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1970s – 1980s

Australian New Wave

The revival of Australian film-making in the 1970s, with landscape, myth and national identity at its centre, and filmmakers who went on to international careers.

In the early 1970s, with government support from new film bodies, Australia began making its own films for the first time in decades. The directors of the Australian New Wave, including Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong, George Miller, Bruce Beresford and Fred Schepisi, turned to the country's own landscape, history and identity. Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and The Last Wave found mystery in the bush, Armstrong's My Brilliant Career (1979) followed a young woman's ambition, and Miller's Mad Max (1979) invented a global genre. The movement made Australian film an international force.

Where
Australia
When
1970s to the 1980s
Key figures
Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong, George Miller, Bruce Beresford, Fred Schepisi
Landmark films
Walkabout (1971), Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), My Brilliant Career (1979), Mad Max (1979)
Legacy
Created a national cinema and an international reputation within a decade

What to look for

  • Vast landscape as a character, often menacing or mysterious
  • National myth, colonial history and Aboriginal themes
  • A mix of art-house films and tough genre cinema

Famous Directors

Peter WeirAustraliaGillian ArmstrongAustraliaBruce BeresfordAustraliaTim BurstallAustraliaBBrian RobinsonAustraliaCarl SchultzAustraliaHenri SafranAustraliaKKen HannamAustraliaGil BrealeyAustralia

Top films · 55 films

  1. The Truman Show 1998 · Peter Weir · IMDb 8.2
  2. Dead Poets Society 1989 · Peter Weir · IMDb 8.1
  3. Breaker Morant 1980 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 7.8
  4. Mr. Church 2016 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 7.6
  5. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 2003 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.5
  6. Gallipoli 1981 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.4
  7. Picnic at Hanging Rock 1975 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.3
  8. Witness 1985 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.3
  9. Little Women (1994) 1994 · Gillian Armstrong · IMDb 7.3
  10. Driving Miss Daisy 1989 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 7.3
  11. The Way Back 2010 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.3
  12. Tender Mercies 1983 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 7.3
  13. Mao's Last Dancer 2009 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 7.3
  14. The Year of Living Dangerously 1982 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.1
  15. My Brilliant Career 1979 · Gillian Armstrong · IMDb 7.1
  16. Black Robe 1991 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 7.1
  17. Storm Boy 1977 · Henri Safran · IMDb 7.0
  18. Fearless 1993 · Peter Weir · IMDb 7.0
  19. Evelyn 2002 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 7.0
  20. Careful, He Might Hear You 1983 · Carl Schultz · IMDb 6.9
  21. Sunday Too Far Away 1974 · Ken Hannam · IMDb 6.9
  22. The Last Wave 1977 · Peter Weir · IMDb 6.9
  23. The Club (1980) 1980 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.9
  24. Starstruck 1982 · Gillian Armstrong · IMDb 6.8
  25. Ladies in Black 2018 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.8
  26. Paradise Road 1997 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.8
  27. Don's Party 1976 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.8
  28. The Mosquito Coast 1986 · Peter Weir · IMDb 6.6
  29. Double Jeopardy 1999 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.6
  30. The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Treasure of the Peacock's Eye 1995 · Carl Schultz · IMDb 6.6
  31. Annie's Coming Out 1984 · Gil Brealey · IMDb 6.6
  32. Oscar and Lucinda 1997 · Gillian Armstrong · IMDb 6.5
  33. And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself 2003 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.5
  34. The Plumber 1979 · Peter Weir · IMDb 6.5
  35. Money Movers 1978 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.5
  36. Charlotte Gray 2001 · Gillian Armstrong · IMDb 6.4
  37. Mister Johnson 1990 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.4
  38. Green Card 1990 · Peter Weir · IMDb 6.3
  39. Crimes of the Heart 1986 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 6.3
  40. Mrs. Soffel 1984 · Gillian Armstrong · IMDb 6.1
  41. The Seventh Sign 1988 · Carl Schultz · IMDb 5.9
  42. Silent Fall 1994 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.9
  43. Peace, Love & Misunderstanding 2011 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.9
  44. Puberty Blues 1981 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.9
  45. Her Alibi 1989 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.8
  46. Eliza Fraser 1976 · Tim Burstall · IMDb 5.7
  47. Stork 1972 · Tim Burstall · IMDb 5.7
  48. Last Dance 1996 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.7
  49. Jack and Jill: A Postscript 1969 · Brian Robinson · IMDb 5.6
  50. The Contract 2006 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.6
  51. The Cars That Ate Paris 1974 · Peter Weir · IMDb 5.6
  52. Alvin Purple 1973 · Tim Burstall · IMDb 5.5
  53. Attack Force Z 1981 · Tim Burstall · IMDb 5.4
  54. King David 1985 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.3
  55. A Good Man in Africa 1994 · Bruce Beresford · IMDb 5.1