Australia (2008)

Director:

Baz Luhrmann

Writers:

Stuart Beattie (screenplay) and
Baz Luhrmann (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

26 November 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance | War | Western

Plot:

Set in northern Australia before World War II, an English aristocrat who inherits a sprawling ranch reluctantly pacts with a stock-man in order to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces firsthand.

Plot Keywords:

Cattle | Australia | Baron | Drover | Bombing

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 17 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14	1:30 PM	HBO
Wed. Nov. 18	3:00 PM	HBO
Sat. Nov. 21	10:30 AM	HBO

Cast

Shea Adams	...	Carney Boy #3
Eddie Baroo	...	Bull
Ray Barrett	...	Ramsden
Tony Barry	...	Sergeant Callahan
Jamal Bednarz-Metallah	...	Mission Boy
Damian Bradford	...	Constable #1
Bryan Brown	...	King Carney
Nathin Butler	...	Carney Boy #1
Tara Carpenter	...	Essential Services Woman
Rebecca Chatfield	...	Magarri's Niece
Lillian Crombie	...	Bandy Legs
Max Cullen	...	Old Drunk
Essie Davis	...	Cath Carney
Arthur Dignam	...	Father Benedict
Michelle Dyzla	...	Hairdresser

Also Known As:

Untitled Baz Luhrmann Project (Australia) (working title)
Austrália (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Australia (Argentina) (Peru) [es]
Австралия (Bulgaria: Bulgarian title) [bg]
Австралия (Russia) [ru]
Austrália (Slovakia) [sk]
Austrálie (Czech Republic) [cs]
Austraalia (Estonia) [et]
Australia (Japan: English title) [en]
Australia (Greece) [el]
Australie (Canada: French title) [fr]
Australija (Croatia) [hr]
Ausztrália (Hungary) [hu]
Avustralya (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, a scene of sensuality, and brief strong language.

Runtime:

165 min

Country:

Australia | USA

Language:

English | Aboriginal

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #44939) | Singapore:PG | Ireland:12A | Finland:K-13 | Norway:11 | UK:12A | Czech Republic:U | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | New Zealand:M | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Germany:12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Hong Kong:IIA | Spain:7 | Taiwan:GP | South Africa:13V | Peru:PT | Chile:TE | Sweden:11 | Mexico:B | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Bowen, Queensland, Australia

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Heath Ledger was originally cast, but backed out to do The Dark Knight (2008):

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the film Lady Ashley and Nullah view a newspaper in Australia advertising the "The Wizard of Oz". Later in the film a sign in Darwin indicates that the year is 1939. It is highly unlikely that the newspaper or the showing of the "The Wizard of Oz" occurred in 1939 because the it was actually released in Australia during April 1940.

Quotes:

Nullah: I sing you to me.
Lady Sarah Ashley: And I will hear you, my darling!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "At the Movies: (#6.1)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

The Drover's Ballad

Big and grand, but not the hit they were aiming for

OK, I saw Australia back in December, so I'm a little rusty, forgive the late review. But looking back on this movie and just thinking about it really did help me in looking at the film and it's story. Australia was a movie that really tried to be the next Gone With The Wind for the millennium's audience. While it's a good movie, it definitely wasn't great and went way over the top. It's a little lengthy in the time and the writing was a little over done, BUT nevertheless it was still a good movie. It had terrific sets and was a beautiful setting, it felt like watching one of the old classic movies that made you feel good. Well, it was kinda like Titanic with the emotions, you were up, you were down, you were laughing, you were crying, well you get the idea. The story is a bit much, so I'm going to do the best I can to give you a decent summary.

In 1939, Lady Sarah Ashley travels from England to northern Australia to force her philandering husband to sell his faltering Australian cattle station, Faraway Downs. Her husband sends an independent cattle drover , called simply "Drover", to Darwin to transport her to Faraway Downs. Lady Sarah's husband, who has been working hard to sell 1500 head of cattle to the military, is murdered shortly before she arrives. Meanwhile, treacherous FD cattle station manager Neil Fletcher is trying to gain control of Faraway Downs, so that neighboring Lesley 'King' Carney can have a cattle monopoly in the Northern Territory, which will give him negotiating leverage with the Australian army. The childless Lady Sarah is captivated by the young boy Nullah, who was born to an Aboriginal mother and an unknown white father. When Nullah and his mother hide from the white authorities by entering a water tower, his mother drowns. Drover is friendly with the Aborigines, and therefore shunned by many of the other whites in the territory. Lady Sarah and Drover develop a romance, and she gains a new appreciation for the Australian territory. But Carney's men poison all the water sources along the cattle-drive route, so the group risks driving the cattle through the dangerous Never Never desert, which they accomplish with the help of "King George". Two years later, Drover and Lady Sarah have lived together with Nulla. But Drover, who has been quarreling with Lady Sarah and has gone droving apparently never to return, hears that she has been killed in the bombing of Darwin. Drover finds out about Nullah's abduction to Mission Island, and sets out with Magarri and Ivan to rescue Nullah and the other children from the island using a sailboat.

Whew, OK, I hope that summary is a good description of the movie since I haven't watched in a while, but I did the best I could. So in a quick sum up, the movie is worth the watch, for the background, it was worth watching in the theater. But you get the same effect if you watched it at home if you have a big screen TV and surround sound. Nicole and Hugh were a beautiful couple together, they did the best they could for such a lengthy story. But the chemistry was on and the movie did work, I think they just went a little too over the top on trying to make this movie into a classic or some kind of love fest for the Oscars. It's worth the watch, but I'd recommend just watching it at home, I don't think I can sit through a 3 hour movie again in the theaters, I'm really loosing my touch.

7/10