AUSTRALIAN WAR MOVIES FOR ANZAC DAY

GALLIPOLI – 1981

The quintessential movie for Anzac Day, as the film tells the story of a group of Australian men sent into battle at Gallipoli and the horrors they had to endure.

Mel Gibson delivers an electrifying performance in director Peter Weirs compelling story of friendship and adventure between two Australian soldiers in 1915. They cross continents and great oceans, climb the pyramids and walk through the ancient sands of Egypt to join their regiment at the fateful battle of Gallipoli. The echoes of history blend with the friends compelling destiny as they become part of a legendary World War I confrontation between Australia and the German allied Turks.

Release Date :  13 August 1981 (Australia) 
Director(s): Peter Weir
Cast(s): Mel Gibson, Bill Hunter, Mark Lee

KOKODA –1981

Mates Became Heroes. The Track Became Legend.
Papua New Guinea 1942. The battle of the track has begun. A fearsome force of Japanese fighters land on the northern coast of Papua New Guinea. Their intentions: seize Port Moresby and invade Australia. The only Australians available to face the onslaught are a small force of ill equipped and untrained militia.

After sustained bombing and lethal attacks from the Japanese, the men are cut off from their supply lines and all communications. Isolated in the jungle, behind enemy lines, suffering the effects of dysentery and malaria, and to the point of collapse, they must make their way back through the most perilous terrain on earth... the KOKODA track.
Allegiances form, strengths and weaknesses emerge, and leadership battles threaten to destroy the group. Based on a true story. Inspired by the Australian fighting spirit.

Release Date: 25 April 2006 (Australia)
Director(s): Alister Grierson
Cast(s): William McInnes, Steve Le Marquand, Christopher Baker, Tom Budge, Angus Sampson, Shane Bourne, Luke Ford, Jack Finsterer, Travis McMahon, Simon Stone, Ewen Leslie, Ben Barrack
aRunning Time: 92 Minutes

BENEATH HILL 60 – 2010

The extraordinary true story of Oliver Woodward. It's 1916 and Woodward must tear himself from his new young love to go to the mud and carnage of the Western Front. Deep beneath the German lines. Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnelers fight to defend a leaking, labyrinthine tunnel system packed with enough high explosives to change the course of the War.

Release Date: 15 April 2010 (Australia)
Director: Jeremy Sims
Casts: Brendan Cowell, Harrison Gilbertson and Steve Le Marquand
Runtime: 122 min

THE HIGHEST HONOR (WW II) 1982

The true story of a daring raid on Japanese-occupied Singapore Harbour by Australian and British troops during WWII.

Release Date: 9 August 1982 (Australia)
Directors:  Peter Maxwell, Seiji Maruyama
Stars: Michael Aitkens, Vincent Ball and Craig Ballard
Runtime:144 min  | Australia: 105 min

BREAKER MORANT – 1980

South Africa, 1901. The British war against the Boers has deteriortaed into bitter guerilla warfare. A unit of the Bushveladt Carbineers, made up mainly of Australians, is ordered by the British High Command to the fight the Boer on it's tersm and take no prisoners; an order which will prove fatal to a man they call "The Breaker" - Lieutenant Harry Morant. Based on a true story, this classic Australian motion picture of injustice and the horror of war has swept the world to become one of the most acclaimed Australian movies ever made...

Release Date: 3 July 1980 (Australia)
Director(s): Bruce Beresford
Cast(s): Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, Edward Woodward, John Waters
Running Time: 107 Minutes

BLOOD OATH  - 1990

AKA – PRISONERS OF THE SUN

While rummaging through his father's garage, Screenwriter Brian A. Williams uncovered a forgotten piece of Australian history - inside an old shoebox he found transcripts of the largest war crime trial ever conducted, larger even than the famous Nuremberg trials; along with photos of human skulls and graves. These transcripts unlocked the startling true story behind wartime atrocities and controversial trials held in 1946 on the island of Ambon...the planned launching pad for the Japanese invasion of Australia. The stories of the sadistic beatings, torture and mass murder sent shockwaves through the ensuing trials, culminating in an exposive showdown between Australian justice, American Politics and the Japanese code of honour.

Release Date: 26 July 1990 (Australia)
Director(s): Stephen Wallace
Cast(s): Russell Crowe, George Takei, Bryan Brown
Running Time: 108 Minutes

THE LIGHT HORSEMEN – 1987

Palestine, 1917. The British advance has been stopped by the Turkish line running from Gaza to Beersheba. The latest attack on Gaza has failed. The attacking forces included a regiment of Australian mounted infantry, the Light Horse... Lighthorseman Frank is wounded in a skirmish with Bedouin. He is replaced by a young soldier, Dave, who proves to be a crack shot, but reluctant to fire at the enemy. Dave proves himself during a German biplane attack. Recuperating in hospital, he meets a sympathetic nurse, Anne... The regiment is called upon for a bold flanking attack on Beersheba. But how do you convince the Turks the main attack will come at Gaza? And how do you attack across a desert without water?

Release Date: 10 September 1987 (Australia)
Director:  Simon Wincer
Stars: Peter Phelps, Nick Waters and John Larking
Running time:131 min

THE ODD ANGRY SHOT – 1979

The activities in combat and at leisure of a group of Australian regular soldier on a year's tour of duty in Vietnam in the late 1960's forms the basis of Tom Jeffery's 'The Odd Angry Shot'. In the tradition of 'Platoon' and with an all star cast headed by Graham Kennedy, John Hargreaves, Bryan Brown, John Jarrett and Graeme Blundell 'The Odd Angry Shot' contains combat sequences that are reputedly among the best ever filmed.

Release Date: 1 March 1979 (Australia)
Director(s): Tom Jeffrey
Cast(s): Bryan Brown, John Hargreaves, Graeme Blundell, Tony Barry, John Allen, Graham Kennedy, John Jarratt, Richard Moir, Ian Gilmour, Graham Rouse, Brandon Burke, John Fitzgerald, Mike Harris

PARADISE ROAD – 1997

Based on actual events, this is the story of a group of Australian, British and Dutch women who, after the fall of Singapore in 1942, were held captive by the Japanese on the island of Sumatra. Herded into a brutal prison of war camp, the women soon discovered only the fittest, the strongest and the bravest could possibly survive such inhumane conditions.
Stripped of everything they had, their irrepressible courage led them to find one voice, a vocal orchestra, singing music written for piano and orchestra. A voice that ultimately expressed their indomitable, unbreakable spirit.

Release Date: 5 June 1997 (Australia)
Director(s): Bruce Beresford
Cast(s): Frances McDormand, Julianna Margulies, Glenn Close, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Ehle, Wendy Hughes, Johanna ter Steege, Pauline Collins, Elizabeth Spriggs, Pamela Rabe, Clyde Kusatsu, Stan Egi, David Chung
Running Time: 122 Minutes