Peter Weir and Mel Gibson get international attention with a true story in GALLIPOLI
The Australian New Wave is the gift that keeps on giving
We’re almost done with August of 1981. Just two more titles left.
First up, we’ve got a historical drama out of Australia. By this point, the Australian New Wave was a big deal, and one of the names that seemed to be most important to this movement was Peter Weir. In the US, this one landed on August 28th…
Gallipoli
Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins, Charles Lathalu Yunpingu, Heath Harris, Ron Graham, Gerda Nicolson, Mel Gibson, Robert Grubb, Tim McKenzie, David Argue, Brian Anderson, Reg Evans, Jack Giddy, Dane Peterson, Paul Linkson, Jenny Lovell, Steve Dodd, Harold Baigent, Robyn Galwey, Don Quin, Phyllis Burford, Marjorie Irving, John Murphy, Bill Hunter, Diane Chamberlain, Peter Ford, Ian Govett, Geoff Parry, Clive Bennington, Giles Holland-Martin, Moshe Kedem, John Morris, Don Barker, Kiwi White, Paul Sonkkila, Peter Lawless, Saltbush Baldock, Les Dayman, Stan Green, Max Wearing, Graham Dow, Peter R. House
cinematography by Russell Boyd
screenplay by David Williamson
story by Peter Weir
based on the novel by Ernest Raymond
produced by Patricia Lovell and Francis O’Brien
directed by Peter Weir
Rated PG
1 hr 50 mins
Two young men enlist in the Australian Army during WWI and their tragic time on the Turkish front.
I can only watch Gallipoli from the point of view of an American born in the ‘70s. I can read about the historical context and I can do my best to understand it, but I can never understand what this kind of film feels like for people who are directly impacted by the history being portrayed. Whatever impact Gallipoli had internationally, it must have felt like a punch in the face for Australians in 1981.
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