page_title: Cinema of Australia
section_title: Film renaissance – 1970s and 1980s
hierarchical_section_title: Cinema of Australia / History / Film renaissance – 1970s and 1980s
caption_attribution_description: English: A black and white portrait of John Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia, taken in January 1968
context_page_description: The Cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film ever made. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received international recognition. Many actors and filmmakers started their careers in Australian films, many of whom have acquired international reputations, and a number of whom have found greater financial benefits in careers in larger film-producing centres, such as in the United States.
  The first public screenings of films in Australia took place in October 1896, within a year of the world's first screening in Paris by Lumière brothers. The first Australian exhibition took place at the Athenaeum Hall in Collins Street, Melbourne, to provide alternative entertainment for the dance-hall patrons. Commercially successful Australian films have included: Crocodile Dundee, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, and Chris Noonan's Babe. Other award-winning productions include Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, The Tracker, Shine and Ten Canoes.
context_section_description: John Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia from 1968–1971, initiated several forms of government support for film and the arts. The Gough Whitlam government (1972–75) continued to support Australian film and state governments also established assistance programs. These measures led to the resurgence of Australian film called the Australian New Wave, which lasted until the mid-late 1980s. The era also marked the emergence of the "Ozploitation" style – characterised by the exploitation of colloquial Australian culture.
  Films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975) and Sunday Too Far Away (Ken Hannam, 1975) made an impact on the international arena. The 1970s and '80s are regarded by many as a 'golden age' of Australian cinema, with many successful films, from the dark dystopian fiction of Mad Max (George Miller, 1979) to the romantic comedy of Crocodile Dundee (Peter Faiman, 1986) and the emergence of such film directing auteurs as Gillian Armstrong, Phillip Noyce and Bruce Beresford.
  A major theme of Australian cinema which matured in the 1970s was one of survival in the harsh Australian landscape. A number of thrillers and horror films dubbed "outback gothic" have been created, including Wake in Fright, Walkabout, The Cars That Ate Paris and Picnic at Hanging Rock in the 1970s, Razorback and Shame in the 1980s and Japanese Story, The Proposition and Wolf Creek in the 2000s. These films depict the Australian bush and its creatures as deadly, and its people as outcasts and psychopaths. These are combined with futuristic post-apocalyptic themes in the Mad Max series. 1971's Walkabout was a British film set in Australia which was a forerunner to many Australian films related to Indigenous themes and introduced David Gulpilil to cinematic audiences. 1976's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith directed by Fred Schepisi was an award-winning historical drama from a book by Thomas Keneally about the tragic story of an Aboriginal bushranger.
  Classic stories from Australian literature and Australian history continued to be popular subjects for cinematic adaptation during the 1970s and 1980s. Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career (1979) featured Judy Davis and Sam Neill in early lead roles. 1982's We of the Never Never followed up on the theme of the female experience of life in the Australian bush. 1982's The Man from Snowy River starring Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton dramatised the classic Banjo Paterson poem of that name and became one of the all time box-office successes of Australian cinema. In addition to the serious historical dramas popular in the 1970s, a number of films celebrating and satirizing Australian colloquial culture were produced over the decade, including: The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972), Alvin Purple (1973), and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974). The Barry McKenzie films saw performing-artist and writer Barry Humphries collaborating with director Bruce Beresford. In 1976, Peter Finch was awarded a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the American satire Network, becoming the first Australian to win an Oscar for best actor.
  1980's Breaker Morant starring Jack Thompson and Edward Woodward dramatised the controversial trial of an Australian soldier during the Boer War and was followed by 1981's World War I drama Gallipoli directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson. These films, now considered classics of Australian cinema explored contemporary Australian identity through dramatic episodes in Australian history. Gibson went on to further success in 1982's The Year of Living Dangerously before transferring to pursue his Hollywood career as an actor and director. Many other Australian stars would follow his path to international stardom in the coming decades. The Year of Living Dangerously was directed by Peter Weir, who also made a successful transition to Hollywood. Weir contributed to the screenplay along with its original author Christopher Koch, and playwright David Williamson. Williamson rose to prominence in the early 1970s, and has gone on to write several other origin
caption: Prime Minister John Gorton initiated several avenues of government support for Australian cinema.
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