All titles in the ‘Adaptation’ genre
99 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 next
1910s
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.
1920s
The Breaking of the Drought feature film – 1920
An outback family faces ruin through drought and a son corrupted by life in the big city.
For the Term of His Natural Life feature film – 1927
The use of locations, particularly Port Arthur, is probably the film’s strongest asset, lending both veracity and visual impact. The other real strength of the film is its confident use of special effects.
1930s
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.
The Silence of Dean Maitland feature film – 1934
Renowned filmmaker Ken G Hall was concerned that this film would incite religious anger, but it was a smash hit instead.
1950s
Smiley feature film – 1956
A mischievous boy in a small town tries to reform himself, in order to earn a bicycle.
The Shiralee feature film – 1957
Arguably there are two major themes in Australian cinema – the problem of the landscape, and the related problem of masculinity – and both are the subject of The Shiralee.
Smiley Gets a Gun feature film – 1958
A nine-year-old country boy tries to give up mischief in order to win a much-desired rifle.
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.
They’re a Weird Mob feature film – 1966
An Italian sports journalist arrives in Australia to find his cousin’s new magazine for migrant Italians has folded. He soon gets a job as a builder’s labourer, learns to talk and drink like an Australian, and falls in love with an Australian girl.
The Set feature film – 1969
Aspiring young designer Paul Lawrence is drawn into the hedonistic world of Sydney’s upper-class society.
You Can’t See ‘Round Corners feature film – 1969
This film, shot at Kapooka camp, contains one of the only depictions in Australian cinema of soldiers training for Vietnam.
1970s
Walkabout feature film – 1970
A 16-year-old English girl and her 8-year-old brother are stranded in the desert, after their father shoots himself. They are rescued by a young tribal Aborigine.
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.
Seven Little Australians television program – 1973
This is a delightful and faithful adaptation of Ethel Turner’s iconic Australian story, Seven Little Australians, into a charming television series.
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.
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 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.
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.
Don’s Party feature film – 1976
The off-stage bedroom scenes in the original play became on-screen sex in this film, and the male characters got naked not just drunk.
Storm Boy feature film – 1976
Seamlessly woven into this story about one boy’s love of a pelican, are such themes as race relations, ecology, and family breakdown.
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.
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.
The Getting of Wisdom feature film – 1978
The affair between two school girls was only hinted at in Henry Handel Richardson’s 1910 novel, but lesbian overtones are obvious in the 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ride On Stranger television program – 1979
Bookworm Shannon Jones heads for the Harbour City to learn about life, love and politics in the 1930s.
1980s
All the Green Year – Episode 2 television program – 1980
This mini-series about growing up in the years between the world wars recalls a type of small-town society which is now fading into the past.
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.
Lucinda Brayford television program – 1980
Wendy Hughes, Sam Neill, Carol Burns and Barry Quin feature in the saga of an Australian heiress who marries into British aristocracy.
Rusty Bugles television program – 1980
Based on a banned 1948 stage play, this telemovie follows a group of soldiers posted to a remote base in the Northern Territory during the Second World War.
I Can Jump Puddles television program – 1981
Based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Alan Marshall, this story of struggle and courage has become a classic Australian tale.
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.
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 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.
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.
Careful He Might Hear You feature film – 1983
In Sydney in the 1930s, two sisters fight for custody of a six-year-old boy.
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.
Bliss feature film – 1985
To say Bliss was ahead of its time is an understatement: the bold metaphors and sharp satire weren’t appreciated by everyone in 1985.
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.
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.
Robbery Under Arms television program – 1985
Before this 1985 version there had been five attempts to tell this story, the best known being the Australian–British feature film of 1957 starring Peter Finch as Captain Starlight.
Dead-end Drive-in feature film – 1986
In the 1990s authorities convert a drive-in into a jail for unemployed youths. Falsely imprisoned with his girlfriend, Jimmy ‘Crabs’ Rossini attempts to escape.
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.
