The top ranked films on the net from Australia (9), New Zealand (4), and Canada (13) from our survey of internet film polls. Out of the 26 mentioned, 23 made the top 1000, 11 from Canada. Australia
1. Piano, The [Campion, Jane; 1993] #81 - Australia
2. Shine [Hicks, Scott; 1996] #574 - Australia
3. Mad Max 2, aka Road Warrior [Miller, George; 1981] #590 - Australia
4. Walkabout [Roeg, Nicolas; 1971] #672 - Australia
5. Picnic at Hanging Rock [Weir, Peter; 1975] #730 – Australia
6. An Angel at My Table, An [Campion, Jane; 1990] #737 - New Zealand-Aust-UK
7. Forbidden Lie$ [Broinowski, Anna; 2007] #1028 - Australia
8. Year of Living Dangerously, The [Weir, Peter; 1982] #1136 - Australia
9. Moulin Rouge! [Luhrmann, Baz; 2001] #1184 - Australia-US
[see bottom of this post for a list of Australian Film Institute awards for best picture]
Missing (they really shafted Australia in the polls): Babe (Chris Noonan, 1995) [This won 17 international awards, nominated for Best Picture, how can it not make any film polls? Produced by Road Warrior director George Miller]
My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979) - energetic romantic adventure
Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford, 1980) - terrific war story based on fact
The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005) – a gutsy western
The Last Wave (Peter Weir, 1977) - aboriginal folk tale of the apocalypse
Flirting (John Duigan, 1980) - insightful interracial love story, Nicole Kidman co-stars
The Man From Snowy River (George Miller, 1982) – not the same George Miller as above (this one's from Scotland), another Aussie western
Australia (Baz Luhrmann, 2008) - enjoyable epic western romance, with some war thrown in as well
My own favorite Aussie films are: Babe, Walkabout, The Road Warrior (a classic in mayhem), My Brilliant Career, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Flirting, The Piano, The Proposition, Shine, The Man From Snowy River
Update: add Animal Kingdom (2010)
New Zealand
1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Jackson, Peter; 2001] #84 - US-New Zealand
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [Jackson, Peter; 2003] #97 - US-New Zealand
3. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [Jackson, Peter; 2002] #144 - US-New Zealand
4. An Angel at My Table [Campion, Jane; 1990] #737 - New Zealand
Canada
1. Wavelength [Snow, Michael; 1967] #263 - Canada
2. Sweet Hereafter, The [Egoyan, Atom; 1997] #319 - Canada
3. Dead Ringers [Cronenberg, David; 1988] #355 - Canada
4. Atlantic City [Malle, Louis; 1980] #491 - Canada-France
5. Fast Runner, The [Kunuk, Zacharias; 2001] #620 - Canada
6. Videodrome [Cronenberg, David; 1983] #705 - Canada
7. Hart of London, The [Chambers, Jack; 1970] #711 - Canada
8. Région centrale, La [Snow, Michael; 1971] #725 - Canada*
9. Capote [Miller, Bennett; 2005] #760 - Canada-US
10. Away from Her [Polley, Sarah; 2006] #774 - Canada
11. Crash [Cronenberg, David; 1996] #984 - Canada
12. My Winnipeg [Maddin, Guy; 2007] #1096 - Canada
13. Barbarian Invasions, The [Arcand, Denys; 2003] #1207 - Canada*
* = in French, with subtitles
I think the last of these, foreign language Oscar® winner Barbarian Invasions, about a man dying of cancer with his family and friends around to send him off, is my favorite Canadian film (in French, with subtitles).
However, The Sweet Hereafter (in English) is a minor masterpiece, imo, which also deals with death, as lawyer Ian Holm shows up in a small Canadian town to try to get them to seek justice after a fatal school bus accident.
Atlantic City, with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, is Louis Malle's best to me, though it really feels like US film, another crime/noir story.
Apparently, Wavelength is an experimental film designed to get people to leave the theater with noise, I don't know how it out-polled the more serious films.
Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Picture [only films produced in Australia]
2008 - The Black Balloon
2007 - Romulus, My Father
2006 - Ten Canoes
2005 - Look Both Ways
2004 - Somersault
2003 - Japanese Story
2002 - Rabbit-Proof Fence
2001 - Lantana
2000 - Looking for Alibrandi
1999 - Two Hands
1998 - The Interview
1997 - Kiss or Kill
1996 - Shine
1995 - Angel Baby
1994 - Muriel's Wedding
1993 - The Piano
1992 - Strictly Ballroom
1991 - Proof
1990 - Flirting
1989 - Evil Angels (aka. A Cry in the Dark)
1988 - The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
1987 - The Year My Voice Broke
1986 - Malcolm
1985 - Bliss
1984 - Annie's Coming Out
1983 - Careful, He Might Hear You
1982 - Lonely Hearts
1981 - Gallipoli
1980 - Breaker Morant
1979 - My Brilliant Career
1978 - Newsfront
1977 - Storm Boy
1976 - The Devil's Playground
1974/5 - Sunday Too Far Away
1973 - Libido: The Child
1973 - 27A
1972 - Stork
1971 - Homesdale
1970 - Three To Go: Michael
1969 - Jack And Jill: A Postscript
1968 - The Change at Groote / The Talgai Skull
1967 - Cardin in Australia
1966 - Concerto for Orchestra
1965 - The Legend of Damien Parer / Stronger Since The War
1964 - The Dancing Class / I The Aboriginal
1963 - The Land That Waited
1962 - Bypass to Life / Night Freighter
1961 - Not awarded this year
1960 - Three in a Million
1959 - Edge of The Deep / The Power Makers
1958 - Conquest of The Rivers / Hard to Windward
Technically, Lord of The Rings is not a New Zealand film because it was only used as a location. The movie was edited and produced in Hollywood I'm sure. Nevertheless, it's a great and amazing movie that deserves the best ratings so I'd be more than happy to give it to New Zealand.
ReplyDeleteTake care, Ella
I'm using the "official" countries of production at IMDB, which the producers and other artists involved can write and edit themselves, so it's the best source to use..
ReplyDeleteEuropeans do this often, the US, rarely, but was listed on these.. a lot of this stuff is political, as I've found out when reviewing stuff..
ie, TV cannot use the word "documentary", it's owned by the film industry union (AMPAS) - they have to use "non-fiction programming" instead.