"The Shiralee" (1987) TV mini-series

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

George Ogilvie

Writers:

Tony Morphett (writer)
D'Arcy Niland (novel)

Release Date:

November 1987 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Tagline:

The Shiralee. A love story.

Plot:

Macauley is a swagman on the road in the 1940s looking for work. He's a laid back, laconic sort of bloke...

Plot Keywords:

Swagman | Drifter | Drift | Journey | Burden

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Bryan Brown	...	Macauley
Noni Hazlehurst	...	Lily
Rebecca Smart	...	Buster
Lewis Fitz-Gerald	...	Tony
Lorna Lesley	...	Marge
Ned Manning	...	Jim
Madeleine Blackwell	...	Lucy
Simon Chilvers	...	Thaddeus
Julie Hamilton	...	Bella
Reg Evans	...	Luke
William Zappa	...	Donny
Frank Gallacher	...	Beauty
Norman Kaye	...	Desmond
Ray Meagher	...	Polkadot
Lynette Curran	...	Hareema

Also Known As:

"Macaulay's Daughter"

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Company:

South Australian Film Corporation, The

Trivia:

A "shiralee" is an Australian Aboriginal word meaning "burden". In the story, the Buster character is, metaphorically speaking, a physical and psychological burden to her father. The word "Shiralee" has been used as a synonym for "swag", "drum", "bundle" or "matilda".

Movie Connections:

Remake of The Shiralee (1957)

Not a typical film, more of a speaking book, with pictures.

A really great film, although often classified as a TV mini series as it was originally made to be shown in two parts on TV. A VHS video was released in Australia only, but was quite heavily cut (maybe to fit it on the tape). More recently, a D.V.D. has been released, also in Australia, which is the full "film" without anything cut out.

It's too long to watch in one sitting, but is great to watch over a couple of evenings. It's full of such genuine, human moments, juxtaposed by often poignant and sometimes witty writing.

It's all about relationships centering around the lonesome Macauley. He has a broken marriage, friends with problems, friends who help, a love interest and all the time Macauley's daughter is trying to keep up with him and his life on the road. `Dad` is too macho to express his feelings, his young daughter realising this, projects her feelings for him onto her teddy, that then acts as a go-between for her and her father. Strangely, this is the closest relationship he has!

This film offers an experience that is as close to that of reading a book as any that I have seen; not in the sense of it's accuracy of portrayal, but in the `whole experience`. If a book could have moving pictures and voices, it would be like this film.