Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

All titles in the ‘Comedy’ genre

184 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 3 4 next

A

Adventure Island – Episode 1174 television program – 1972

A successful children’s show set on the magical Adventure Island, a ‘land that’s far across the sea’.

The Adventures of Barry McKenzie feature film – 1972

The Adventures of Barry McKenzie was a hugely popular satire with Australian and British audiences, partly because it conformed so well with each country’s view of the other.

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.

Alvin Purple feature film – 1973

Alvin Purple was hugely popular, partly because it makes fun of powerful institutions like the courts, the press, marriage and psychiatry.

Around the World in 80 Ways feature film – 1986

Eddie and Wally Davis fake a round-the-world holiday for their senile old father.

Athol Tier as Napoleon historical – c1931

Athol Tier’s performance as Napoleon was one of the many routines filmed for the Efftee Entertainers series of variety shorts.

The Aunty Jack Show – Series One television program – 1972

Grahame Bond’s Aunty Jack was a cross-dressing bikie hostess who threatened to jump out of viewers’ television sets and 'rip their bloody arms off’.

The Aunty Jack Show – Series Two television program – 1974

The Aunty Jack theme song was one of the earliest video clips, showcasing a great character and a memorable tune that stays with you.

Australia feature film – 2008

Three outsiders – an aristocrat, a stockman and a vulnerable child – are set against the malevolent forces of greedy neighbours, a world war and assimilationist policy.

B

Babe feature film – 1995

A worldwide hit film based on a children’s book about a farm pig who wants to be a sheepdog.

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.

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.

The Big Gig – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1989

There’s a rowdy beer-hall type atmosphere to this comedy-variety show, which tapped into a vibrant ‘80s live comedy scene in Melbourne.

Big Hair Woman documentary – 1996

An aid organisation chose to 'gently educate’ a television audience about PNG using comedy, hiring Mary Coustas for the job.

The Big House short film – 2000

In this short film, director Rachel Ward takes a relationship between two men in prison into surprising territory.

The Big Steal feature film – 1990

The Big Steal is generally known as a romance and an exuberant comedy but is also about teenagers outwitting corrupt adults.

Bit of Black Business – Done Dirt Cheap short film – 2007

A tourist overhears two miners talking with Amos, a gold prospector. He buys a nugget from Amos that’s worth a lot less than he bargained for.

Bit of Black Business – Hush short film – 2007

Ethel’s daughter thinks her mum and Mary get together to play cards. She’s shocked to discover they’ve found an unexpected new way of supplementing their pensions.

Bit of Black Business – Jackie Jackie short film – 2007

Inspired by a dream, Jackie Jackie is reminiscent of Strictly Ballroom (1992) and Tracey Moffatt’s BeDevil (1993) in its stylised kitsch.

Bit of Black Business – Kwatye short film – 2007

Filmed in Alice Springs and inspired by a true story, Kwatye is a humorous lesson in being careful about what you say in front of the children.

Bit of Black Business – Nana short film – 2007

This short film from Warwick Thornton is a humorous portrait of an all-rounder told from the perspective of her adoring granddaughter.

Bit of Black Business – Two Big Boys short film – 2007

When their car breaks down at a drive-through restaurant, a speed bump becomes a seemingly insurmountable obstacle for two bickering brothers.

Blackbuster short film – 2012

In this comic love story a pirate-movie dealer’s daydreams seep into reality.

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.

Bran Nue Dae feature film – 2009

An uplifting musical about an Indigenous boy’s journey back home, Bran Nue Dae encourages the audience to relax, get on board and enjoy the ride.

Buddies feature film – 1983

Buddies is a comedy, dressed up as a frontier romance, and it is relatively unknown and underrated.

C

The Cars That Ate Paris feature film – 1974

Mild-mannered Arthur is trapped in a quiet country town where feral youth drive souped-up cars and the hospital is full of brain-damaged accident victims.

Chandon Pictures – Champion Charles television program – 2007

Chandon Pictures is a comedy that takes an uneasy look at the notion of 'chasing your dream’.

The Chaser’s War on Everything – APEC Episodes television program – 2007

The Chaser’s APEC episodes underscore the power of the unexpected in this type of comedy and the legal juggling act involved in bringing it to air on a weekly basis.

The Chaser’s War on Everything – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 2006

This is the first episode of the satirical variety program, containing comic pranks, commentary and send-ups responding to topical issues and more general subjects.

The Clinic feature film – 1982

Medical student Paul Armstrong spends a day at a Melbourne VD clinic.

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.

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.

CNNNN: Chaser Non-stop News Network – Lunchgate television program – 2002

Finely tuned satire that gives sensationalist reportage a caning.

The Coca-Cola Kid feature film – 1985

The Coca–Cola company sends its top trouble shooter to boost sales in Australia. He plans to win customers away from a much loved, old-style soft-drink maker.

Cosi feature film – 1996

Does it matter that Cosi, about psychiatric patients staging the opera Così Fan Tutte, never quite loses its theatrical origins?

Crackerjack feature film – 2002

An overgrown boy from a spoiled generation, becomes a man through fraternising with an older, wiser — and very daggy — generation.

Crocodile Dundee feature film – 1985

This is not just the most commercially successful Australian film ever made, but also one of the most successful non-Hollywood films.

Crocodile Dundee II feature film – 1988

This sequel, in which Mick Dundee battles drug dealers, follows the pattern of the first movie but in reverse.

D

DAAS Kapital – Faith television program – 1992

The Doug Anthony All Stars serve up heavy doses of the nonsensical and the bizarre, plus dashes of sexual innuendo, cartoon-style violence and deliberate tastelessness.

Dad and Dave Come to Town feature film – 1938

The question this fish-out-of-water comedy is really asking is whether Australians have the confidence to be modern in the context of the wider world of 1938.

Dad and Dave from Snake Gully – Episode 1 radio – 1937

The first episode of the long-running Dad and Dave radio show from 1937.

Dad Rudd, MP feature film – 1940

Dad Rudd, MP truly signals the end of an era, the last gasp of the cycle of rural comedies featuring yokels and livestock that went back 30 years in Australian cinema.

The Damnation of Harvey McHugh – From Here to Maternity television program – 1994

Amid TV’s throng of lawyers, doctors and cops, public servant Harvey McHugh stands out as an unlikely small screen hero.

Death in Brunswick feature film – 1990

An under-achieving Aussie cook falls for a young Greek waitress at a seedy Melbourne nightclub, but a dead body gets in their way.

D-Generation – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1985

While the D-Generation credits read like a who’s who of two decades’ worth of Australian comedy, at the time these comedians were unknowns.

Diggers feature film – 1931

Pat Hanna first told stories from his time in World War I as part of a travelling comedy troupe, then adapted the material into film.

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.

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