BEST AUSTRALIAN FILMS
A collection of some of Australia's best films.
List activity
3.8K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
59 titles
- DirectorP.J. HoganStarsToni ColletteRachel GriffithsBill HunterA young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.The best film to start understand Australianisms and the quirky Down Under humour.
- DirectorGeoffrey WrightStarsRussell CroweDaniel PollockJacqueline McKenzieA group of skinheads become alarmed at the way their neighbourhood is changing.Seen to be believed. Russel Crowe at his best!
- DirectorStephan ElliottStarsHugo WeavingGuy PearceTerence StampTwo drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.One of the most successful Australian films ever made.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRachel RobertsAnne-Louise LambertVivean GrayDuring a rural summer picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.Eire, haunting and picturesque. A film that pioneered a renaissance of the Australian film industry.
- DirectorDavid MichôdStarsJames FrechevilleGuy PearceJoel EdgertonA seventeen-year-old navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him.Harsh & compelling. Jackie Weaver creates the ultimate evil.
- DirectorRowan WoodsStarsDavid WenhamToni ColletteLynette CurranBrett Sprague is a violent and psychopathic man, who is released on parole after serving a sentence for assault. As he returns to his family house and we watch him and his brothers, Stevie and Glenn, for the next 24 hours, it becomes clear this day will not end well.Based on a horrifying true story.
- DirectorGreg McLeanStarsNathan PhillipsCassandra MagrathKestie MorassiThree backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.The film no backpacker should ever see if planning to venture around Australia.
- DirectorRolf de HeerPeter DjigirrStarsCrusoe KurddalJamie GulpililRichard BirrinbirrinIn Australia's Northern Territory, a man tells us a story of his people and his land. It's about an older man, Minygululu, who has three wives and realizes that his younger brother Dayindi may try to steal away the youngest wife.An original venture in story telling and film about the Australian Aborigines.
- DirectorCarl SchultzStarsWendy HughesRobyn NevinNicholas GledhillHis mother dead, PS lives in Sydney with working-class Aunt Lila and Uncle George. When he's six or eight, his posh Aunt Vanessa descends from England. Named a co-guardian by PS's feckless, absent father, she asserts her rights and convinces Lila to have PS live with her weekdays. PS is happy at Lila's, playing with children, running about, speaking up. At Vanessa's, there's a regimen of private school, round vowels, piano and riding lessons, and lonely indoor play with fancy toys. He's miserable and when he objects, she sues for complete custody. Will anyone listen to him? And will he take on Vanessa's challenges to find out who he is and to love someone?Chilling and moving Australian classic
- DirectorPeter FaimanStarsPaul HoganLinda KozlowskiJohn MeillonAn American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.The film that helped America discover Australia
- DirectorGeorge MillerStarsKirk DouglasTom BurlinsonTerence DonovanIn 1880s Australia, after young Jim Craig's father dies, he takes a job at the Harrison cattle ranch, where he is forced to become a man.An Australian epic
- DirectorSimon WincerStarsTom BurlinsonJudy MorrisMartin VaughanThe true story of a New Zealand racehorse that became a champion, with the help of a local stable-boy.Before there was Seabiscuit there was the legend of Phar Lap
- DirectorRob SitchStarsMichael CatonAnne TenneyStephen CurryA working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.Easy going Aussie comedy with Eric Bana when he was a famous comedian!
- DirectorJonathan DawsonStarsGarry McDonaldCoral DrouynPaul DanielThe escapades of Ginger Meggs, local larrikin. He's trying to win the heart of Minnie Peters, but the pressures of school, his rival Eddie Coogan and bully Tiger Kelly make life tough for him. Besides, there's fishing to be done.Australian comic strip children's classic
- DirectorChris ThomsonStarsKylie MinogueCharlie SchlatterBruno LawrenceA small town in Australia, in the late 1950s: Brownie and Lola are deeply in love. But because they are under-age, their parents are against their relationship and try to separate them.1950's theme film with Kylie Minogue when she was still an actor.
- DirectorRay LawrenceStarsAnthony LaPagliaGeoffrey RushRachael BlakeThe relationships of four couples unravel after the discovery of a young woman's body in Lantana bush in suburban Sydney.Disturbing and elegantly made Australian drama.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsPaul MercurioTara MoriceBill HunterA maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.Baz Lurhman's best!
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanHugh JackmanShea AdamsIn 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.Epic, if a bit misunderstood.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsRalph FiennesCate BlanchettCiarán HindsIn mid-1800s England, Oscar is a young Anglican priest, a misfit and an outcast, but with the soul of an angel. As a boy, even though from a strict Pentecostal family, he felt God told him through a sign to leave his father and his faith and join the Church of England. Lucinda is a teen-aged Australian heiress who has an almost desperate desire to liberate her sex from the confines of the male-dominated culture of the Australia of that time. She buys a glass factory and has a dream of building a church made almost entirely of glass, and then transporting it to Bellingen, a remote settlement on the north coast. Oscar and Lucinda meet on a ship going to Australia; once there, they are for different reasons ostracized from society, and as a result "join forces" together. Oscar and Lucinda are both passionate gamblers, and Lucinda bets Oscar her entire inheritance that he cannot transport the glass church to the Outback safely. Oscar accepts her wager, and this leads to the events that will change both their lives forever.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsGlenn CloseFrances McDormandPauline CollinsA group of women who are imprisoned on the island of Sumatra by the Japanese during World War II use music to relieve their misery.A heart-wrenching drama set in WWII. Cate Blanchette is phenomenal.
- DirectorRowan WoodsStarsCate BlanchettSam NeillHugo WeavingA woman trying to escape her past becomes embroiled in a drug deal.
- DirectorChris NoonanStarsJames CromwellMagda SzubanskiChristine CavanaughGentle 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?Kid's classic!
- DirectorMichael JenkinsStarsClaudia KarvanAlex DimitriadesSteve BastoniA first-year teacher in the suburbs of Melbourne starts to have second thoughts about her future when she develops a bond with a teenage student.
- DirectorAna KokkinosStarsAlex DimitriadesElle MandalisDamien FotiouA 19 year old Greek Australian youth struggles with his sexual identity and has one clumsy heterosexual and several homosexual encounters.Full On!
- DirectorGeoff BurtonKevin DowlingStarsJack ThompsonRussell CroweJohn PolsonA widowed father has to deal with two complex issues: while he is searching for "Miss Right," his son, who is in his 20s and gay, is searching for "Mr. Right."Russel Crowe and Jack Thomson like you've never seen them!
- DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsHugo WeavingGeneviève PicotRussell CroweThe life of a blind photographer who is looked after by a housekeeper is disrupted by the arrival of an agreeable restaurant worker.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsJack ThompsonGraham KennedyFrank WilsonBoardroom and dressing-room intrigues spill on to the field at the Australian Rules football club.
- DirectorFred SchepisiStarsMeryl StreepSam NeillDale ReevesA mother whose child was killed in a dingo attack in the Australian Outback fights to prove her innocence when she is accused of murder.Based on a true story. Evil Angels is a sociological look into the Australian media witch hunt against Lindy Chamberlain. Meryl Strep's Australian accent is uncanny!
- DirectorBrian Trenchard-SmithStarsDavid ArgueJohn LeyNicole KidmanA trio of teen BMX enthusiasts become entangled with a group of bank robbers after discovering their cache of walkie-talkies.Nicole Kidman's best!
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsNicole KidmanSam NeillBilly ZaneAfter a tragedy, John Ingram and his wife Rae are spending some time isolated at sea, when they come across a stranger who has abandoned a sinking ship.
- DirectorGeorge MillerGeorge OgilvieStarsMel GibsonTina TurnerBruce SpenceAfter being exiled from the most advanced town in post apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsMel GibsonMark LeeBill KerrTwo Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
- DirectorGregor JordanStarsHeath LedgerBryan BrownDavid FieldA 19 year old finds himself in debt to a local gangster when some gang loot disappears and sets him on the run from thugs. Meanwhile two street kids start a shopping spree when they find the missing money.
- DirectorGregor JordanStarsHeath LedgerOrlando BloomGeoffrey RushAn innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.
- DirectorSteven VidlerStarsLaurence BreulsLinda CropperSimon LyndonWhen a young schoolgirl is raped and murdered, the mateship between a group of surfers is tested as the truth is slowly revealed.
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorThandiwe NewtonNicole KidmanTwo freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.
- DirectorScott HicksStarsGeoffrey RushArmin Mueller-StahlJustin BrainePianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsJoey KennedyRoss O'DonovanMargo LeeA teenage girl, with dreams of becoming a famous singer, tries to secure a spot on a local televised talent show.
- DirectorPeter DuncanStarsJudy DavisSam NeillF. Murray AbrahamFew knew that Stalin spent his last night in the arms of a young Australian woman. Few still knew that their "love-child" brought Australia to the brink of civil war. Until now.
- DirectorRob SitchStarsSam NeillBilly MitchellRoz HammondA remote Australian community, populated by quirky characters, plays a key role in the first Apollo moon landing.
- DirectorKarl ZwickyStarsSam NeillHugo WeavingJohn CleeseAn old man, a young anthropomorphic koala, a South Pole penguin and Albert, a magic sentient walking and talking bowl of pudding with an attitude are searching for koala's missing parents. However, sinister forces want the pudding.
- DirectorSue BrooksStarsToni ColletteGotaro TsunashimaLynette CurranAgainst the background of an Australian desert, Sandy, a geologist, and Hiromitsu, a Japanese businessman, play out a story of human inconsequence in the face of the blistering universe. The end of the journey leaves no one capable of going back to where they started from.
- DirectorDavid CaesarStarsBryan BrownToni ColletteJohn Goodman1973 Sydney: An Australian gangster sees booming business, due to U.S. soldiers being in town for relaxing between their tours to the Vietnam war, attracts the attention of first the Chicago mafia, and then their East Coast competitors.
- DirectorDavid ParkerStarsToni ColletteDominic WestMalcolm KennardAustralian Diana Spencer wins a competition in a women's magazine, and as a prize gets a trip for two to London, where she wants to meet her idol and namesake, Princess Diana. She goes there with her fiance, Mark, but during the garden party Princess plans to attend, things get mixed up and Aussie Diana gets arrested with Paparazzi photographer Rob. Diana really wants to meet Princess and follows Rob as he searches for Princess Di to take some photos.
- DirectorJerzy DomaradzkiStarsRuth CracknellBarry OttoToni ColletteFor forty years Lilian Singer has been locked up in a 'loony bin' by her father. Her release is eventually secured by her eccentric Aunt Kitty and her brother, John. Lilian starts to carve out a place for herself. As she explores Sydney and the people who live and work around her she sees others looking for love. Lilian shows us it is never too late to change your life and that even unusual choices can bring contentment.
- DirectorMichael JenkinsStarsJohn HargreavesRobyn NevinChris HaywoodA couple is being tested by the temptations of a big city.
- DirectorBill BennettStarsRuth CracknellSimon BossellMax CullenSpider and Rose are on the road to Coonabarabran. It's Spider's last day working as an ambo, and he's in a hurry. Rose has been in a car crash and would prefer they take their time. Along the way the two get to know each other and have some adventures neither one had planned.
- DirectorRay LawrenceStarsLaura LinneyGabriel ByrneJohn HowardAfter four men on a fishing trip discover a dead body in the water, they choose to delay reporting it and continue fishing.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsJudy DavisSam NeillWendy HughesA proud young woman in early 20th century Australia must choose between marriage and independence.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsEric BanaSimon LyndonVince ColosimoChopper 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.
- DirectorRichard RoxburghStarsEric BanaFranka PotenteMarton CsokasIt tells the story of Romulus, his beautiful wife, Christina, and their struggle in the face of great adversity to bring up their son, Raimond. It is a story of impossible love that ultimately celebrates the unbreakable bond between father and son.
- DirectorDarren AshtonStarsBen MillerKerry ArmstrongShayni NotelovitzA hilarious mockumentary about kids' competitive dance, complete with overbearing parents, precocious kids, eccentric instructors, and a host of other quirky characters.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsEverlyn SampiTianna SansburyKenneth BranaghIn 1931, three half-white, half-Aboriginal girls escape after being plucked from their houses to be trained as domestic staff, and set off on a journey across the Outback.
- DirectorLynn-Maree DanzeyStarsClaudia KarvanDeborah MailmanSamuel JohnsonThis TV show is about the life of some young adults and living in a Family block at St. Kida in Melbourne, Australia and as each of them confront the life typical situations: search work, love, Sex and success but everyone are very friends each other.
- DirectorRachel PerkinsStarsDeborah MailmanTrisha Morton-ThomasRachael MazaThree sisters reunite after some years apart, for their mother's funeral. Cressy (Maza), the eldest of the three, is a diva - an opera singer who is reluctant to visit the past and definitely doesn't want to share it with her sisters. Mae (Morton-Thomas), has stayed behind looking after mum, and believes that Cressy hasn't shared enough. Nona (Mailman), the youngest and the party girl, just wants them to all be one happy family.
- DirectorNeil ArmfieldStarsHeath LedgerAbbie CornishGeoffrey RushA poet falls in love with an art student who gravitates to his bohemian lifestyle -- and his love of heroin. Hooked as much on one another as they are on the drug, their relationship alternates between states of oblivion, self-destruction, and despair.
- DirectorClayton JacobsonStarsShane JacobsonTravis GollandChris DavisThis hilarious mockumentary film follows the numerous misadventures of a porta-john worker through both his personal and professional life, including an oddly glamorous excursion to the Pumper and Cleaner Expo in Nashville, TN.
- DirectorJustin KurzelStarsLucas PittawayDaniel HenshallLouise HarrisBased on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.
- DirectorNicolas RoegStarsJenny AgutterDavid GulpililLuc RoegTwo city-bred siblings are stranded in the Australian Outback, where they learn to survive with the aid of an Aboriginal boy on his "walkabout": a ritual separation from his tribe.