Gallipoli
Release Date: 13th August 1981 - Australia
Production Companies
The Australian Film Commission
R&R Films
Distribution
20th Century Fox AustraliaGenre: War
Rating: M
Runtime: 111 minutes
Budget: A$1,800,000
Box Office Gross:
Budget: A$1,800,000
Box Office Gross:
Plot Summary
In 1915, during the First
World War, two young
sprinters from Western
Australia, the cynical
larrikin Frank and the
idealistic Archy, meet.
Friends and rivals will be
off to battle in Turkey.
Fighting in Gallipoli's
chaotic and bloody trenches,
the two men epitomise the
sacrifice, comradeship and
tragic waste of men whose
undying courage in the faceof overwhelming odds
defines Australia's identity
today.
Cast
Mark Lee - Archy Hamilton
Mel Gibson - Frank Rudd
Bill Kerr - Jack
Harold Hopkins - Les McCann
Charles Lathalu Yunipingu -Zac
Heath Harris - Stockman
Ron Graham - Wallace Hamilton
Gerda Nicolson - Rose Hamilton
Ron Graham - Wallace Hamilton
Gerda Nicolson - Rose Hamilton
Robert Grubb - Billy
Tim McKenzie - Barney
Tim McKenzie - Barney
David Argue - Snowy
Steve Dodd - Billy Snakeskin
Robyn Galwey - Mary
Don Quin - Lionel
Phyllis Burford - Laura
Marjorie Irving - Gran
Bill Hunter - Major Barton
Diane Chamberlain - Mrs Barton
Peter Ford - Lt. Gray
Geoff Parry - Sergeant Sayers
John Morris - Col. Robinson
Stan Green - Sergeant Major
Max Wearing - Colonel White
Graham Dow - General Gardner
Reg Evans - Athletics Official #1
Jack Giddy - Athletics Official #2
David Williamson - Soldier Playing Football
(Cameo) (Uncredited)
Crew
Story/Director - Peter Weir
Screenplay - David Williamson
Based on the Novel - Ernest Raymond (Uncredited)
Associate Producers - Martin Cooper
and Ben Gannon
Executive Producers - Francis O'Brien
and Rupert Murdoch (Uncredited)
Producers - Patricia Lovell and
Robert Stigwood
Military Adviser - Bill Gammage
Military Adviser - Bill Gammage
Sports Adviser - Jack Giddy
Design Coordinator - Wendy Stites
Art Director - Herbert Pinter
Director of Photography - Russell Boyd
Art Director - Herbert Pinter
Director of Photography - Russell Boyd
Underwater Photography - Ron Taylor
Camera Operator - John Seale
Unit/Location Manager - Phillip Hearnshaw
Production Manager - Su Armstrong
1st Assistant Director - Mark Egerton
2nd Assistant Director - Steve Andrews
Stunt Coordinators - Dennis Hunt
and Vic Wilson
Wrangler - Heath Harris
Special Effects - Chris Murray,
Mont Fieguth, David Hardie, Steve Courtley
and David Henderson
Film Editor - William M. Anderson
Assistant Editors - Jeanine Chiavlo
and Karen Foster
Supervising Sound Editor - Greg Bell
Dubbing Mixer - Peter Fenton
2nd Mixers - Ron Purvis and
Gethin Creach
Additional Music Composer and Conductor -
Brian May
Review
In light of Anzac Day and having immersed in its history, I felt inspired to review GALLIPOLI as a tribute to those brave men who have fallen in that infamous battle that resulted in the birth of the annual holiday in Australia. There was only one movie and two miniseries based on the conflict instead of features set after Gallipoli. Examples of these features include The Lighthorsemen and Beneath Hill 60. I know the film may be historically incorrect, but it presents the devastation and how human lives got tragically lost on the battlefield. It didn't stop Peter Weir from directing this 1981 Aussie war drama, essentially the portrait of the tragedy and heartbreak in this conflict. The movie exposes the meaning of mateship, which bonded the men and helped them deal with traumatic experiences.
Before he was Hollywood's original sweetheart, Mel Gibson was a superb actor for having portrayed one of the main protagonists when this movie, along with Mad Max 2, had set him into the international borders of film stardom. I'm surprised to find out his co-star, Mark Lee, never had the chance to attain the celebrity status that Mel developed in the years after GALLIPOLI. He still has the moments of his worthwhile performance, but it didn't land him an opportunity to present himself for movie lead roles.
There is much heartbreak and melancholy left to experience after watching the final half of GALLIPOLI. Nobody could tell that this feature would be a well-known classic even in Australia, where it was more popular and became one of those movies in the New Wave cinema resurgence. It's a less pretentious movie that many will probably get to know as a tribute to the Anzac tradition.
There is much heartbreak and melancholy left to experience after watching the final half of GALLIPOLI. Nobody could tell that this feature would be a well-known classic even in Australia, where it was more popular and became one of those movies in the New Wave cinema resurgence. It's a less pretentious movie that many will probably get to know as a tribute to the Anzac tradition.
Star rating: (8/10) Very Good Movie
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