Beneath Hill 60 (2010)

In 1916, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company is tunneling beneath German fortifications and bunkers to detonate massive explosive charges.

Director:

Jeremy Sims (as Jeremy Hartley Sims)

Writer:

David Roach

Stars:

Brendan Cowell, Harrison Gilbertson, Steve Le Marquand

6 wins & 22 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Cowell	...	Oliver Woodward
Alan Dukes	...	Jim Sneddon
Alex Thompson	...	Walter Sneddon
Harrison Gilbertson	...	Frank Tiffin
Duncan Young	...	Tom Dwyer
Steve Le Marquand	...	Bill Fraser
Gyton Grantley	...	Norman Morris
Warwick Young	...	Percy Marsden
Mark Coles Smith	...	Billy Bacon
Martin Thomas	...	Ginger O'Donnell
Oliver Leimbach	...	Screaming Soldier
Anthony Hayes	...	William McBride
Leon Ford	...	Lt. Robert Clayton
Fletcher Illidge	...	Colin Waddell
Morgan Illidge	...	Gordon Waddell

Storyline

The extraordinary true story of Oliver Woodward. It's 1916 and Woodward must tear himself from his new young love to go to the mud and carnage of the Western Front. Deep beneath the German lines. Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnelers fight to defend a leaking, labyrinthine tunnel system packed with enough high explosives to change the course of the War.

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Plot Keywords:

trench warfare | british military | world war one | year 1916 | 1910s | 

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Taglines:

The silent war

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some war and violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English German

Release Date:

15 April 2010 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Beneath Hill 60

Filming Locations:

Townsville, Queensland, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,440,939, 31 December 2010

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lucky Country Productions, New South Wales Film & Television Office, Pacific Film and Television Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie character of William McBride shares a name with the subject of a famous song by Eric Bogle entitled "Green Fields of France" or "Willie McBride", written in 1976 as Bogle visited a WWI gravesite and reflected on the war. The first line of the song is "oh how do you do, young Willie McBride". The song has been covered by multiple artists, notably Dropkick Murphys.

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Goofs

In the attack on the Red House, Morris is holding and aiming his Lee-Enfield rifle left-handed. Soldiers during WWI and subsequently were always trained to fire the Lee-Enfield right-handed as the bolt is on the right, which is difficult to operate when firing left-handed.

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Connections

Referenced in Top Gear Australia: Episode #2.8 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Mademoiselle from Armentieres
(uncredited)
Tune - traditional; source of English lyrics unknown
Sung by Australian soldiers with modified bawdy lyrics

User Reviews

This one passes the test

A fine movie. Not a masterpiece, because such movies are non-existent; consequently, I don't go looking for such a thing. My test is that if a movie reaches or exceeds my expectations, it succeeds. In my book, this beats "The Hurt Locker" hands down-- which may not mean anything to those who disliked that Oscar winner. Perhaps foolishly, because of the Oscar hype, I had expectations of THL which were not met. So it failed. "Beneath Hill 60" does not. It's more realistic, more accurate, more tension-filled, and not at all pretentious. No need for me to repeat the plot outlines that others have mentioned. But I will declare that the above-ground battlefield and underground scenes-- the wet, the mud, the cold, the misery-- are amazing for their reality. And they were shot mostly in tropical north Queensland.