Australia, the movie.

[acropolite]

Just got back from a freebie preview of Australia, the movie. My expectations weren't all that great after hearing lukewarm reviews, however I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the whole movie, the most enjoyable I have seen in recent years. Well worth seeing IMO :thumbsup:

[Tandum]

Endorsed by Oprah, the President maker, it's bound to earn them a bundle.

[Ian Robinson]

It's a love story isn't it ?.... not my cup of tea , and I'd rather go back and visit NQLD, NT and Kimberley region again than see it on the big screen. Only next time in July or August , not as good in April and May (too much water about and too many roads closed).

Will probably wait for the DVD to come out and hire it then. Been ages since my wife and I have gone the pictures .... too expensive .... too crowded and too much bother.

[jjjnettie]

Thanks for the heads up Phil.
They've compared it to Gone with the Wind.
What do you think?

[jungle11]

Don't bother with what critics say people, you may agree with them in some cases but definately not all. Some of my favourite movies were sniffed at by critics. Everyone is different. Me for excample - you'd have to chain me to the chair and physically hold my eyes open to get me to watch gone with the wind:P

[iceman]

I'm looking forward to watching it. It'll be good entertainment for entertainment's sake.

[DJDD]

did anyone else see the Oprah interview with Hugh and Nicole?
Hugh Jackman seemed like a genuinely nice bloke. I thought providing Tim Tams for the audience was a nice touch.

i wonder if people in southern states will question how "real" the bombing of darwin is portrayed. My wife is from Darwin and it was a revelation when I went there to see how much more intense the attack on Darwin was when compared to what we learnt in history class.

My wife would like to see it, as well as all of our friends from other countries. I think the wide vistas of australia appeal to our friends from europe. :)

[xelasnave]

I think the marketing and promotion of the movie has been excellent...

whoever is doing the promotion should be congratualted on an excellent job... I turned to abc tv and away when I realised they were doing the movie rave ..and I kept turning back to see if they were onto a real show about something but the add was still running... so anyone who can get that much free time on the abc where they dont do adds is a real goer.

And the places they have had it running out West..great promotion... it is on everyones lips...

Will I go and see it?..... no I wont as I am not sure if I want to see it or if I have been cleverly programed to think it is mandatory viewing if you are a true blue...

No if I went I think I would be responding to the hype..so no.

alex

alex

[Barrykgerdes]

I'm afraid I won't be able to see it without being a hypocrite. I answered a survey and joined the side that said they would not see it.

I hear the critics didn't like it but Ophra loves it. I think Ophra has much more pull than the critics.

Barry

[acropolite]

I've only seen bits of gone with the wind, but from what I've seen, I would have to agree it has a similar flavour.

[Jen]

:screwy: i have to drive 2 and a half hours to our nearest cinemas so i guess i wont be seeing it anytime soon. im not that keen :lol:

[Bassnut]

umm, not seeing it because of the hype?. Isnt not going because of that, precisely, a response to the hype??? :lol:

[mozzie]

taking the little lady sat night no kids should be great
p.s been buying to much stuff may smooth here over if she finds out:whistle:

[xelasnave]

er yes I think you are right..I cant win...I shall wait ..it will come to me when we both are ready to meet each other.

I like to hear they are having success with the movie

alex:):):)

[TrevorW]

Just to clarify this time in history the Japanese actually got as far down as Broome in WA and bombed as well and if they were in the Kimberley it's a bloody long way to go to Darwin!!!.

Broome, 3 March 1942

The tiny pearling port of Broome, Western Australia, became a transit stop on the escape route for refugees fleeing the Japanese advance in the Netherlands East Indies. On Tuesday morning, 3 March 1942, ten Japanese aircraft attacked both the airfield there and the flying boats refuelling at anchor on nearby Roebuck Bay. In an attack lasting an hour the Japanese fighters destroyed 16 flying boats on the bay and six aircraft on the ground, and shot down a DC-3 laden with refugees and a Liberator full of wounded US servicemen.
Twenty-three-year-old Pilot Officer Frank Russell was aboard one of the flying boats; soon afterwards he described, “a scene of ghastly devastation! Our flying boats all over the place were sending up huge clouds of black smoke. Burning petrol in sinister patches floated all over the sea … All around us there fell a ceaseless stream of tracer bullets. Several of the Dutch Dorniers had been full of women and kids, waiting to take off to … safety.”
As many as 100 people died. The exact number and identities of the refugees killed that morning will never be known.

[jjjnettie]

It must have be frightening times to live through.

[jungle11]

You know, I never learned about the Japanese invasion in school. I just assumed they were halted at Kocoda untill a couple of years ago when I was told of the bombings in Darwin.
It totally shocked me once I realized how little Aussie history is taught in school. They should make it a compulsory subject in primary school I think.

[tornado33]

Its too long for me to sit and watch it right through, so will wait till its on DVD. The part that interests me is the bombing of Darwin, its the first time a big budget movie has shown it I believe.

[mozzie]

watched the movie with wife a really enjoyable movie :thumbsup::thumbsup:didnt realise how close the war really was untill you see darwin being bombed also opened my eyes to the trement of aboriginal people in the 30s and 40s well done we should all see it being an australian movie nearly all aus actors lets try to support aussie movies

[Dog Star]

Having not seen the film yet I may be talking through my..er.. hat, but from the little I've seen and heard it seems to me that the film has a lot of parallels with the book by Xavier Herbert - Poor Fellow My Country.
The book deals, in detail, with the history of our country from just after WW 1 up to the late '60's and touches on the political and social consequences of black/white relations, foreign ownership of our country, the harsh realities of the Top End and our relationship to this land (and yes, the bombing of Darwin.)
It's a great read that forces you to re-examine your own personal attitudes and beliefs concerning this country and its nature. Soap opera has never been done so well and thoughtfully and in my opinion it's the best novel EVER written about us. Check it out.
Just be warned - Herbert had a low opinion of white fellas.
Just did a wiki search for PFMC and sadly it's only a stub article which says that at 1,463 pages, it is the longest single volume book ever written.

[MrB]

Yep
Though I was only born in the 70's, I have a daily reminder of the times just across the road from my house.... Army bomb shelters/munition stores and huge gun emplacements, all facing out to sea. And that's south of Perth!

[acropolite]

If ever you're in Darwin there's an interesting war museum, with exhibits and artefacts from both sides of the battle. I too was unaware of the extent of the bombing of Darwin prior to visiting the museum 3 years ago, apparently the Japanese dropped more bombs on Darwin than they did on Pearl Harbour! (If you're an aviation buff they have a B52 there as well!)

[iceman]

My wife and I went and saw "Australia" last night.

I thoroughly enjoyed it - it's entertainment. A bit of an epic, a bit of romance, a bit of comedy, and like someone else said, good to see the bombing of darwin portrayed on the big screen.

Hugh Jackman is damn good as usual, and Nicole's character grows on you a little.. but I think she's supposed to be annoying in it :)

One thing that I didn't like, was the part where they had the Japanese actually landing on and invading "Mission Island" after the bombing of Darwin. That just didn't happen in reality and it added nothing to the story line at all except to add a bit of drama.

I'm actually reading "Australia Under Attack" at the moment by Douglas Lockwood , and it's all about the bombing of Darwin - the failings of the authorities, the missed early warnings, the aftermath of it all, etc.. 250+ people killed! It's certainly been an eye-opener to me, because we just didn't learn anything about this in school.

If the Japanese did invade Darwin, they wouldn't have had much resistance, at least for a while.

Anyway, good movie, good entertainment and went fairly quickly despite the 2hr 40 minute duration.

[PCH]

I saw the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it - whether or not it had shortcomings with respect to historical accuracy or not. I honestly don't see it winning any Oscars unfortunately, unless for maybe Nicole who's part I thought was terrifically played. I could have cheerfully strangled her myself early on in the film - but in a nice sort of way if you know what I mean :D

I certainly wouldn't be so bold as get on my soapbox and start spouting about which bits were and which bits weren't historically accurate, but Mike, if the Japs landing on Mission Island was the only bit you picked up on as not being quite right, you might like to read Germaine Greer's comments from earlier on in the weeks' press. She had plenty to say, particularly about the treatment of Aborigines at this time.

I'm no great fan of hers particularly, but she seemed to know what she was on about in this regard. It made interesting reading anyway.

Just my 2c :thumbsup:

[iceman]

I've no doubt there are other inaccurate portrayals of history in the film - after all, it's a fictional film with some "real life" history thrown in.

The landing on Mission Island was one that irked me more because of the book i'm reading at the moment. :lol: