Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

Titles tagged with ‘soldiers’

24 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

1910s

Cartoons of the Moment – Crown Prince of Death newsreel – c1915

This First World War anti-German propaganda cartoon represents fighting countries as animals and employs puns in the titles and accompanying captions.

Cartoons of the Moment – Today the German Monster Threatens the World newsreel – c1916

This powerful piece of anti-German propaganda was a recruitment tool to persuade Australian men of fighting age that their help was urgently needed in the war effort.

Voice of a Nation historical – c1918

Returned Australian soldiers from the First World War march through a city street alongside horse-drawn Red Cross ambulances.

The Digger Carries On: Repatriation Illustrated documentary – 1919

This 1919 film reassured Australians that returned servicemen were being looked after, in part through retraining.

1920s

Australasian Gazette – A Unique Audience newsreel – c1920

This 1920 Australasian Gazette newsreel shows injured soldiers from Caulfield Military Hospital attending a special matinee at Elsternwick Theatre.

1930s

White, AR: Tin Mining in Malaya home movie – c1930

Australians have engaged with the Asia-Pacific region through travel and enterprise for many decades, but moving image records like this one from the first half of the 20th century are not common.

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.

1940s

Road to Tokyo advertisement – c1941

An animated government advertisement designed to persuade Australians to contribute to the war effort by investing in war loans.

Norforce Army Days at Hayes Creek, NT and Wyndham home movie – 1943

This footage was filmed by John Mack, a South Australian photographer and cinematographer who served as staff sergeant during the Second World War.

1960s

Australian Visit television program – 1967

Anti-Vietnam War demonstrations were timed to coincide with the five-day visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam and his wife in 1967.

1970s

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.

1980s

Australia in World War 1 documentary – c1980

Hubert Wilkins, official Australian war photographer, would have shot most of this footage, some of which is recreated.

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.

Gallipoli feature film – 1981

Gallipoli remains one of the most loved of all Australian films. It’s one of Weir’s most nakedly emotional films and one of his most poetic.

Breakout documentary – 1984

Japanese POWs were not trying to escape from their Cowra prison in 1944 so much as escape from the dishonour of capture.

The Cowra Breakout television program – 1984

In the early hours of 5 August 1944, 1,100 Japanese prisoners launched a mass breakout from a POW camp near Cowra.

1990s

Cenotaph documentary – 1993

The documentary looks at the effect of the First World War on the New South Wales country town of Hay. Fourteen men and seven women revisit the Western Front after 70 years.

Convictions documentary – 1994

Convictions honours those Australians who fought in The Korean War, a war that is all but forgotten in this country.

Pyongyang Diaries documentary – 1997

Solrun Hoaas uses a diary-like voice-over to reflect on the gap between what she was able to film and what she could not show.

2000s

Harry’s War short film – 2000

Richard Frankland, writer and director of the short drama Harry’s War, is from the third generation of Indigenous men to have served in the Australian army.

Birthday Boy short film – 2004

This Oscar-nominated short, set during the Korean War, is about a boy who receives an unexpected birthday present with tragic consequences.

Compass – Embracing the Enemy television program – 2005

Turkish immigrants in the 1970s found they were forbidden to march with the Australians on Anzac Day.

Bit of Black Business – Sharpeye short film – 2007

An 11-year-old boy’s sharp eyes help thwart an invasion exercise by elite Special Forces soldiers in the Torres Strait.

End of the Rainbow documentary – 2007

This documentary traces the impact on the communities of moving a gold mine operation from Indonesia to West Africa.