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Australian New Wave

{{Short description|Movement in Australian cinema that emerged in the 1970s}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

The Australian New Wave (also known as the Australian Film Revival, Australian Film Renaissance, or New Australian Cinema) was an era of resurgence in the worldwide popularity of the Australian cinema, particularly in the United States. It began in the early 1970s and lasted until the mid-late 1980s. The era also marked the emergence of Ozploitation, a film genre characterised by the exploitation of colloquial Australian culture.

Background

The Australian film industry declined after World War II, coming to a virtual stop by the early 1960s. The Gorton (1968–71) and Whitlam governments (1972–75) intervened and rescued the industry from its expected oblivion.{{cite web |url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/film/ |title=Film in Australia |access-date=28 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217010927/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/film/ |archive-date=17 February 2011 |url-status=dead}} The federal and several state governments established bodies to assist with the funding of film production and the training of film makers through the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, which fostered a new generation of Australian filmmakers who were able to bring their visions to the screen. The 1970s saw a huge renaissance of the Australian film industry. Australia produced nearly 400 films between 1970 and 1985, more than had been made in the history of the Australian film industry.{{cite book | author=Wendy Lewis, Simon Balderstone and John Bowan | title=Events That Shaped Australia | pages=229–233 | publisher=New Holland | year=2006 | isbn=978-1-74110-492-9}}

In contrast to pre-New Wave films, New Wave films are often viewed as fresh and creative, possessing "a vitality, a love of open spaces and a propensity for sudden violence and languorous sexuality". The "straight-ahead narrative style" of many Australian New Wave films reminded American audiences of "the Hollywood-maverick period of the late 1960s and early '70s that had just about run its course".{{Cite news |last=Hale |first=Mike |date=2013-01-23 |title=When Australia Soared on Film |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/movies/the-last-new-wave-70s-australian-film-at-lincoln-center.html |access-date=2023-06-11 |issn=0362-4331}}

Notable films

= 1970s =

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  • Stork (1971){{Cite web|url=http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Australian+New+Wave&page=4|title=The Best Australian New Wave Movies of All Time | Page 4 - Flickchart}}
  • Walkabout (1971){{Cite web|url=http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Australian+New+Wave|title=The Best Australian New Wave Movies of All Time - Flickchart}}[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Wake in Fright (1971){{Cite web|url=http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/the-10-best-films-of-the-australian-new-wave/|title=The 10 Best Films of The Australian New Wave|first=Ned Athol|last=Withers|date=21 December 2015 }}
  • The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972){{Cite web|url=http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Australian+New+Wave&page=2|title=The Best Australian New Wave Movies of All Time}}
  • Night of Fear (1972)
  • Alvin Purple (1973){{Cite web|url=http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?genre=Australian+New+Wave&page=3|title=The Best Australian New Wave Movies of All Time | Page 3 - Flickchart}}
  • The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Stone (1974)
  • The Man from Hong Kong (1975)
  • Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Sunday Too Far Away (1975)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Mad Dog Morgan (1976)
  • Caddie (1976)
  • The Devil's Playground (1976)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Don's Party (1976){{Cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/australian-new-wave-movie-era/|title=Movie movements that defined cinema: the Australian New Wave|date=8 August 2016|website=Empire}}[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Fantasm (1976)
  • Deathcheaters (1976)
  • Storm Boy (1976)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Fantasm Comes Again (1977)
  • The Last Wave (1977)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Summerfield (1977)
  • The Getting of Wisdom (1977)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Patrick (1978)
  • The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Long Weekend (1978)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Money Movers (1978)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Newsfront (1978)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Mad Max (1979)
  • My Brilliant Career (1979)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]
  • Snapshot (1979)David Stratton, The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival, Angus & Robertson, 1980 p253
  • The Odd Angry Shot (1979)
  • Thirst (1979)
  • The Plumber (1979)[https://www.criterionchannel.com/australian-new-wave Australian New Wave - The Criterion Channel]

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= 1980s =

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Notable figures

Many filmmakers and actors launched international careers through their work in the Australian New Wave.

File:Mel Gibson Cannes 2016 3.jpg|Mel Gibson

File:Nicole Kidman Cannes 2017 2.jpg|Nicole Kidman

File:Sam Neill 2010.jpg|Sam Neill

File:George Miller Cannes 2015.jpg|George Miller

File:PeterWeirApr2011.jpg|Peter Weir

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=Actors=

=Others=

Legacy

In 2008, Empire magazine chose Mad Max 2 and The Year of Living Dangerously as two of the 500 Greatest Movies of All Time, ranking in at #280 and #161 respectively.[http://www.empireonline.com/500/ "Empire's 500 Greatest Movies of All Time"], Empire. Retrieved 26 January 2013. The 2011 book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die features Walkabout, Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, My Brilliant Career, Mad Max and Gallipoli (winner of multiple AACTA Awards{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K-BaaFabeQ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/_K-BaaFabeQ |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Gallipoli AFI awards highlights 1981 by Mickeyjuice on YouTube|website=YouTube|date=18 November 2006 }}{{cbignore}}).Schneider, Steven Jay. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. London: Quintessence Editions Ltd.. {{ISBN|1844036979}} Since its re-release in 2009, Wake in Fright has been assessed as one of, if not the greatest, Australian New Wave film.{{Cite news |last=Buckmaster |first=Luke |date=2014-02-14 |title=Wake in Fright: rewatching classic Australian films |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/australia-culture-blog/2014/feb/14/wake-in-fright-rewatching-australian-films |access-date=2023-06-11 |issn=0261-3077}}Cave, Nick. [http://www.cinefamily.org/films/wake-in-fright-brand-new-35mm-print/ "Wake in Fright (brand-new 35mm print!)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402090215/http://www.cinefamily.org/films/wake-in-fright-brand-new-35mm-print/ |date=2 April 2015}}, The Cinefamily. Retrieved 7 May 2013.{{Cite web |last=Gibson |first=Anthony |date=2013-01-18 |title=Lawless director John Hillcoat picks his favourite movie nightmares |url=https://metro.co.uk/2013/01/18/john-hillcoat-wake-in-fright-is-hands-down-the-greatest-australian-movie-3356219/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Metro |language=en}}

The term "glitter cycle" refers to a subgenre of eccentric Australian comedies that came to prominence in the early 1990s, spurring a post-new wave revival of Australian film. These films are noted for their celebration of Australian popular culture, camp aesthetic, colourful makeup and costuming, and musical performance pieces. Prominent glitter films include Strictly Ballroom (1992), Muriel's Wedding (1994), The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) and Love Serenade (1996). Other prominent post-new wave revival films of the 1990s include The Big Steal (1990), Proof (1991), Romper Stomper (1992), Babe (1995), Shine (1996), Kiss or Kill (1997), and The Castle (1997).{{Cite web|url=http://sensesofcinema.com/2008/book-reviews/adventures-priscilla-queen-desert/|title=Don't Let Them Drag You Down: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert by Philip Brophy|date=26 August 2008}}

In 2008, director Mark Hartley released Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation!, a documentary film celebrating the romps of the Australian New Wave of 1970s and 1980s low-budget cinema and includes George Miller, Quentin Tarantino and Barry Humphries.{{Cite web|url=http://curnblog.com/2013/06/09/ozploitation-twelve-australian-exploitation-classics/|title=Ozploitation: Twelve Australian exploitation classics|first=James|last=Curnow|date=8 June 2013}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/not-quite-hollywood-the-wild-untold-story-of-ozploita-1798206658|title=Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story Of OZploitation!|website=Film|date=30 July 2009 }}

Media theorist Theodore Scheckles argues that the post-1970 period of Australian cinema attempted to "revise the traditional Australian hero and problematize that revision" asserting the best films of this era will be viewed "as films, not as pieces of Australiana".{{Cite journal |last=Sheckels |first=Theodore F. |date=1998 |title="New Wave" Cinema's Redefinition of Australian Heroism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41958833 |journal=Antipodes |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=29–36 |jstor=41958833 |issn=0893-5580}} Likewise Michael Walsh argues that the period represents not an "over nationalist" period of Australian cinema, but an adaptation of Australian cultural tropes, culture and history to an American mass market.{{Cite journal |last=Walsh |first=Michael |date=2000 |title=Building a New Wave: Australian Films and the American Market |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44019076 |journal=Film Criticism |volume=25 |issue=2 |pages=21–39 |jstor=44019076 |issn=0163-5069}}

See also

References

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External links

  • [http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Academy-Awards-Crime-Films/Australia-THE-AUSTRALIAN-NEW-WAVE-THE-COMEDIES.html Film Reference Encyclopedia – "Australian New Wave: The Comedies"]
  • [https://www.nytimes.com/1981/02/15/movies/australia-s-pride-is-it-s-new-wave-of-films.html New York Times – "Australia Prides Its 'New Wave' of Films" article, 15 February 1981]

{{Cinema of Australia}}{{New Wave in cinema |state=collapsed}}

{{Film genres}}

New Wave

Category:New Wave in cinema

Category:Movements in cinema

Category:1970s in film

Category:1980s in film

Category:1970s in Australian cinema

Category:1980s in Australian cinema