Titles tagged with ‘music’
72 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year prev 1 2 next
1920s
Maxonol Gramophone: Buy a Good Gramophone and Keep Her at Home advertisement – 1925
Typically for a cinema advertisement of the time, it takes a narrative style and is shot like a slowly paced short film.
1930s
Along the Road to Gundagai music – 1931
This is a famous recording of one of Australia’s most popular songs.
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.
George Wallace: Australia’s Premier Comedian historical – 1931
This screen test by seasoned vaudeville comic George Wallace led to roles in several feature films.
Jack O’Hagan: Vocalist Composer historical – 1931
Multi-talented artist Jack O’Hagan performs five songs for Frank Thring’s series of variety shorts, Efftee Entertainers, including 'The Road to Gundagai’.
Melbourne Chinese Orchestra Selections historical – 1931
Melbourne’s Chinese Orchestra perform at His Majesty’s Theatre as part of Frank Thring’s Efftee Entertainers.
Stan Ray and George Moon Jnr: Specialty Dancers historical – 1931
Entertainers Stan Ray and George Moon Jnr perform a tap dancing routine on one of the stages inside His Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne.
Holidays in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Canton, Java home movie – c1932
These scenes of colonial-era South-East Asia are an early example of actuality footage which captures Australian perspectives of the region.
A Ticket in Tatts feature film – 1934
George Wallace helps a champion horse to avoid crooks and win a big race.
Treasures of Katoomba sponsored film – 1936
Frank Hurley’s sense of adventure and eye for landscape composition is evident in this charming travelogue promoting tourism in the Blue Mountains.
The Broken Melody feature film – 1938
A film with music rather than a musical, The Broken Melody is one of the few films of the 1930s that tries to depict the Depression’s effect on real people.
1940s
Majestic Fanfare music – 1943
The original 1943 recording of the ABC’s much loved ‘Majestic Fanfare’, used in various forms since 1952 to introduce news broadcasts.
1950s
Jack Luscombe music – 1953
An oral history containing the first recorded collection of Australian folk song.
A Pub With No Beer music – 1957
Slim Dusty’s original recording from 1957 of one of his most famous songs.
1960s
The Piano Tuner short film – 1960
Amateur filmmakers the Straford Brothers started making this comedy short to test their newly purchased 16mm Bolex camera.
The Pearl Fishers television program – 1963
This black-and-white television production of the opera was one of the earliest performances ever broadcast on the ABC and one of the most elaborate.
Cinesound Review: That Mersey Sound: Beatles at the Stadium newsreel – 1964
This newsreel special of the 1964 Beatles tour captures footage of the band in Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand, concert excerpts and the attendant 'Beatlemania’.
The Mavis Bramston Show – Series 1 Episode 1 television program – 1964
A weekly variety show featuring topical satire, sketches and songs.
1970s
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’.
Daddy Cool documentary – 1973
A film about successful 1970s rock band Daddy Cool could not be anything but charmingly laid-back.
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.
Fig Street Fiasco documentary – 1974
Residents take on the bulldozers and the police in Tom Zubrycki’s look at urban redevelopment in Sydney in the 1970s.
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.
The Painters and Dockers Strike documentary – 1976
In the 1950s the Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia had its own film unit to counter government policies of the day.
The Sullivans – On the Brink of War television program – 1976
The first four episodes of the long-running hit series cover the period leading up to the declaration of the Second World War in Australia on 3 September 1939.
Pussy Pumps Up short feature – 1979
This 2D animated film features a tiny cat-girl heroine who metamorphoses into a muscular, powerful figure.
1980s
First Contact documentary – 1983
It was a gift to the filmmakers: seven rusty cans of film documenting ‘first contact’ between PNG people and three white brothers.
Man of Flowers feature film – 1983
An elderly aesthete who regularly hires a young woman to strip for him finds his life becoming entwined with hers.
George Dreyfus: A Portrait documentary – 1984
Composer George Dreyfus marks this portrait with his own whimsical style, showing how lively biography can be when the subject is prepared to satirise himself.
My First Wife feature film – 1984
Director Paul Cox made this film about a disintegrating marriage after going through a painful break-up himself.
Pianoforte short film – 1984
A young woman who yearns to become a concert pianist is rescued from a sleazy cabaret by a mysterious cat burglar with whom she falls in love.
Divine Service – The House of Freedom Church, Brisbane television program – 1986
An informal Christian service is held in a suburban home in Brisbane. This group is involved in a wide range of peace activities in the ‘International Year of Peace’.
Dogs in Space feature film – 1986
Inner-city Melbourne, 1978. Aspiring rock singer Sam and his girlfriend Anna live in a crowded share house. The party atmosphere is shattered by tragedy.
Australia Post – Intelpost advertisement – 1987
This humorous TVC shows a series of instruction diagrams being delivered by Australia Post to a group of ancient would-be soccer players.
Australia Post – Postpak Rap advertisement – 1988
This Australia Post commercial promotes the use of Postpaks for packaging parcels. With rap music still new to Australian popular culture at the time, this commercial was very successful.
One Man’s Instrument short film – 1989
In this animated short film, a man finds his paradise is literally lost.
Pugwall – Hollow Drums television program – 1989
The insightful scripts capture teenager angst in a comic and recognisable way; fashions might change but relationships between teenagers and parents don’t.
1990s
More Winners – His Master’s Ghost television program – 1990
The setting of Montsalvat – a gothic mansion and former artists’ colony– is perfect for this mystery-comedy about a group of kids on a music camp in a spooky old mansion.
Bran Nue Dae documentary – 1991
There’s nothing I would rather be than to be an Aborigine’ is probably the most famous line from the successful stage musical.
Lift Off – A Load of Old Rubbish television program – 1992
EC has minimal facial features and doesn’t talk, communicating through gesture and movement. Children warm immediately to this doll and what it represents.
Lift Off – That’s Not Fair – Part A television program – 1992
Mixes live action, animation, puppetry and fantasy to challenge, intrigue and encourage children to think for themselves.
Lift Off – That’s Not Fair – Part B television program – 1992
Spruikers from the ‘Bonza’ cereal advertisement come out of the TV set to persuade Poss and Kim that buying Bonza will make all their dreams come true.
Strictly Ballroom feature film – 1992
Strictly Ballroom is one of the most popular Australian films ever made. The story may be nothing new but the execution is so colourful and eccentric it hardly matters.
Blood Brothers – From Little Things Big Things Grow documentary – 1993
An exploration into the life of Kev Carmody, portraying the years he spent in an orphanage when forcibly removed from his family by Queensland authorities at ten years old.
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.
Dance of Nature: The Music of Ross Edwards documentary – 1995
Interesting points on the effect nature has on creativity are raised in this documentary about composer Ross Edwards.
Swinger short film – 1995
A story of changing luck told through messages on an answering machine and a messy apartment.
Shine feature film – 1996
This film catapulted both director Scott Hicks and actor Geoffrey Rush onto the international stage.
Raw FM – What You Can television program – 1997
A series revolving around community youth radio station 99.9 Raw FM and the young people who run it.
Big Bag’s Japanese Adventure documentary – 1998
The Geelong-based Big Bag Band was invited to Japan to inspire that country’s fledgling arts and disability scene.
