Titles tagged with ‘outback’
71 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 next
1910s
Across the Trans-continental Railway: From Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta documentary – c1917
The construction of the trans-continental railway began in 1912 with work being carried out at both ends simultaneously.
1920s
Opal Mining Lightning Ridge documentary – c1925
Davidson collected over a million feet of footage over 40 years including the miracle of a man pulled from a mine shaft, never once hindered by the pipe in his mouth.
Hinkler’s Message to Australia; Incidents of My Flight spoken word – 1928
‘Now I want to tell you a few things about flying …’
1930s
The Hayseeds feature film – 1933
This is the seventh and last film about a comical rural family known as the Hayseeds — it is also the first with sound.
Australia documentary – 1934
This record of the man on the land in the 1930s, aimed at UK audiences, would have been narrated by the filmmaker when screened.
1940s
The Golden West documentary – 1940
This film was made by William George Alma, a member of the Victorian Amateur Cine Society who was predominantly a magician and collector of material about magic.
The Flying Doctor sponsored film – 1941
Through the work of the Australian Aerial Medical Service and their 'mantle of safety’, no-one in Australia is further than four hours from medical assistance.
The Overlanders feature film – 1946
As the Japanese threaten northern Australia in 1942, a drover takes a mob of prime beef cattle across 2,600 kms of hazardous country to Queensland.
Beyond the Furthest Fences sponsored film – 1947
This is an abridged version of the feature-length documentary The Inlanders. Both follow the Australian Inland Mission through central Australia in 1947.
The Inlanders documentary – 1949
The Inlanders comes from a tradition of fiction and non-fiction filmmaking that presents the outback as a harsh and hostile terrain to be overcome.
1950s
The Phantom Stockman feature film – 1953
A bushman known as ‘the Sundowner’ helps cattle station heiress Kim Marsden investigate the death of her father.
Overland Adventure: The Story of the 1954 Redex Reliability Trial documentary – 1954
Jack Murray earned the nickname ‘Gelignite Jack’ through his habit of blowing up outback toilets, livening up his entrance to towns along the route.
Northern Safari documentary – 1956
This six-month journey in a 1948 Buick later inspired the Leyland Brothers and Albert Mangles.
1960s
The Sundowners feature film – 1960
The Sundowners is remarkable for the number of Australian actors it showcases. Chips Rafferty plays Quinlan, the contractor at an outback shearing station.
Australia’s Land of Tomorrow sponsored film – 1962
An Australian Inland Mission patrol witnesses a prospering region where industry and agriculture have grown and the population has greatly increased since the last visit.
A Big Country – Peninsula People television program – 1968
An early episode of this iconic series. A Big Country aimed to bring country Australia into the lives of urban Australians.
1970s
Wake in Fright feature film – 1971
A young schoolteacher loses all his money in an outback two-up game, while en route to Sydney. In the next two days he loses a lot more – self-respect, inhibitions, almost his life.
Sunstruck feature film – 1972
Welsh schoolteacher Stanley Evans takes a posting in Kookaburra Springs, a tiny outback town. He forms a children’s choir which travels to Sydney for a national competition.
Sunday Too Far Away feature film – 1975
The defining elements of a great 1970s Australian film are all here – empty, confronting landscapes, hard-drinking Aussie blokes, and a sense of 'the great Australian loneliness’.
Ask the Leyland Brothers – Episode 23 television program – 1976
The Leyland Brothers answer viewer requests and visit Broken Hill and Uluru.
A Big Country – The Prices television program – 1979
Life on an outback station at the end of an era, before satellite technology and helicopters and high-tech vehicles were used to help round up cattle.
A Big Country – The White Rose television program – 1979
Widely known as 'the King of the Dance Hall’, Frank Bourke founded The White Rose Orchestra in 1936 and toured rural areas for more than 40 years.
The Last of the Knucklemen feature film – 1979
Near the remote town of Andamooka a group of opal miners work for Tarzan, a tough foreman known as ‘the last of the knucklemen’ for his fighting abilities.
1980s
A Town Like Alice television program – 1980
This mini-series, based on the novel by Nevil Shute, tells an epic love story that begins in Malaya during the Japanese occupation of 1941–45.
A Big Country – The Darcys of Mallapunyah television program – 1981
A Big Country launched some of Australia’s best-known journalists and filmmakers, including Bob Connolly, Paul Williams, Chris Masters and Andrew Olle.
A Big Country – The Drover television program – 1981
Jack loves his job and his life on the road. The filmmakers have captured both the hardship and the freedom of a life on the ‘long paddock’.
Mad Max 2 feature film – 1981
Mad Max 2 is a more self-consciously mythic film than its predecessor, in a much more primal landscape, with a lot more action.
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.
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.
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 Time Guardian feature film – 1987
The Time Guardian is one of the great missed opportunities of Australian cinema and symbolic of its wavering fortunes in the 1980s.
Voss music – 1987
Voss is an opera about the fateful outback expeditions of Ludwig Leichhardt, as recreated by Patrick White in his iconic novel.
Evil Angels feature film – 1988
Evil Angels is a highlight of ‘80s Australian cinema but did not perform as well locally as it deserved, perhaps because it presents the dark side of the easygoing ‘g’day mate’ nation.
Incident at Raven’s Gate feature film – 1988
Strange things are happening around the remote homestead of Raven’s Gate.
Nature of Australia – A Separate Creation television program – 1989
This first episode of the most expensive wildlife program ever made in Australia boasts magnificent photography and a great script.
Sweetie feature film – 1989
Ambiguity is filmmaker Jane Campion’s preferred method in Sweetie, and it works superbly as a destabilised narrative because of it.
1990s
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.
Beating About the Bush documentary – 1993
The filmmakers set out to record a music documentary with a happy ending but end up with coverage of a goodwill disaster.
No Worries feature film – 1993
Drought has a terrible social cost, as the 11-year-old girl who has to move from a sheep station to the city in this film, makes clear.
Tim Storrier, ‘Lighting Fires’ documentary – 1993
Painter Tim Storrier journeys to the outback accompanied by his father and his son, and talks about his love of the desert and bush upbringing.
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert feature film – 1994
The most unforgettable scenes in Priscilla feature excessive costumes on incongruous characters in vast, humbling spaces.
That Eye, the Sky feature film – 1994
Twelve-year-old Morton ‘Ort’ Flack lives in the outback. When Ort’s father is paralysed in an accident, a stranger named Henry arrives, offering to help.
Yindi: The Last Koala? television program – 1996
A young koala is rescued from danger, but the whole species is still threatened.
The Barefoot Bushman: Dancing With Dingoes documentary – 1997
The film includes footage of Bruce Jacobs, who established a dingo sanctuary in Victoria and bred dingoes for domestic sale.
Kiss or Kill feature film – 1997
This Australian film stood out from others of the time because of its fresh mixture of genre thrills, narrative intrigue and black humour.
Art From the Heart documentary – 1998
White collectors and gallery owners have benefited from indigenous art since the 1970s yet this issue is not vigorously pursued here.
Shifting Sands – My Colour, Your Kind short film – 1998
When under threat of having their children stolen by authorities, Indigenous mothers resorted to darkening their fair-skinned children with mud and charcoal.
Holy Smoke feature film – 1999
Ruth Barron falls under the spell of a guru while visiting India. Her desperate family hires cult deprogrammer PJ Waters to confront Ruth.
2000s
The Goddess of 1967 feature film – 2000
The Goddess of 1967 is a love story that’s made more powerful by its ambiguity and its lack of conventional storytelling.
