Titles curated by Paul Byrnes
260 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 next
M (continued)
Mawson: Life and Death in Antarctica documentary – 2007
Polar adventurer Tim Jarvis attempts to re-create Douglas Mawson’s epic and controversial trek to safety in Antarctica in 1913.
Money Movers feature film – 1979
Money Movers was ahead of its time, and may have suffered because of that. It’s a 'crime procedural’, a genre that is now much more popular.
Morning of the Earth feature film – 1972
This successful surfing picture was a visual manifesto for its fans, promoting such counter-culture ideals as living simply and sustainably.
Mr Chedworth Steps Out feature film – 1939
Cecil Kellaway was probably the best actor that Ken G Hall ever worked with. He returned from Hollywood to play the titular little man who learns to assert himself.
Mullet feature film – 2001
Mullet is about how people behave and about how men don’t talk and women do.
Muriel’s Wedding feature film – 1994
Muriel’s Wedding took Australia by storm when it opened in 1994, satirising an Australian family in a way that audiences found extremely moving, as well as hilarious.
My Brilliant Career feature film – 1979
This feminist warrior and role model came to life on film in the same year as the road warrior in the masculine fantasy Mad Max.
My Country spoken word – 1958
Dorothea Mackellar, aged about 73, reads her most famous poem, 'My Country’.
My First Wife feature film – 1984
Director Paul Cox made this film about a disintegrating marriage after going through a painful break-up himself.
My South Polar Expedition spoken word – 1910
Sir Ernest Shackleton tells how the loss of a pony affected his attempt to reach the South Pole in 1908.
Mystery Island feature film – 1937
Two of the principal actors disappeared at sea after filming finished and what became of them is still unknown.
N
Newsfront feature film – 1978
Some believe that Newsfront, set in the late 1940s and incorporating extensive newsreel footage, is Australia’s best film.
The Night the Prowler feature film – 1978
This savage satire on the neuroses of the privileged of Sydney’s eastern suburbs was written by the great novelist Patrick White.
Noise feature film – 2007
This smart script explores the effect that chronic isolation can have on a nation.
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.
O
The Odd Angry Shot feature film – 1979
Australia’s role in Vietnam was still a raw issue when this film emerged and some criticised it for not condemning that involvement.
The Office Picnic feature film – 1972
Bored employees in a mindless bureaucracy are barely more than automatons until released by alcohol at the office picnic, during which sexual and generational differences explode.
Only the Brave short feature – 1994
Although made on a low budget, Only the Brave showed that first-time filmmaker Ana Kokkinos had an uncompromising ambition to tell powerful and personal stories.
On Our Selection feature film – 1932
This film was technically innovative and, when it opened in 1932, a box office sensation, rejuvenating the local film industry.
On Our Selection feature film – 1920
On Our Selection is a landmark of the silent era in Australian cinema, and one of the key films in the career of Raymond Longford, the greatest director of that period.
Orphan of the Wilderness feature film – 1936
Boxing contests between men and kangaroos, as shown in this film, were a frequent ‘attraction’ in travelling tent shows.
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.
Oyster Farmer feature film – 2004
Writer-director Anna Reeves spent four years immersed in the culture of the beautiful Hawkesbury River area before making this drama.
Oz – A Rock ‘n’ Roll Road Movie feature film – 1976
Director Chris Löfvén was heavily involved in the rock music scene. Oz was his attempt to rework The Wizard of Oz for a mid-1970s youth audience.
P
Palm Beach feature film – 1979
The underrated Palm Beach, set on Sydney’s northern beaches, is very daring in its use of sound.
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.
The Piano feature film – 1993
The Piano is a film about an artist and the story of a woman whose passionate nature is akin to a form of madness. Both themes are common to Jane Campion’s work.
Picnic at Hanging Rock feature film – 1975
On St Valentine’s Day 1900, three schoolgirls from an exclusive English-style boarding school go missing, along with a teacher, at Hanging Rock, in central Victoria.
The Picture Show Man feature film – 1977
The comic performances from John Meillon and John Ewart as the last of the itinerant vaudevillians are superb.
The Plumber television program – 1979
Jill’s discomfort increases as the uninvited plumber destroys the bathroom, but neither her husband nor her friend Meg will take her seriously.
The Popular Sport of Surfboarding newsreel – 1925
An early newsreel of pioneering surfboard riders at Bondi Beach in Sydney in 1925.
Praise feature film – 1998
Praise has alcohol and tobacco, acid and heroin, sex and oblivion and is like a grungy version of Last Tango in Paris.
Prime Minister Rt Hon. WM Hughes visits Western Front historical – 1918
At a time of great controversy, Australian Prime Minister WM (Billy) Hughes consults with his generals on the Western Front.
Proof feature film – 1991
This is a textbook example of how to make a film logistically simple without sacrificing complexity and dramatic impact.
Puberty Blues feature film – 1981
When the two teenage girls at the heart of this film buy a surfboard and teach themselves to surf, they become their own role models.
A Pub With No Beer music – 1957
Slim Dusty’s original recording from 1957 of one of his most famous songs.
Pure S feature film – 1975
Pure S was originally banned from release and remains one of the most unusual and frank films about drug use ever made in Australia.
Q
The Queen in Australia documentary – 1954
The first colour feature made in Australia, documenting the first visit of a reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1954.
The Quiet Room feature film – 1996
Why does a seven-year-old girl refuse to speak? Increasingly vicious arguments between the parents are not the whole story.
R
Rabbit-Proof Fence feature film – 2002
For many white Australians, this popular film was the first direct emotional experience of what it meant to be one of the 'stolen generations’.
Rangle River feature film – 1936
NSW legislation required exhibitors and distributors to invest in, and show, Australian films — but not for long.
The Rats of Tobruk feature film – 1944
The Rats of Tobruk may not be Charles Chauvel’s best movie, but it deserves serious consideration as his best movie about war.
Razzle Dazzle: A Journey into Dance feature film – 2006
There are 350,000 young dancers in Australia and the film shows how hard they work — and how much more sensible they are than adults.
The Removalists feature film – 1975
The story is a savage microcosm of Australia, rather than just a look at the then-topical issue of police hypocrisy and brutality.
Return Home feature film – 1990
Suburbs in Australian cinema are usually the place that characters flee from; this film suggests you can also go back.
Road to Nhill feature film – 1997
Four lady bowlers roll their car outside a country town. Amid chaos and panicking menfolk, they save themselves.
Romper Stomper feature film – 1992
Romper Stomper makes viewers participants, forcing them to confront how they feel about violence as entertainment.
Romulus, My Father feature film – 2007
This film is one of a small number of high quality films dealing with the lives of migrants, but it doesn’t labour this point.
S
The Sentimental Bloke feature film – 1919
Director Raymond Longford and leading lady Lottie Lyell wrote this together and it is probably their most successful collaboration.
