Australia Cinema Collection - Vol. 1 - 12-DVD Box Set ( Picnic at Hanging Rock / The Getting of Wisdom / The Devil's Playground / Travelling North / Malcolm / Puberty Blues / The Big Steal / Monkey Grip / Don's Party / The Adventures of Barry McKenzie / The F.J. Holden / Mad Dog Morgan ) ( The Devil's Play ground / The FJ Holden )

Australia Cinema Collection - Vol. 1 - 12-DVD Box Set (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: Picnic at Hanging Rock / The Getting of Wisdom / The Devil's Playground / Travelling North / Malcolm / Puberty Blues / The Big Steal / Monkey Grip / Don's Party / The Adventures of Barry McKenzie / The F.J. Holden / Mad Dog Morgan
Alternate Title: The Devil's Play ground / The FJ Holden
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Australian Film Institute
BAFTA Awards
Berlin International Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
1147 min

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Box Set
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Commentary
Featurette
Interactive Menu
Multi-DVD Set
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 1972 - 1990 and produced in:
Australia ( Australia, New Zealand )

Directed By:
Peter Weir
Bruce Beresford
Fred Schepisi
Carl Schultz
Nadia Tass
Ken Cameron
Michael Thornhill
Philippe Mora

Written By:
Joan Lindsay
Cliff Green
Henry Handel Richardson
Eleanor Witcombe
Fred Schepisi
David Williamson
David Parker
Gabrielle Carey
Margaret Kelly
Max Dann
Ken Cameron
Helen Garner
Bruce Beresford
Barry Humphries
Terry Larsen
Philippe Mora
Margaret Carnegie

Actors:
Rachel Roberts ..... Mrs. Appleyard
Vivean Gray ..... Miss McCraw
Helen Morse ..... Mlle. de Poitiers
Kirsty Child ..... Miss Lumley
Tony Llewellyn-Jones ..... Tom
Jacki Weaver ..... Minnie
Frank Gunnell ..... Mr. Whitehead
Anne-Louise Lambert ..... Miranda
Karen Robson ..... Irma
Jane Vallis ..... Marion
Christine Schuler ..... Edith
Margaret Nelson ..... Sara
Ingrid Mason ..... Rosamund
Jenny Lovell ..... Blanche
Janet Murray ..... Juliana
Julia Blake ..... Isabella Shepherd
Dorothy Bradley ..... Miss Hicks
Kay Eklund ..... Mrs. Rambotham
Max Fairchild ..... Mr. O'Donnell
Jan Friedl ..... Miss Snodgrass
Diana Greentree ..... Maisie Shepherd
Maggie Kirkpatrick ..... Sarah
Monica Maughan ..... Miss Day
Candy Raymond ..... Miss Zielinski
Terence Donovan ..... Tom McNamara
Kerry Armstrong ..... Kate
Celia De Burgh ..... M.P.
Kim Deacon ..... Lilith
Alix Longman ..... Chinky
Jo-Anne Moore ..... Tilly
Amanda Ring ..... Cupid
Hilary Ryan ..... Evelyn
Janet Shaw ..... Bertha
Karen Sutton ..... Pin
Sigrid Thornton ..... Maria
Sheila Helpmann ..... Mrs. Gurley
Patricia Kennedy ..... Miss Chapman
John Waters ..... Rev. Shepherd
Barry Humphries ..... Rev. Strachey
Susannah Fowle ..... Laura Tweedle Rambotham
Cordelia Beresford
Stephanie Blake
Richard Butler
Michael Edgar
Noni Hazlehurst
Roma Johnstone
Margo McLennan
Gerda Nicolson
Stephen Oldfield
Edwina Wright
Jeremy Kewley ..... Frank Palmer (uncredited)
Greg Marian ..... (uncredited)
Arthur Dignam ..... Brother Francine
Nick Tate ..... Brother Victor
Simon Burke ..... Tom Allen
Charles McCallum ..... Brother Sebastian
John Frawley ..... Brother Celian
Jonathan Hardy ..... Brother Arnold
Gerry Duggan ..... Brother Hanrahan
Peter Cox ..... Brother James
John Diedrich ..... Fitz
Thomas Keneally ..... Father Marshall
Sheila Florance ..... Mrs.Sullivan
Alan Cinis ..... Waite
Richard Morgan ..... Smith
Rowan Currie ..... Casey
Gary Pixton ..... Tomkin
Leo McKern ..... Frank
Julia Blake ..... Frances
Henri Szeps ..... Saul
Graham Kennedy ..... Freddie
Michele Fawdon ..... Helen
Diane Craig ..... Sophie
Andrea Moar ..... Joan
Drew Forsythe ..... Martin
John Gregg ..... Jim
Rob Steele ..... Syd
John Black ..... Alan
Roger Oakley ..... Stan
Joe MacColum ..... Boat owner
Nick Holland ..... Waiter
Steve Shaw ..... Estate agent
Colin Friels ..... Malcolm Hughes
Lindy Davies ..... Judith
Chris Haywood ..... Willy
John Hargreaves ..... Frank Baker
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell ..... Tramways supervisor
Beverley Phillips ..... Mrs. T
Judith Stratford ..... Jenny
Heather Mitchell ..... Barmaid
Tony Mahood ..... Tram Conductor
David Letch ..... Restaurant Hoon #2
Mike Bishop ..... Armed Guard
David Johnston ..... TV Announcer
Katerina Tassopoulos ..... Jenny's Mother
Ian McFadyen ..... Model Shop Salesman
Ian Shrives ..... Split Car Cop #1
Nell Schofield ..... Debbie Vickers
Jad Capelja ..... Sue Knight
Geoff Rhoe ..... Garry
Tony Hughes ..... Danny
Sandy Paul ..... Tracy
Leander Brett ..... Cheryl
Jay Hackett ..... Bruce
Ned Lander ..... Strach
Joanne Olsen ..... Vicki
Julie Medana ..... Kim
Michael Shearman ..... Glenn
Dean Dunstone ..... Seagull
Tina Robinson Hansen ..... Freda
Nerida Clark ..... Carol
Kirrily Nolan ..... Mrs. Vickers
Ben Mendelsohn ..... Danny Clark
Claudia Karvan ..... Joanna Johnson
Marshall Napier ..... Desmond Clark
Damon Herriman ..... Mark Jorgensen
Angelo D'Angelo ..... Vangeli Petrakis
Tim Robertson ..... Desmond Johnson
Maggie King ..... Edith Clark
Steve Bisley ..... Gordon Farkas
Sheryl Munks ..... Pam Schaeffer
Lise Rodgers ..... Mrs. Johnson
Frankie J. Holden ..... Frank
Mark Hennessy ..... Jimmy
Roy Edmunds ..... George
Mike Nikol ..... Dougy
Andrew Spence ..... Car pound policeman
Noni Hazlehurst ..... Nora
Colin Friels ..... Javo
Alice Garner ..... Gracie
Harold Hopkins ..... Willie
Candy Raymond ..... Lillian
Michael Caton ..... Clive
Tim Burns ..... Martin
Christina Amphlett ..... Angela
Don Miller-Robinson ..... Gerald
Lisa Peers ..... Rita
Cathy Downes ..... Eve
Justin Ridley ..... Roaster
Pearl Christie ..... Juliet
Vera Plevnik ..... Jessie
Jamie Fonti ..... Ramondo
Ray Barrett ..... Mal
Clare Binney ..... Susan
Pat Bishop ..... Jenny
Graeme Blundell ..... Simon
Jeanie Drynan ..... Kath Henderson
John Hargreaves ..... Don Henderson
Harold Hopkins ..... Cooley
Graham Kennedy ..... Mack
Veronica Lang ..... Jody
Candy Raymond ..... Kerry
Kit Taylor ..... Evan
John Grey Gorton ..... Himself (Prime Minister of Australia 1968-1971)
Barry Crocker ..... Barry McKenzie
Barry Humphries ..... Aunt Edna Everage
Dr DeLamphrey ..... Landlord
Spike Milligan ..... Dominic
Peter Cook ..... Curly
Paul Bertram ..... Mr. Gort
Dennis Price ..... Mrs. Gort
Avice Landone ..... Lesley
Mary Ann Severne ..... Sarah Gort
Jenny Tomasin ..... Detective
Dick Bentley ..... Blanche
Julie Covington ..... Claude
Judith Furse ..... Sean
Christopher Malcolm ..... Caroline Thighs
Maria O'Brien ..... Mrs. McKenzie
Margo Lloyd
Paul Couzens ..... Kevin
Carl Stever ..... Bob
Gary Waddell ..... Deadlegs
Karlene Rogerson ..... Cheryl
Eva Dickinson ..... Anne
Vicki Arkley ..... Chris
Victor Manauzzi ..... Italian Driver
Graham Rouse ..... Police Sergeant
Robert Baxter ..... Police Constable
Sigrid Thornton ..... Wendy
May Howlett ..... Mrs. Poke
Maggie Kirkpatrick ..... Betty Armstead
Terry Hannigan ..... Frank Mason
Ray Bennett ..... Norman
Colin Setches ..... Dave
Dennis Hopper ..... Daniel Morgan
Jack Thompson ..... Detective Manwaring
David Gulpilil ..... Billy
Frank Thring ..... Supt. Cobham
Michael Pate ..... Supt. Winch
Wallas Eaton ..... MacPherson
Bill Hunter ..... Sgt. Smith
John Hargreaves ..... Baylis
Martin Harris ..... Wendlan
Robin Ramsay ..... Roget
Graeme Blundell ..... Italian Jack
Gregory Apps ..... Arthur
Liza Lee-Atkinson ..... Barmaid
Elaine Baillie ..... Farm Girl
Don Barkham ..... Morrow

Synopsis:

12 Australian classics in one box set! From prestige heritage dramas through to bawdy drive-in fl icks, the story of Australian cinema of the early '70s through to the early '90s is particularly varied and fertile. Selected here are twelve of the most outstanding fi lms from this era. Included are not only acclaimed and award-winning titles such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Devil's Playground and The Getting of Wisdom, but also such disreputable delights such as The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and FJ Holden. Many of Australia's most admired directors are represented on this set, including Peter Weir, Fred Schepisi, Bruce Beresford (Barry McKenzie, Puberty Blues, The Getting of Wisdom), Nadia Tass (Malcolm, The Big Steal) as well as such icons of the Australian film industry as screenwriter David Williamson (Travelling North, Don's Party) and actors Colin Friels (Malcolm, Monkey Grip) and Jack Thompson (Mad Dog Morgan) as well as many others who have contributed to one of the world's most vital screen cultures.
Films Include:
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
The Getting of Wisdom (1978)
The Devil's Playground (1976)
Travelling North (1987)
Malcolm (1986)
Puberty Blues (1981)
The Big Steal (1990)
Monkey Grip (1982)
Don's Party (1976)
The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)
The F.J. Holden (1977)
Mad Dog Morgan (1976)

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Peter Weir's haunting and evocative mystery is set in the Australia of 1900, a mystical place where the British have attempted to impose their Christian culture with such tweedy refinements as a girls' boarding school. After gauzily-photographed, nicely underplayed scenes of the girls' budding sexuality being restrained in Victorian corsets, the uptight headmistress (Rachel Roberts) takes them on a Valentine's Day picnic into the countryside, and several of the girls, led by the lovely Miranda (Anne Lambert) decide to explore a nearby volcanic rock formation. It's a desolate, primitive, vaguely menacing place, where one can almost feel the presence of ancient pagan spirits. Something - and there is an unspoken but palpable emphasis on the inherent carnality of the place - draws four of the girls to explore the rock. Three never return. No one ever finds out why. The repercussions for the school are tragic, and of course Roberts reacts with near-crazed anger, but what really happened? Weir gives enough clues to suggest any number of explanations, both physical and supernatural.

The Getting of Wisdom (1978)
The suffocating repressiveness of the Victorian era is superbly realized by director Bruce Beresford in The Getting of Wisdom. Thirteen-year-old Laura (Susannah Fowle), an incorrigible free spirit from the Australian outback, is enrolled in a prestigious girl's boarding school. The indoctrination process is a rough one, and Laura very nearly loses her individuality and sense of self-worth. When she does mature, however, it is on her terms, and not the school's. Intriguingly, The Getting of Wisdom is based on the reminiscences of a 19th-century female writer who used the pen name of Henry Handel Richardson. Despite its somber dramatic overtones, the film contains moments of uninhibited humor, a trademark of director Beresford.

The Devil's Playground (1976)
Fred Schepsi wrote and directed this tense melodrama which takes place at a Roman Catholic boarding school. The film deals with the charged emotional tensions of a group of pubescent boys, who find their sexual urges stifled by the school's oppressive atmosphere. Depicting the chaste lifestyle of the religious functionaries, the burgeoning sexual desires of the young men are bottled up until they are ready to explode.

Travelling North (1987)
Director Carl Schultz and screenwriter David Williamson's character study of an aging Australian man's second marriage boasts a robust performance by Leo McKern. McKern plays Frank, a man in his seventies, who used to be something of a firecracker, but who now, his best days behind him, prefers to putter-around, play chess, and get under the skin of his new wife Frances (Julia Blake). Frances, forsaking her old family ties (which her family resents her for), marries Frank and agrees to move with him to Queensland. Frank and Frances pack their things and head north, settling into an easy life of fishing and relaxation. They immediately make friends with a lonely neighbor, Freddie (Graham Kennedy) - and also the local doctor, Saul (Henri Szeps), who informs Frank that he has a bad heart and hasn't much longer to live.

Malcolm (1986)
In this hilarious, award-winning comedy, Malcolm (Colin Friels) is an innocent, naive mechanical genius with a distinct gap where sexual and social awareness normally reside. He first gets into trouble when he builds his version of a streetcar and then takes it on a joyride through Melbourne - a definite no-no. That exploit costs him his job as a maintenance man for the streetcar company. Out of work, Malcolm is forced to take in two boarders who are actually a con man and his female companion. The con artist is intrigued by all of Malcolm's mechanical inventions, and cash registers are clicking at the back of his mind. It does not take him long to convince Malcolm to join them in robbing a bank - which turns out to be even more adventurous than the streetcar ride through Melbourne. Director Nadia Tass and her husband, co-producer, scripter and cinematographer David Parker followed up with an enjoyable and funny Rikky and Pete.

Puberty Blues (1981)
Director Bruce Beresford continued his tradition of putting socially disenfranchised characters front and center with this wryly observant comedy drama about middle class Australian teens that served as a stark contrast to the popular American teen films of its day. Friends from the Sydney suburb of Cronulla, Debbie (Nell Schofield) and Sue (Jad Capelja) are a pair of average schoolgirls who smoke, drink, have sex, and cheat on exams. The girls are also striving to become "surfie chicks," the groupies that hang around the surfer boy gangs of southern Sydney, pairing off with the objects of their affection. Adhering to odd rules that prevent them from eating or going to the bathroom in the surfers' presence, the girls get into trouble for their wild behavior, with Debbie eventually fearing that she's pregnant, leading to a fatal overdose of heroin for her boyfriend Garry (Geoff Rhoe). Ultimately, Debbie and Sue become disillusioned with the sexism and narrow-mindedness of their crowd. Puberty Blues (1981) was based on the book of the same name by Kathy Lette and Gabrielle Carey, a pair of real-life Sydney teens who wrote newspaper articles under the pseudonym "The Salami Sisters."

The Big Steal (1990)
Danny wants two things in life more than anything else, one is a Jaguar and the other is Joanna Johnson. After Danny's parents give him their beloved Nissan Cedric, Danny works up the courage to ask Joanna out on a date.... One problem! He tells her that he owns a Jaguar, and to prove otherwise, he trades in the Cedric for an early model Jag. At the car yard he is conned into believing he is getting the deal of the century by the salesman, Gordon 'Farkas'.

Monkey Grip (1982)
Drama, music. Single mother Nora and her young daughter Gracie live among her artist friends in Melbourne, including young rock singer Angela. She is drawn into a passionate affair with drug addicted Javo, a struggling actor, who comes and goes - including a stint in an Asian jail. Nora is unsatisfied with the relationship and on his return, they hitchhike to Sydney for a break, but Javo's addiction causes stress and conflict. When they get back to Melbourne, Javo starts seeing an old flame, Lillian, which Nora finds hard to take.

Don's Party (1976)
The movie Dons Party is about a wild house party in a suburban Australian neighbourhood. Don Henderson convinces his wife to have another party so that their friends can gather to watch the election, drink and carry on. Dons wife, Kath sees the party as just more work, while Don sees it as a chance to break his boring routine. The year is 1969 and some of Dons friends have jumped on the bandwagon of sexual freedom and experimentation. However, others at the party are more conservative about their politics and sex, and naturally, arguments break out over politics and fist fights erupt over the seduction of others wives.

The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972)
Barry Crocker plays the title character, a carefree Aussie cowboy with an inordinate fondness for beer and "Sheilas". Touring England as a stand-up comic, Barry runs across several odd characters, including addlepated discipline freak Dennis Price. Also on hand is Barry McKenzie cocreator Barry Humphries, appearing in drag as Dame Edna Beveridge, a character who would bring Humphries worldwide fame and fortune in the 1990s. Director Bruce Beresford, who went on to such loftier efforts as Breaker Morant, Tender Mercies and Crimes of the Heart, breezes through his scatalogical material with the abandon of a schoolboy scribbling naughty words on the sidewalk.

The F.J. Holden (1977)
Bankstown, NSW, Australia, 1970s. Kevin and his mate Bob spend their time drinking and cruising around the western suburbs of Sydney in Kevin's yellow FJ Holden, looking for girls. One day Kevin meets Anne. Anne works in a large shopping center. Anne and Kevin spend some time together until one day Kevin gets drunk and tries to make love to Anne with Bob watching. Anne throws them out of her house. When Anne later refuses to be pacified, Kevin becomes aggressive and causes a scene at a party. The police are called. Kevin escapes but later returns home to find the police waiting there for him.

Mad Dog Morgan (1976)
Australia in the 1850s. Daniel Morgan, like hundreds of other ex-patriots from the British Isles (he is from Ireland), has come Downunder to seek his fortune. There is a gold rush going on, and Morgan wants to strike it rich. As fate would have it, Morgan soon finds himself on the other side of the law, broke and desperate. A single act of highway robbery gets him 12 years of hard labor. While in prison, he is systematically abused. Upon release, Morgan vows revenge on those who wronged him. With the help of an aborigine named Billy, and a growing legend of audacity, Morgan soon becomes a hero. The locals love him, while the wealthy and powerful fear his influence. They want this outlaw dead or alive, and will stop at nothing to see that their sense of justice is done. But Morgan only wants those to pay for the crimes they have committed, to recognize that he wasn't always a bushranger - he was made into one. It wasn't only his mind that made him bad. It was society that turned him into Mad Dog Morgan.

From prestige heritage dramas through to bawdy drive-in flicks, the story of Australian cinema of the early 70s through to the early 90s is particularly varied and fertile. Selected here are twelve of the most outstanding films from this era. Included are not only acclaimed and award-winning titles such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Devils Playground and The Getting of Wisdom, but also such disreputable delights such as The Adventures of Barry McKenzie and FJ Holden. Many of Australias most admired directors are represented on this set, including Peter Weir, Fred Schepisi, Bruce Beresford (Barry McKenzie, Puberty Blues, The Getting of Wisdom), Nadia Tass (Malcolm, The Big Steal) as well as such icons of the Australian film industry as screenwriter David Williamson (Travelling North, Dons Party) and actors Colin Friels (Malcolm, Monkey Grip) and Jack Thompson (Mad Dog Morgan) as well as many others who have contributed to one of the worlds most vital screen cultures.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 03 February, 2012.

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