment, social commentary and singing.
Angel Baby feature film – 1995
These lovers are mentally ill and, for the sake of their coming baby, go off their medication, adding a touch of heroism to the film.
Australian Rules feature film – 2002
This drama, with its racist theme, in turn sparked very heated debate about white filmmakers telling stories with indigenous content.
B
Backlash feature film – 1986
Much of the dialogue in Bill Bennett’s film, about two police officers and a young indigenous woman, was improvised on location.
Backroads short feature – 1977
Backroads (1977) is the first feature (albeit, a short one) by Phillip Noyce, who would go on to make Newsfront (1978) and Rabbit-Proof Fence.
Bad Boy Bubby feature film – 1993
Bad Boy Bubby was conceived as an experiment on virtually every level. It had 32 different cinematographers, for example.
Bambaloo – Bird in a Boat television program – 2002
A mixed live-action, puppetry and animation show for preschoolers from Yoram Gross and the world renowned Jim Henson Company.
Bananas in Pyjamas – Banana Breakfast television program – 1999
The combination of visually appealing characters with the 'Bananas in Pyjamas’ song created a highly popular and commercially successful preschool series.
Beneath Clouds feature film – 2002
While the narrative devices that director Ivan Sen uses to communicate his themes are firmly located within Indigenous sensibility and cultural perspective, the subject matter is universal.
The Bet feature film – 2006
This tale of corruption and high finance is the first feature directed by Mark Lee, who starred in the iconic film Gallipoli.
Billy and Percy television program – 1974
Based on the diaries of Percy Deane, private secretary of Prime Minister WM Hughes during the conscription debates of the First World War.
The Birth of White Australia feature film – 1928
This early feature depicts racial tension in NSW in 1861. Despite its offensive representation of Aboriginality, the film has cultural and historic value.
Bitter Springs feature film – 1950
A family of white farmers fight to take possession of land and water that is home to a well-established Aboriginal clan.
The Black Balloon feature film – 2007
The Black Balloon is partly a coming-of-age movie, but the presence in the family of an autistic brother like Charlie prevents it from becoming conventional or predictable.
Black Beauty television program – 1978
Poignantly told from the horse’s point of view, this 1978 animated film from the classic novel tells of the heartbreaking consequences of unrestricted exploitation of animals.
Black Talk short film – 2002
Wayne Blair fits a lot into 12 minutes of drama, weaving Indigenous language through the dialogue and exploring spiritual aspects of Indigenous culture and community.
Blackrock feature film – 1996
Blackrock’s depiction of teenagers letting off steam with sex and drink and rock 'n’ roll is very dynamic because of the fluid camerawork, lively soundtrack and energetic choreography.
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.
Bodyline television program – 1984
This mini-series recreates the 1932-33 cricket test series that threatened ties between Australia and England and changed cricket forever.
Boxing Day feature film – 2007
The unconventional production method helped give Boxing Day an unusually intense sense of foreboding, danger and unpredictability.
The Boys feature film – 1998
David Wenham’s performance as the absolutely terrifying Brett Sprague, launched his career as an actor of serious power and presence.
Breaker Morant feature film – 1979
Much of the film is about youth versus experience, honesty versus cynicism and political expediency – an interesting ethical domain given that it’s a film about war crimes.
Breathing Under Water feature film – 1991
The director’s preoccupation with humankind’s tendency to self-destruct was one factor that lead to the creation of this complex film.
Brides of Christ television program – 1991
Brides of Christ take a vow to forsake the secular world and live according to God’s will. An Australian television landmark, recapturing the great changes of the ’60s.
The Broken Melody feature film – 1938
A film with music rather than a musical, The Broken Melody is one of the few films of the 1930s that tries to depict the Depression’s effect on real people.
Broken Sun feature film – 2008
Imagination and resourcefulness helped this small filmmaking team, lead by Brad Haynes, overcome the constraints of having only $50,000.
Buddies feature film – 1983
Buddies is a comedy, dressed up as a frontier romance, and it is relatively unknown and underrated.
Bush Christmas feature film – 1947
In a rare villainous role, Chips Rafferty plays a horse thief, Long Bill. He is tracked by five kids spending Christmas in the Blue Mountains.
C
Cactus feature film – 1986
Cactus explores both the horror of not being able to see and the notion that blindness can sharpen the senses and lift the spirits.
Cactus feature film – 2007
Cactus, while full of thrills and suspense, gradually reveals a more humanistic agenda as it employs genre conventions to explore notions of masculinity, class and power.
Caddie feature film – 1976
Caddie is a powerfully emotional statement of the ways in which women outside marriage were socially and economically disadvantaged in the period between the wars.
Candy feature film – 2006
Candy is a beautifully controlled film with an intense sensuality preceding an equally intense descent into grief and regret.
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith feature film – 1978
This is one of the key Australian films of the 1970s, because it speaks about the unspeakable with a depth of rage that was absolutely unprecedented and has never been repeated.
Chopper feature film – 2000
The killer who feels no remorse is a movie cliché, but Chopper is about a killer whose remorse is as strong as his desire to wound.
The Club feature film – 1980
The Club, adapted from David Williamson’s play, is set at a time when professionalism was taking over the game.
Clubland feature film – 2007
Clubland explores that time when a young man discovers sex and has to sever the relationship he has with his mother.
Come In Spinner television program – 1989
Lisa Harrow, Kerry Armstrong and Rebecca Gibney feature in the story of three very different women in wartime.The series won a slew of AFI awards.
Confessions of a Headhunter short film – 2000
Based on a short story by Archie Weller, this short drama speaks about the conflict between the Indigenous people of the Perth area and colonial culture.
Crash Zone – The Dream Team television program – 1998
While the technology now looks a bit dated, at the time this was an edgy, high-tech series about five kids with a dream job – testing video games after school.
D
Dead Heart feature film – 1996
Bryan Brown plays a second generation Northern Territory cop caught up in a power struggle over whether black or white law is supreme.
Death Defying Acts feature film – 2007
Filmmakers often tell imagined stories to explore a famous figure or incident and this love story involving Harry Houdini in 1926 is a good example.
The Devil’s Playground feature film – 1976
Both writer Thomas Keneally and director Fred Schepisi spent time in a Catholic seminary, the world explored in this drama.
Dingo feature film – 1991
Dingo is a French-Australian co-production starring an American jazz legend. According to director Rolf de Heer, Miles Davis turned out to be a wonderfully instinctive actor.
Dirty Deeds feature film – 2002
A photograph from the 1960s of a prominent Sydney criminal pig-shooting with two American mafiosi helped inspire this drama.
The Djarn Djarns short film – 2005
The Djarn Djarns is a comedy-drama very much suited for young people. It is a dance film with a sports feel, so culture and sport are not in competition.
