Few films can claim to have harnessed the power of myth-making as completely as Peter Weir’s mesmeric spin on Joan Lindsay’s legendary 1967 novel. Did a handful of students and their teacher really vanish from the peak of Victoria’s volcanic outcrop, a place that’s sacred to First Nations people, on Valentine’s Day 1901? The truth doesn’t matter. This mystery captured in ghostlight convinced the haunted hearts of millions.
If you thought Australian cinema was all Croc Dundee and tourists being terrorised by Outback nutters, think again. Not only is God’s own country a vibrant force in world cinema – producing Hollywood directors and stars at an impressive lick – it boasts more than a few bona fide masterpieces of its own. George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is just another reminder of how great – and completely unique – Aussie movies can be, with their ancient landscapes, rich light and social commentary. What other country could produce a horror movie as singular and disturbing as Wake in Fright and a comedy as boisterous and brilliant a Muriel’s Wedding?
It also has a unique claim on cinematic history: in 1906, Melbourne hosted the premiere of the world’s first feature film: Charles Tait’s The Story of the Kelly Gang starring Frank Mills as the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly. Just a 17-minute fragment remains, but it’s a reminder that Australia has embraced the medium since the beginning. And as this list shows, it does it in style.
This story contains the names and images of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died.
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