The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film ever made, was released in 1906 and the Australian film industry has been producing outstanding cinema ever since. Though many gems have remained undiscovered by audiences outside of Australia, the country has enjoyed it’s share of international acclaim.

Movies such as Crocodile Dundee, Gallipoli and Picnic At Hanging Rock have all been commercially successful and many popular actors and actresses have started their careers in Australian films. Geoffrey Rush, Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Kate Blanchett and Errol Flynn all come to mind here.

While the Australian film industry has had it’s ups and downs, I found that it has produced so many quality films that I have had to divide my Top Ten Australian Films into several lists. At some point in the future, I will post my Top Ten Australian Films (Pre-1900); Top Ten Australian Films (1900 – 1950); and Top Ten Australian Films (Post-2000).

For today, however, here is my top ten list of Australian Films (1950 – 2000), from ten to one:

Number 10

They’re A Weird Mob (1966)

Director: Michael Powell
Writers: John O’Grady (novel) (as Nino Culotta) , Emeric Pressburger (screenplay) (as Richard Imrie)
Stars: Walter Chiari, Claire Dunne, Chips Rafferty, Graham Kennedy

Number 9

Breaker Morant (1980)

Director: Bruce Beresford
Writers: Kenneth G. Ross … (play “‘Breaker’ Morant”), Jonathan Hardy (screenplay), David Stevens (screenplay), Bruce Beresford (screenplay), Kit Denton (additional material) (from “The Breaker”)
Stars: Edward Woodward, Jack Thompson, John Waters, Brian Brown, Chris Haywood

Number 8

Babakiueria (1986)

Director: Don Featherstone
Writer: Geoffrey Atherden (screenplay)
Stars: Michelle Torres, Bob Maza, Kevin Smith

Number 7

The Odd Angry Shot (1979)

Director: Tom Jeffrey
Writers: Tom Jeffrey (screenplay), William L. Nagle (adapted from the novel by: “The Odd Angry Shot”) (as William Nagle)
Stars: Graham Kennedy, John Hargreaves, John Jarratt, Bryan Brown

Number 6

Hercules Returns (1993)

Director: David Parker
Writer: Des Mangan
Stars: David Argue, Michael Carman, Mary Coustas, Bruce Spence

Number 5

The Castle (1997)

Director: Rob Sitch
Writers: Santo Cilauro (written and conceived by), Tom Gleisner (written and conceived by), Jane Kennedy (written and conceived by), Rob Sitch (written and conceived by)
Stars: Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Michael Roland

Number 4

The Lighthorsemen (1987)

Director: Simon Wincer
Writer: Ian Jones
Stars: Peter Phelps, Nick Waters, John Larking, John Heywood, Bill Kerr, Gary Sweet, Peter Douglas, Jim Willoughby, Sigrid Thornton

Number 3

Gallipoli (1981)

Director: Peter Weir
Writers: Peter Weir (story), David Williamson (screenplay), Ernest Raymond (novel “Tell England”) (uncredited)
Stars: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins, Robert Grubb, Tim McKenzie, Bill Hunter, Graham Dow

Number 2

The Magic Pudding (2000)

Director: Karl Zwicky
Writers: Harry Cripps, Greg Haddrick, Simon Hopkinson, Norman Lindsay (The Magic Pudding)
Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Sam Neill, Jack Thompson, Toni Collette, John Cleese, Mary Coustas, Dave Gibson, Greg Carroll, Roy Billing

Number 1

Cosi (1996)

Director: Mark Joffe
Writers: Louis Nowra (play), Louis Nowra (screenplay)
Stars: Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Aden Young, Colin Friels, Jacki Weaver, Tony Llewellyn-Jones, Jack Walsh

Categories: Top Tens

Tags: australia, Australiam movies, Australian Film Industry, Babakiueria, Breaker Morant, Comedy, Cosi, Gallipoli, Hercules Returns, humour, John Cleese, The Castle, The Lighthorsemen, The Magic Pudding, The Odd Angry Shot, They're A Weird Mob, Top Ten, video