Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
Copy

Scott Hocking's 100 Greatest Films of Australian Cinema

by thierry-05295 • Created 1 year ago • Modified 1 year ago
From the book by Scott Hocking.

From indigenous issues and rites of passage, to sexual repression, mateship, larrikins and more, Australian films provide a cultural snapshot of our sunburnt country, as seen through the lenses of some of the world’s finest filmmakers.
List activity
29 views
• 0 this week
Create a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
  • 100 titles
  • The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)

    1. The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

    19721h 54mNot Rated
    5.6 (961)
    Young Australian, Barry McKenzie, travels to England with his Aunt Edna after his father dies and a request is revealed in his will.
    DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsBarry CrockerBarry HumphriesDick Bentley
  • Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce, and Hugo Weaving in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

    2. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

    19941h 44mR70Metascore
    7.5 (58K)
    Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
    DirectorStephan ElliottStarsHugo WeavingGuy PearceTerence Stamp
  • Abigail, Graeme Blundell, Lynette Curran, and Jacki Weaver in Alvin Purple (1973)

    3. Alvin Purple

    19731h 27mR
    5.5 (700)
    Waterbed salesman Alvin consults a psychiatrist about his irresistibilty to women.
    DirectorTim BurstallStarsGraeme BlundellAbigailLynette Curran
  • John Lynch and Jacqueline McKenzie in Angel Baby (1995)

    4. Angel Baby

    19951h 45mR
    7.0 (1.6K)
    Two schizophrenics meet during therapy and fall passionately in love. Ahead of them lies the inevitable road to disaster - one they share to the end.
    DirectorMichael RymerStarsJohn LynchJacqueline McKenzieColin Friels
  • A Test of Love (1984)

    5. A Test of Love

    19841h 36mPG
    6.6 (193)
    Due to an ignorant misdiagnosis, a three-year-old disabled girl was institutionalized and subsequently spent her entire childhood in a hospital for the severely retarded. A caring therapist helped her to prove her intellectual capability.
    DirectorGil BrealeyStarsAngela Punch McGregorDrew ForsytheLiddy Clark
  • Australian Rules (2002)

    6. Australian Rules

    20021h 35m
    6.7 (887)
    In a coastal town, football bridges two groups amid underlying tensions. A book-loving white teen and his gifted Aboriginal friend face challenges as their team aims for glory.
    DirectorPaul GoldmanStarsNathan PhillipsLuke CarrollLisa Flanagan
  • James Cromwell, Christine Cavanaugh, Charles Bartlett, Jacquie Brennan, Michael Edward-Stevens, Miriam Flynn, Danny Mann, Miriam Margolyes, and Magda Szubanski in Babe (1995)

    7. Babe

    19951h 31mG83Metascore
    6.9 (139K)
    Gentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other animals accept him?
    DirectorChris NoonanStarsJames CromwellMagda SzubanskiChristine Cavanaugh
  • The Back of Beyond (1954)

    8. The Back of Beyond

    19541h 6mG
    6.7 (134)
    A documentary film which follows a mailman as he travels along the Birdsville Track in the Outback.
    DirectorJohn HeyerStarsTom KruseWilliam Henry ButlerJack the Dogger
  • Backroads (1977)

    9. Backroads

    19771h
    6.5 (263)
    A black and white lowlife duo drives around Australia's Outback in a stolen vehicle and finds trouble after trouble.
    DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsBill HunterGary FoleyZac Martin
  • Nicholas Hope in Bad Boy Bubby (1993)

    10. Bad Boy Bubby

    19931h 54mNot Rated
    7.3 (16K)
    Bubby has spent thirty years trapped in the same small room, tricked by his mother. One day, he manages to escape and, deranged and naive in equal measures, his adventure into a modern and nihilistic life begins.
    DirectorRolf de HeerStarsNicholas HopeClaire BenitoRalph Cotterill
  • Beneath Clouds (2002)

    11. Beneath Clouds

    20021h 30mNot Rated
    7.0 (1.2K)
    Lena is the daughter of an Aboriginal mother and Irish father and Vaughn is a Murri boy doing time in a minimum security prison in North West NSW. Dramatic events throw them together on a journey with no money and no transport.
    DirectorIvan SenStarsDannielle HallDamian PittJenna Lee Connors
  • The Big Steal (1990)

    12. The Big Steal

    19901h 39m
    6.8 (1.6K)
    To impress a girl, a shy teenage boy buys a used Jaguar.
    DirectorNadia TassStarsBen MendelsohnClaudia KarvanMarshall Napier
  • Sandrine Holt, Lothaire Bluteau, and August Schellenberg in Black Robe (1991)

    13. Black Robe

    19911h 41mR
    7.1 (8K)
    In the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.
    DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsLothaire BluteauAden YoungSandrine Holt
  • Bliss (1985)

    14. Bliss

    19851h 52mR
    6.7 (1.5K)
    After a near-death experience, a man wonders if he actually did die and is now in Hell.
    DirectorRay LawrenceStarsBarry OttoLynette CurranHelen Jones
  • The Boys (1998)

    15. The Boys

    19981h 26mR
    6.9 (1.8K)
    After serving time for assault, violent parolee Brett Sprague returns to his family home. As tensions rise between Brett and his brothers Stevie and Glenn over 24 hours, dark events begin to unfold.
    DirectorRowan WoodsStarsDavid WenhamToni ColletteLynette Curran
  • Edward Woodward in Breaker Morant (1980)

    16. Breaker Morant

    19801h 47mPG73Metascore
    7.8 (15K)
    Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.
    DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsEdward WoodwardJack ThompsonJohn Waters
  • Helen Morse in Caddie (1976)

    17. Caddie

    19761h 40m
    6.3 (252)
    Sydney, Australia in the mid-1920's. Proud and classy Caddie Marsh is forced to get a job as a barmaid and raise two children on her own after her rich cad husband walks out on her. Despite numerous hardships such as the Great Depression, Caddie still manages to catch the eye of smooth dandy Ted and strikes up a romantic relationship with dashing Greek gentleman Peter.
    DirectorDonald CrombieStarsHelen MorseTakis EmmanuelJack Thompson
  • Careful, He Might Hear You (1983)

    18. Careful, He Might Hear You

    19831h 50mPG
    6.9 (905)
    After his mother's death, PS lives with working-class aunt and uncle until posh Aunt Vanessa claims co-guardianship. Happy with his simple life, he struggles with her upper-class expectations and custody battle.
    DirectorCarl SchultzStarsWendy HughesRobyn NevinNicholas Gledhill
  • The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

    19. The Cars That Ate Paris

    19741h 28mPG
    5.6 (4.6K)
    The small town of Paris, Australia deliberately causes car accidents, then sells/salvages all valuables from the wrecks as a means of economy.
    DirectorPeter WeirStarsTerry CamilleriJohn MeillonKevin Miles
  • The Castle (1997)

    20. The Castle

    19971h 25mR
    7.6 (18K)
    A working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.
    DirectorRob SitchStarsMichael CatonAnne TenneyStephen Curry
  • The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)

    21. The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

    19781h 48m
    7.3 (2.7K)
    After suffering racist abuse throughout his life - which intensifies following his marriage to a white woman - a half-Aboriginal farmhand finds himself driven to murder.
    DirectorFred SchepisiStarsTommy LewisFreddy ReynoldsAngela Punch McGregor
  • Eric Bana in Chopper (2000)

    22. Chopper

    20001h 34mR68Metascore
    7.1 (43K)
    Chopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.
    DirectorAndrew DominikStarsEric BanaSimon LyndonVince Colosimo
  • Jack Thompson in The Club (1980)

    23. The Club

    19801h 36mPG
    6.9 (1.2K)
    Boardroom and dressing-room intrigues spill on to the field at the Australian Rules football club.
    DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsJack ThompsonGraham KennedyFrank Wilson
  • Paul Hogan in Crocodile Dundee (1986)

    24. Crocodile Dundee

    19861h 37mPG-1362Metascore
    6.6 (120K)
    An American reporter travels to the Australian outback to meet eccentric poacher Mick "Crocodile" Dundee and invites him to New York City, where he comes face-to-face with the complexities of modern life.
    DirectorPeter FaimanStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn Meillon
  • Andrea Lang in Cunnamulla (2000)

    25. Cunnamulla

    20001h 22m
    6.9 (180)
    Cunnamulla, 800 kilometres west of Brisbane, is the end of the railway line. In the months leading up to a scorching Christmas in the bush, there's a lot more going on than the annual lizard race. Here, Aboriginal and white Australians live together but apart. Creativity struggles against indifference, eccentricity against conformity.
    DirectorDennis O'Rourke

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.