Australian Cinema

I

Introduction

Australian Cinema, historical development of the cinema in Australia.

In many ways, the art of film pervades Australian life, reflecting and shaping the culture of the nation and providing a window through which to view the culture of others.

The Australian government has been committed to supporting the growth of its film industry, and most production is reliant on some sort of government investment. Today, the government contributes to the production of films, documentaries, and television programmes under the auspices of the Australian Film Finance Corporation, the Australian Film Commission, and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation. There is also involvement from the private sector from Film Licensed Investment Company (FLIC) schemes, which carried a 100 per cent tax concession over the financial years 1998-1999 and 1999-2000. Unlike Divisions 10B and 10BA of the Income Tax Assessment Act, which relate to investment in single projects, FLIC shares can support a number of programmes at once (“slate funding”). Two successful FLIC licensees were appointed in April 1999—Content Capital Ltd and Macquarie Film Corp. FLIC could continue to raise non-concessional capital until June 22, 2002, and the completion deadline for projects was set as April 30, 2003.

II

History

The cinema began in Australia on November 30, 1894, with the kinetoscope exhibition of a programme of five films to a paying public in Sydney. By the end of 1896, films had developed into an on-screen projection medium and early attempts at combining sound and image were abandoned until the advent of the talkies some 35 years later.

The Australian nation itself, federated from former British colonies in 1901, is not quite as old as its own cinema. Its earliest known narrative fiction film, Soldiers of the Cross (Joseph Perry, 1900), was released in the same year as federation. Consisting of a series of filmed scenes connected in a religious performance by acted tableaux and lantern slide projection, the Salvation Army film told a story of early Christian martyrs.

Sadly, Perry’s film no longer exists; it was lost owing to nitrate decomposition. One that does remain in fragments is The Story of the Kelly Gang (Charles Tait, 1906). The scenes were shot at outdoor locations and indicate that originally the film contained a long narration based on the highlights from the career of the bushranger, or outlaw, Ned Kelly.

Until their production was banned in 1912 at the request of the police, bushranger stories accounted for the bulk of the features produced by the local industry. They were tremendously popular, but the state banned them because it was held that they glorified criminals as heroes.

Such early involvement of the state in film censorship on political and moral grounds was to remain a typical feature of Australian film production until challenged and changed in the late 1960s.

Australians saw an early flowering of feature-film production from 1906 to 1912 that pre-dated similar developments in other countries, including Britain and the United States. In the 1920s films displayed a growing refinement of production techniques and a sophistication of subject-matter. People such as Raymond Longford (The Sentimental Bloke, 1919) and the MacDonagh sisters (The Far Paradise, 1928) produced several enduring classics of the cinema during this period.

Film-making was still not a secure industry, however. Although films were popular with audiences, as the capital needed to meet expectations for higher production values increased, business competition also increased. A disastrous trade war between the two largest distribution and exhibition outfits led to a reduction in the number of independent producers, distributors, and exhibitors, as they were either swallowed up by the growing operations or failed financially.

As Australian films found it more difficult to secure exhibition, audiences were drawn to cinemas exhibiting American films. Between 1911 and 1913 almost 100 features were produced; between 1939 and 1969 the average production fell to only about two films a year. Jedda (1955) by Charles Chauvel, notable for being the country’s first colour feature and the first to star Australian Aborigines in leading roles, also stands out as being the only Australian film released in 1955.

By 1929 the decline was complete. The impact of the Depression meant less money was available for financing projects, as well as causing a major reduction in audience sizes. Equipping for sound was too costly for many, and the major studios released a grand silent film, For the Term of his Natural Life (Norman Dawn, 1927), just as the craze for talkies swept the world. This decline and the American domination of the film industry was to continue until the late 1960s.

Film production was taken over by the state, and focused on making propaganda films, documenting the actions of Australians in numerous overseas wars for domestic consumption. One such film, Damien Parer’s Kokoda Front Line (1942), won Australia its first Academy Award (Oscar).

III

The Revival of the Australian Film Industry

The Australian Commonwealth Film Unit was established in 1958 and then Film Australia in 1972. Under its various titles the unit produced hundreds of documentaries. These productions had the dual roles of projecting Australia’s image overseas to encourage trade and immigration and internally promoting the project of nation-building. Skills learnt at the unit were vital in the absence of a film school and when new government funding made the revival of the feature-film industry possible in the 1970s, individuals who had learnt their craft at the government film unit were able to take full advantage of the new situation. Thus, an active film community was able to flourish in the 1970s and 1980s.

Film-makers such as John Heyer, Cecil Holmes, and Peter Weir (Picnic at Hanging Rock, 1975) honed their skills making films at the unit and then moved on in the industry. Heyer directed The Back of Beyond (1954), a film now seen as one of the great classics of Australian cinema.

During the 1970s a film investment agency, a national film and television school, and an experimental film fund for low-budget films assisted the development of new film-makers. Better financing and skill development resulted in more directors realizing larger projects. Dr George Miller’s Mad Max (1979) and Weir’s Gallipoli (1981) were the first Australian films to gain mainstream domestic release in the United States; others followed. Gillian Armstrong enjoyed international success with My Brilliant Career (1979).

Australian creative personnel—directors, actors, and cinematographers—have had remarkable success in the international film industry. Directors such as Weir, Fred Schepisi, Miller, Bruce Beresford, and Armstrong contribute greatly to the American (or global) industry. Actors and actresses such as Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, and Nicole Kidman have followed the path to Hollywood first taken by the likes of Felix the Cat, Errol Flynn, and Peter Finch. Australian film technicians are in great demand in the United States and throughout Asia and some—for example, Dean Semler, who received an Oscar for his cinematography on Dances with Wolves (1990)—are accorded the highest accolades.

Australian stories and the Australian landscape continue to fascinate overseas directors: Stanley Kramer, Fred Zinnemann, Michael Powell, Tony Richardson, Nicolas Roeg, Werner Herzog, and Wim Wenders, for example, have all worked in Australia.

A move in the late 1970s and 1980s towards an urban setting for films did not lessen the power of the bush as a prime site of representation. Generally, however, from the time of the cinema renaissance in the 1970s, feature films explored a more diverse range of subjects and styles. An initial fondness for historical dramas gave way to realist films with urban themes that dealt with sexuality and personal relationships. Sex comedies such as The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (Bruce Beresford, 1972) represented the first wave of the revival that coincided with a period in which traditional views of the family, love, sexual norms, and relations between the genders came under attack in all Western societies.

During the 1980s the tax concessions available to the industry led to the production of a plethora of films made mainly to exploit the system. Many action-adventures and thrillers were produced during the period, although many were destined for video release.

IV

Recent Developments

The Australian government continues to support the development of the Australian film industry by regulating local content on television; providing funding for the production of Australian film and television programmes, together with taxation and incentives; and working to ensure that international trade liberalization does not jeopardize cultural objectives. Nonetheless, the election in 1996 of the Liberal government meant changes to the public funding of the arts—film-making included.

Australian films have achieved landmark critical and commercial success since the 1980s. The popularity of both Strictly Ballroom (1992) and Moulin Rouge (2000) by Baz Luhrmann resulted in box-office returns not seen since Crocodile Dundee (1986, Peter Faiman). The Piano (1993) gained unprecedented acclaim and Oscars, including a Best Screenplay award for its writer/director Jane Campion. Films such as The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994, Stephan Elliot) and Muriel’s Wedding (1994, P. J. Hogan) followed the success of earlier films. In 1995 Australia produced a surprise hit with Babe by Chris Noonan, a film about a pig who wants to become a sheepdog. It received seven Academy Award nominations, but only one actual award, for Best Visual Effects. Also successful have been Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996); Love Serenade (1996), a film by first-time feature director Shirley Barrett that won a Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival; and Rolf de Heer’s The Quiet Room (1996). A film made by Scott Hicks, Shine (1996), won its leading actor, Geoffrey Rush, an Academy Award for Best Actor. Recent prizes include many nominations for Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge and the surprise critical hit Lantana (2001) by Ray Lawrence. There were other prizes too: at Cannes, the Technical Prize for cinematographer Chris Doyle for In the Mood for Love (2000), Grand Prix Cannes Junior for director Nadia Tass for Amy (1998), and Rail D'Or for John Polson for Siam Sunset (1999). Rose Byrne won the Best Actress award at Venice for her performance in Goddess of 1967 (2000) directed by Clara Law. Cate Blanchett in Gillian Armstrong’s film Charlotte Gray (2001), Anthony La Paglia (Lantana), Noah Taylor, Susie Porter, David Wenham, and Richard Roxburgh continue to be box-office attractions both at home and abroad.

The future of Australian cinema continues to look healthy, even taking into account the difficulties faced by Australian talent in promoting itself overseas as the Australian dollar remains weak internationally. As some directors, actors, cinematographers, and technicians move on to make international films, new talent emerges. Newer directors such as Emma-Kate Croghan, John Hughes, David Caesar, Rolf de Heer, John Polson, and Ray Lawrence continue to attract interest. More experienced directors returned home to make films, most notably Phillip Noyce with Rabbit Proof Fence (2001) and Peter Weir, in pre-production for a large budget period piece. Fox Studios attracted big budget spends hosting American studio productions such as The Matrix (1999), and the Star Wars films Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and the forthcoming Episode III, and Scooby Doo was shot at Warner’s Gold Coast studios. All these big budget films utilized the impressive technical talent and facilities now recognized to be present in Australia. Sadly, the knock-on effect of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York has made shooting in Australia, as with other overseas countries, less attractive to American producers.

It should be remembered that Australia has a population of just over 19,500,000 (2002 estimate). It is extraordinary to think therefore that the production activity of all feature films in 2000/2001 was A$368 million, including 26 titles collectively worth A$82 million.