Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘prisons’

22 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

1920s

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

Ghosts of Port Arthur documentary – c1932

A ‘novelty travel talk’ by Ken G Hall in 1930 has other resonances today: violent encounters after European settlement and the horror of the Port Arthur massacre.

1970s

The Loner music – 1973

‘The Loner’ by Vic Simms is regarded as Australia’s great lost classic album of Aboriginal protest songs.

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.

1980s

The Chain Reaction feature film – 1980

The lives of car mechanic Larry and his wife Carmel are placed in danger following an accident at a nuclear waste facility in central Australia.

Stir feature film – 1980

This revealing film about prison life has a violent tone and very bad language, but this helps give it credibility.

Where Death Wears a Smile documentary – 1985

The little-known story of two Australian soldiers interned in a Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovakia during the Second World War.

1990s

Barred Wives documentary – 1993

Not all these stories of marrying prisoners end well: one woman was murdered by her bridegroom upon his release.

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.

Correlli – Rat Tamer television program – 1995

Hugh Jackman and Deborra-Lee Furness star in a drama about a psychologist and her relationships with the staff and inmates of an all-male prison.

From Sand to Celluloid – Payback short film – 1996

Payback, a black-and-white short about the Western and Indigenous legal systems, is one of Warwick Thornton’s earliest dramatic works.

Doing Time for Patsy Cline feature film – 1997

In Doing Time for Patsy Cline, Ralph (Matt Day) believes at the start that he wants to be a country singer, but he’s not so sure by the end.

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.

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.

Business Behind Bars documentary – 2000

This film claims that 50 per cent of Australian prisoners are kept in private prisons, the biggest proportion of any nation.

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.

Cold Turkey short feature – 2002

This short feature is told in a series of flashbacks and flashforwards because the lead character suffers from blackouts.

The Hard Word feature film – 2002

The Hard Word is both a comical crime fable and a story of brotherly love, an unusual mix of elements.

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.

If Only – Series 1 Episode 10 television program – 2003

If only’ stories of missed opportunities including Roxy, 'the baddest child in Australia’, now clear-sighted enough to describe the madness she has been through.

The President Versus David Hicks documentary – 2004

This documentary traces the journey of David Hicks from Australia to Afghanistan and then detention by the US in Guantanamo Bay.

Message Stick – Koori Court television program – 2005

The Koori Court in Victoria was set up to reduce high imprisonment rates by combining Aboriginal beliefs with the white legal system.