All titles in the ‘Drama’ genre
407 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 next
1980s (continued)
The Killing of Angel Street feature film – 1981
This political thriller is loosely based on the disappearance of Sydney heiress and anti-development campaigner Juanita Nielsen.
Lonely Hearts feature film – 1981
Comedian and satirist John Clarke wrote this film with Paul Cox: no wonder it is full of bright impish humour.
Winter of Our Dreams feature film – 1981
It was surprising that this uncompromising film about a junkie prostitute’s failure to find love, would work so well with audiences.
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.
The Clinic feature film – 1982
Medical student Paul Armstrong spends a day at a Melbourne VD clinic.
Greetings from Wollongong short feature – 1982
Writer-director Mary Callaghan’s film provides an insight into the creativity and friendships that give meaning to an otherwise desperate existence.
Heatwave feature film – 1982
An architect and an activist from opposing sides unite against a crooked developer.
Last Breakfast in Paradise short feature – 1982
Even in 1982 Last Breakfast in Paradise was one of a very few dramas of any length which had been directed by a woman.
The Man from Snowy River feature film – 1982
The Man From Snowy River is an iconic Australian western. It’s a naive film of epic proportions, but the naiveté is calculated to appeal to a sense of American nostalgia, and Australian chauvinism.
We of the Never Never feature film – 1982
Race relations is the theme that is constantly lurking in this story about one woman’s life on an outback station.
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.
Women of the Sun television program – 1982
The colonisation of Aboriginal peoples, and their lands and resources, as seen through the eyes of four generations of Aboriginal women.
The Year of Living Dangerously feature film – 1982
The Year of Living Dangerously was Peter Weir’s last film about Australia, or his first film about the rest of the world, depending on how you look at it.
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.
BMX Bandits feature film – 1983
A young Nicole Kidman stars in a story of BMX bikes and wannabe bandits.
Buddies feature film – 1983
Buddies is a comedy, dressed up as a frontier romance, and it is relatively unknown and underrated.
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.
Going Down feature film – 1983
Four women friends leave behind the feral days of youth after a night of uncontrolled excess in inner-city Sydney during the early 1980s.
Man of Flowers feature film – 1983
An elderly aesthete who regularly hires a young woman to strip for him finds his life becoming entwined with hers.
Phar Lap feature film – 1983
The film is well constructed, both as a folkloric tale of a young man’s bond with a special horse and as an exciting spectacle with a couple of magically charged moments.
Strikebound feature film – 1983
A docudrama based on the memories of Wattie and Agnes Doig, a miner and his wife involved in the Gippsland coal workers’ strike of 1937.
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.
Mail Order Bride television program – 1984
A hard-hitting drama about racism, sexism and xenophobia in a small country town.
My First Wife feature film – 1984
Director Paul Cox made this film about a disintegrating marriage after going through a painful break-up himself.
Play School – Bags Wednesday television program – 1984
An episode of the iconic pre-school program Play School from 1984, featuring presenters Noni Hazlehurst and John Hamblin.
Waterfront – Episode 1 television program – 1984
Wharfies involved in a worker’s dispute and Italian refugees desperate to work during the Depression clash with tragic consequences.
Waterfront – Episode 2 television program – 1984
The series tells of the determination to stand up for what is right in a world that is rapidly slipping into a showdown between the extremes of fascism and communism.
Burke & Wills feature film – 1985
The epic and tragic story of the first expedition to cross Australia from south to north, in 1860–61.
The Dunera Boys – Episode 2 television program – 1985
German Jews who had fled to Britain to escape Nazi persecution were then interned as 'enemy aliens’ in Australia and became known as the 'Dunera boys’.
The Dunera Boys – Episode 3 television program – 1985
Just who or what is a Jew is an important theme of this series. Private Dunstan’s response shows how sheltered Australia was from the maelstrom of Europe.
A Fortunate Life television program – 1985
While most viewers will be aware of a strong note of irony underlying the story, there is no doubt that in the final analysis it is one of hope, endurance and faith in humanity.
Fran feature film – 1985
A vivacious young mother is married to a violent man. Her desperate need for love leads her to some tragically inappropriate choices.
Palace of Dreams television program – 1985
In this acclaimed drama series, an aspiring writer arrives in Sydney from the country during the turbulent and desperate times of the Great Depression.
Playing Beatie Bow feature film – 1985
Playing Beatie Bow has the sumptuous look and feel of a period film, thanks to its award-winning cinematography and production design.
Short Changed feature film – 1985
The script is beautifully weighted so that the political context of the film does not inhibit the personal journey of the characters.
A Street to Die feature film – 1985
A Vietnam veteran and his wife fight for legal recognition of the damage done to him by the defoliant Agent Orange.
Winners – Just Friends television program – 1985
Just Friends reveals the hard asks of a young teenager – trying to fit in, standing up for yourself and resisting peer pressure to do things you’re not comfortable with.
Winners – On Loan television program – 1985
This is a strong and very painful story as Lindy is forced to make a difficult choice between her natural father and her adoptive parents.
Winners – Room to Move television program – 1985
The script of this telemovie (starring a young Nicole Kidman) was criticised at the time for undermining parental authority but that seems hard to understand now.
Winners – The Other Facts of Life television program – 1985
Ben’s over-the-top campaign to right the wrongs of the world is funny to watch but at the same time confronts viewers with some serious global and local issues.
Winners – The Paper Boy television program – 1985
The Paper Boy is a beautifully shot period film that captures the era and gives a realistic insight into the lives of struggling people in the Depression.
Winners – Top Kid television program – 1985
A compelling moral drama, made more powerful by its refusal to deal in absolutes, Top Kid draws on the real-life rigging of top American quiz shows in the 1950s.
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.
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.
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.
Dogs in Space feature film – 1986
Inner-city Melbourne, 1978. Aspiring rock singer Sam and his girlfriend Anna live in a crowded share house. The party atmosphere is shattered by tragedy.
The Flying Doctors – Public Property television program – 1986
The Flying Doctors is a drama series set in the fictional town of Coopers Crossing and based on the work and lives of the men and women of the outback medical service.
The Fringe Dwellers feature film – 1986
This film has an Aboriginal ensemble cast, but a narrative based on a Western woman’s experience of an Aboriginal community.
Harp in the South television program – 1986
The ‘harp in the south’ refers to Irish immigrants in Australia. A mini-series, based on Ruth Park’s book, follows the Darcys in the aftermath of the Second World War.
