Titles tagged with ‘criminals’
28 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
1930s
Victorian Police Radio Patrol sponsored film – c1931
This short dramatised scenario from 1931 demonstrates how wireless technology and morse radio clearly improve the ability of Victorian police to do their jobs.
Harmony Row feature film – 1933
George Wallace’s talent for physical comedy is fully evident in the boxing match which serves as the film’s climax.
1960s
Homicide – The Decimal Point television program – 1965
When Homicide first aired, Australian television drama, complete with Australian cops and accents, was a novelty on screen.
1970s
Homicide – The Superintendent television program – 1970
This extraordinary episode breaks away from many of the usual Homicide conventions and dispenses with the customary police investigation in record time.
Division 4 – The Return of John Kelso television program – 1971
This superb hour of drama was Division 4’s most awarded individual episode. It sustains a mood of simmering tension and the supporting cast deliver deliciously malicious performances.
Matlock Police – Episode 1, Twenty-six Hours television program – 1971
From an opening sequence strongly reminiscent of Easy Rider (1969) to a rollicking country car chase at its climax, this is a bumper first episode.
Homicide – The Friendly Fellow television program – 1973
This was star Charles 'Bud’ Tingwell’s favourite Homicide episode.
Mad Dog Morgan feature film – 1976
Mad Dog Morgan updates the bushranging movie conventions, by seeing Morgan as a modern media phenomenon.
Beyond Reasonable Doubt – The Case of Ronald Ryan television program – 1977
In 1967 Ronald Ryan was the last man to be hanged in Australia. With the public outrage about his execution, Australia ended capital punishment.
In Search of Anna feature film – 1978
This film has a restless energy and is part of a pre-professional maverick tradition that grew out of the experimental cinema of the 1970s.
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.
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.
Palm Beach feature film – 1979
The underrated Palm Beach, set on Sydney’s northern beaches, is very daring in its use of sound.
1980s
Malcolm feature film – 1986
Malcolm is one of the most charming modern Australian comedies, and probably the closest we’ve come to matching the joyful silliness of Britain’s 1950s Ealing comedies.
The Year My Voice Broke feature film – 1987
This comedy-drama is both a nostalgic memoir of growing up in the countryside and a shocking denunciation of its values.
1990s
Phoenix – Top Quality Crims television program – 1991
Seminal procedural police drama, loosely based on the bombing of Victoria’s Russell Street Police Station in 1986.
Everynight… Everynight feature film – 1994
A new prisoner refuses to submit to frequent bashings by prison officers in the notorious H Division of Pentridge prison in Melbourne.
Idiot Box feature film – 1996
Idiot Box argues that bored men who spend years watching television, desire catharsis on a theatrical scale.
Water Rats – Dead in the Water television program – 1996
This feature-length pilot packs in more action, location shoots and story strands than a standard episode of Water Rats.
The Boys feature film – 1998
David Wenham’s performance as the absolutely terrifying Brett Sprague, launched his career as an actor of serious power and presence.
Two Hands feature film – 1999
Desperate for a swim, Jimmy (Heath Ledger) buries an envelope containing $10,000 in the sand at Bondi beach…
2000s
The Big House short film – 2000
In this short film, director Rachel Ward takes a relationship between two men in prison into surprising territory.
Chopper feature film – 2000
The killer who feels no remorse is a movie cliché, but Chopper is about a killer whose remorse is as strong as his desire to wound.
Gettin’ Square feature film – 2003
David Wenham’s performance as a hopeless junkie, especially when he bamboozles everyone in court, is a comic tour-de-force.
Grange short film – 2005
Grange is an irreverent story of the extremes two young lawyers go to in order to get promoted in the corporate sector.
Underbelly – Series 1 television program – 2008
This 13-part crime drama is based on real events in Melbourne from 1994–2004. Dealing with gang warfare-related murders, it was controversial even before it was completed.
Last Ride feature film – 2009
On the run in rural South Australia, a former convict and his 10-year-old son get to know each other for the first and last time.
2010s
Animal Kingdom feature film – 2010
A nervous 17-year-old boy struggles to survive his scary new criminal family after the death of his mother.
