Curnblog's The 100 Greatest Australian Films: Cinema Down Under

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James Curnow / October 30, 2014

Why write a list of the 100 greatest Australian films? While recently browsing through a book on the history of Australian cinema, it occurred to me that most Australian film buffs and cinephiles actually have a very limited concept of the nation’s cinematic output. Except for those films that first garner significant positive attention internationally, Aussies are often very reluctant to bother seeing the great movies being produced in their own backyards.

A perfect example lies in the recent release of the Australian horror film, The Babadook, which faded into oblivion upon its initial local release before subsequently garnering significant critical and commercial attention internationally. As a result, local audiences are now paying a little more attention. There are many reasons for this tendency: cultural-cringe, poor marketing, and a perceived tendency in Australian films to be either too serious or too broad. The result is that a lot of people (both within and outside of Australia) miss seeing many films which they would probably thoroughly enjoy. And so, to help those who might be interested in broadening their knowledge of the nation’s cinema, I’m pulling together a five-part series of articles on the 100 greatest Australian films of all time, running from The Story of the Kelly Gang in 1906, right up to the recent release of The Rover. And so, without further ado, here is Part One.