Gallipoli

A landmark of Australian Cinema, Gallipoli is a distinctly Australian-looking film that deals with an important part of our history. Along with Breaker Morant, it's probably one of the most groundbreaking war films to be made in this country. And it's got young Mel Gibson in it too.

Any Aussie school-kid can tell you about Gallipoli, most likely both the events and the film. The tragedy of WW1's war of attrition has never been more evident, or struck our soil as much, than through the acts of senseless slaughter that befell thousands of Australian soldiers in Turkey. Peter Weir's film hammers this home by spending it's first half following two talented Western Australian athletes (Jack and Frank) on their quest to join up and fight in the war. The responsibility for the waste of Australian youth and talent is put squarely in the hands of the British by the film's end, as Jack and Frank reach the front line only in the last half hour to find that the 'Great War' is an inhuman machine fed by miscommunication and a complete disregard for life.

Weir's direction is an odd mixture of gentle nostalgia and dreamlike cinematography... highlighted by an alien-sounding sub-electronic soundtrack, probably one of the most original and effective scores in film. The film's emphasis on setting and historical accuracy goes a long way to explaining why every school library in Australia possesses a copy, and the story itself relies a great deal on the attitudes of the era to cultivate an understanding of character motivation and the shock that this war was to the society that birthed it.

Despite it's tragic nature, this is quite a beautiful film. Weir's signature style of direction is firmly stamped in place; it's an unearthly vision of history with equal portions of regret, humour and doom. If you can't remember it from school, or your teachers never got around to showing it to you, check it out - if only to see what many consider to be the definitive Australian war film, or some of Mel Gibson's great pre-Hollywood work.

DIRECTOR: Peter Weir
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Peter Weir and David Williamson, based on the novel by Ernest Raymond.
KEY ACTORS: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Bill Hunter, Diane Chamberlain, Don Morris

RELATED TEXTS:
- Based on the novel Tell England by British author Ernest Raymond, written in 1922.
- Breaker Morant also deals with England's mistreatment of Australian soldiers in early 20th century war.
- For other films on WW1 trench warfare, see Paths of Glory, All Quiet on the Western Front, Westfront 1918 and Beneath Hill 60.
- See also Gallipoli, a multi-faceted Turkish documentary from 2005 that seeks to document the conflict from all viewpoints.

AWARDS
AFIs - won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Mel Gibson), Best Supporting Actor (Bill Hunter), Best Screenplay, Best Sound, Best Editing and Best Cinematography. Also nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Production Design, Best Actor (Mark Lee) and Best Supporting Actor (Bill Kerr)
Golden Globes - nominated Best Foreign Film.