100 Essential New Zealand Films
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Book by Hamish McDouall
Published October 2009
This is a collection of 100 films - features, documentaries and shorts. As such, it is a subjective list of "essential" titles and since limited to 100, some of your favourites will be missing. Given that, it contains some very helpful summaries and reviews of films you should experience. The author states that he "make(s) no apologies for not including ... 'Footrot Flats', but does not explain why. If you meet him, will you ask him and let me know. That aside, perhaps this book is covering too much ground and would have been better off limiting its coverage to feature films, even if that included feature documentaries. Given the number of New Zealand short films, that group should have its own book. An excellent index has been included, but more viewing, rental and purchase sources are needed. With the shortage of reviews for many of these titles, the major contribution of Mr. McDouall's book is his commentaries on the films. They will assist in helping you learn about some New Zealand film gems and just might give you that push to see something you have yet to experience. Do yourself a favour and start by giving this a read.
Films are listed in alphabetical order.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is counted as a single entry.
Missing/Unable to Find on IMDB:
Baby Farmer
Footage
I Want to Be Joan
Lovelock
The Road Back
The Sadness of the Post-Intellectual Art Critic
Pssst, want to check out the 100 Essential New Zealand Films list in our new look?
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1 new
An Angel at My Table
1990, in 8 top lists Check -
2 new
Angel Mine
1978, in 0 top lists Check -
3 new
Avondale Dogs
1994, in 0 top lists -
4 new
Bad Blood
1981, in 0 top lists Check -
5 new
Beautiful
2002, in 0 top lists Check -
6 new
Beyond Reasonable Doubt
1982, in 0 top lists Check -
7 new
Blue Willow
2005, in 0 top lists -
8 new
Braindead
1992 — a.k.a. Dead Alive, in 8 top lists Check -
9 new
Broken Barrier
1952, in 1 top list Check -
10 new
Came a Hot Friday
1985, in 0 top lists Check -
11 new
Weekly Review No. 374: The Coaster
1948, in 0 top lists -
12 new
A Colour Box
1935, in 5 top lists Check -
13 new
Crush
1992, in 0 top lists Check -
14 new
A Death in the Family
1987, in 0 top lists Check -
15 new
The Departure of the Second Contingent for the...
1900, in 0 top lists -
16 new
Derek
1974, in 0 top lists -
17 new
Desperate Remedies
1993, in 0 top lists Check -
18 new
Drum/Sing
1987, in 0 top lists Check -
19 new
The End of the Golden Weather
1991, in 0 top lists Check -
20 new
The Feathers of Peace
2000, in 0 top lists -
21 new
Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree
1989, in 0 top lists Check -
22 new
Forgotten Silver
1995, in 2 top lists Check -
23 new
Fracture
2004, in 0 top lists Check -
24 new
Free Radicals
1958, in 7 top lists Check -
25 new
The Frog, the Dog, and the Devil
1986, in 0 top lists Check -
26 new
A Game with No Rules
1994, in 0 top lists Check -
27 new
Gone Up North for a While
1972, in 0 top lists Check -
28 new
Goodbye Pork Pie
1981, in 0 top lists Check -
29 new
Haunting Douglas
2003, in 0 top lists Check -
30 new
Heavenly Creatures
1994, in 7 top lists Check -
31 new
Illustrious Energy
1988, in 0 top lists Check -
32 new
In My Father's Den
2004, in 0 top lists Check -
33 new
In Spring One Plants Alone
1980, in 0 top lists Check -
34 new
Infection
2000, in 0 top lists Check -
35 new
Jack Be Nimble
1993, in 0 top lists Check -
36 new
Kaikohe Demolition
2004, in 0 top lists Check -
37 new
Kingpin
1985, in 0 top lists Check -
38 new
Kitchen Sink
1989, in 1 top list Check -
39 new
The Little Things
2005, in 0 top lists -
40 new
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001, in 31 top lists Check -
41 new
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2002, in 26 top lists Check -
42 new
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003, in 29 top lists Check -
43 new
The Lounge Bar
1989, in 0 top lists Check -
44 new
Magik and Rose
2001, in 0 top lists Check -
45 new
The Maori Merchant of Venice
2002, in 0 top lists Check -
46 new
Meet the Feebles
1989, in 3 top lists Check -
47 new
Memory & Desire
1998, in 0 top lists Check -
48 new
Middle Age Spread
1979, in 0 top lists -
49 new
Mr. Wrong
1986 — a.k.a. Dark of the Night, in 0 top lists Check -
50 new
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
1988, in 3 top lists Check
Last updated on Aug 8, 2022; source