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Directory of World Cinema
Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand
This addition to Intellect's Directory of World Cinema series turns the spotlight on Australia and New Zealand and offers an in-depth and exciting look at the cinema produced in these two countries since the turn of the twentieth century. Though the two nations share considerable cultural and economic connections, their film industries remain distinct, marked by differences of scale, level of government involvement and funding, and relations with other countries and national cinemas. Through essays about prominent genres and themes, profiles of directors, and comprehensive reviews of significant titles, this user-friendly guide explores the diversity and distinctiveness of films from Australia and New Zealand from Whale Rider to The Piano to Wolf Creek .
- GenresFilm
343 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2010
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October 12, 2023
This edited volume on the film history of Australia and New Zealand is a mostly solid text that will provide a fairly comprehensive introduction to its subject, yet it is also frustrating due to its omissions. Considering that it is a directory of two distinct national cinema cultures and industries, there is an inbuilt compromise; it cannot give a complete summary of the two countries’ film output, and the movies and directors that get chosen for discussion led to some serious gaps. For the most part the Australian section of Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand (Volume 1) is very good, whereas NZ movies and their makers are given a far more cursory examination.
The structure of the book, within the division between Australian and New Zealand cinema cultures and industries, is mostly focused on certain genres (e.g. comedy, horror, road films etc), with selected films examined by a relevant critical expert. There are also essays on specific directors, such as the Australians Peter Weir and Baz Luhrmann, and the New Zealander Vincent Ward, it’s a functional and effective format for the book’s subject, and whilst one may find issues with what is said by each contributing essayist about the individual directors, films, or overarching implications of these movies for each country’s cinema, there is plenty to explore, to engage with.
For example, in the series of essays written about the so-called Ozploitation movies the editor Ben Goldsmith and contributing critic Deborah Thomas make some interesting comments about not just the genre, and specific films, they also argue provocatively about the documentary that arguably legitimised the terminology of such movies (I.e. ‘Not Quite Hollywood’). The essays that are written about Australian historical dramas, the so-called AFI movies that were produced in the renaissance era of Australian cinema in the 1970s not only document the quality of individual movies, but also makes some insightful observations about the ‘European art house’ aesthetic of these films and how this diverges from more commercial movies.
If there is one specific collection of essays in one genre of Australian films that I found to be rather unsatisfying, it was those looking at the Australian war movie. David Reynaud, the contributing writer for this section of the Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand (Volume 1), has decided to write mostly about a few almost totally forgotten and mostly unseen silent films from WW1 or shortly thereafter. I would suggest that this was an erroneous editorial choice as it means that the classic Vietnam War film ‘The Odd Angry Shot’ is left out. Another omission is ‘The Lighthorsemen’, which admittedly was not that successful critically or commercially, yet it is far more accessible than those movies chosen by Reynaud.
It goes without saying that this directory misses a lot of important Australian films in that section of the book that examines that country’s cinematic history. ‘Jedda’, ‘Stork’, ‘Don’s Party’, ‘Malcolm’ and ‘The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ are just a few of many movies that are ignored in the text. Whilst it is pleasing to see ‘They’re A Weird Mob’ given a respectful analysis as an Australian film, and ‘Walkabout’ also gets to be discussed (even though it was very much the product of British director Nicolas Roeg, ‘Wake In Fright’ is barely referenced,
Then there is the absence of a serious consideration of Australian movies that have been made in the genres of animation, children’s films, indigenous themed movies, and documentaries. Whilst they may not be considered critical masterpieces, the animated films of Yoram Gross could’ve been included. Children’s films like ‘Storm Boy’, ‘The Silver Brumby’, ‘Dusty’ and ‘Smiley’ also miss out.
As one and definitely see from this review, the Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand (Volume 1) doesn’t do sufficient justice to the broad history of Australian cinema. This is due to the selections of the editor and his contributors, and it is also the result of the inclusion of a rather truncated account of NZ cinema.
I won’t repeat in this review, a similar listing of movies that were forgotten or excluded in the section on New Zealand cinema, as I have just done for part of the book that looks at Australian movies. However, when one sees in this book minimal references to important New Zealand movies such as ‘Utu’, ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Smash Palace’, with only a few Kiwi films get the similar depth of analysis given to Australian movies in this book, it is rather disappointing.
If this review seems rather too negative then perhaps I’m being a little unfair. The basic problem with this book is that it would’ve been better if it been only about Australian movie, and that the New Zealand section of this text had been separated out into its own volume. If that had been done, then more movies and genres from the Australian tradition, could’ve been included, and New Zealand films that are spoken of in a minimal fashion could’ve been given far more detailed analysis. To be fair, there is a second volume in the series which I have not as yet read, and it may well address some of the omissions made here. Also, if one focuses on what is said about the considered directors, films and genres, there is plenty of fascinating content to consider. Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand (Volume 1) is a solid attempt at documenting two countries’ cinematic histories, cultures and industries, and if you want to learn about how the two Antipodean nations have contributed to global cinema then you might be hard out to find a better entry point. Oh, it will also serve as a helpful entree to the actual movies and directors discussed in the volume. Hopefully those who read the book will go and watch (more) Australian and New Zealand films.
The structure of the book, within the division between Australian and New Zealand cinema cultures and industries, is mostly focused on certain genres (e.g. comedy, horror, road films etc), with selected films examined by a relevant critical expert. There are also essays on specific directors, such as the Australians Peter Weir and Baz Luhrmann, and the New Zealander Vincent Ward, it’s a functional and effective format for the book’s subject, and whilst one may find issues with what is said by each contributing essayist about the individual directors, films, or overarching implications of these movies for each country’s cinema, there is plenty to explore, to engage with.
For example, in the series of essays written about the so-called Ozploitation movies the editor Ben Goldsmith and contributing critic Deborah Thomas make some interesting comments about not just the genre, and specific films, they also argue provocatively about the documentary that arguably legitimised the terminology of such movies (I.e. ‘Not Quite Hollywood’). The essays that are written about Australian historical dramas, the so-called AFI movies that were produced in the renaissance era of Australian cinema in the 1970s not only document the quality of individual movies, but also makes some insightful observations about the ‘European art house’ aesthetic of these films and how this diverges from more commercial movies.
If there is one specific collection of essays in one genre of Australian films that I found to be rather unsatisfying, it was those looking at the Australian war movie. David Reynaud, the contributing writer for this section of the Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand (Volume 1), has decided to write mostly about a few almost totally forgotten and mostly unseen silent films from WW1 or shortly thereafter. I would suggest that this was an erroneous editorial choice as it means that the classic Vietnam War film ‘The Odd Angry Shot’ is left out. Another omission is ‘The Lighthorsemen’, which admittedly was not that successful critically or commercially, yet it is far more accessible than those movies chosen by Reynaud.
It goes without saying that this directory misses a lot of important Australian films in that section of the book that examines that country’s cinematic history. ‘Jedda’, ‘Stork’, ‘Don’s Party’, ‘Malcolm’ and ‘The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert’ are just a few of many movies that are ignored in the text. Whilst it is pleasing to see ‘They’re A Weird Mob’ given a respectful analysis as an Australian film, and ‘Walkabout’ also gets to be discussed (even though it was very much the product of British director Nicolas Roeg, ‘Wake In Fright’ is barely referenced,
Then there is the absence of a serious consideration of Australian movies that have been made in the genres of animation, children’s films, indigenous themed movies, and documentaries. Whilst they may not be considered critical masterpieces, the animated films of Yoram Gross could’ve been included. Children’s films like ‘Storm Boy’, ‘The Silver Brumby’, ‘Dusty’ and ‘Smiley’ also miss out.
As one and definitely see from this review, the Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand (Volume 1) doesn’t do sufficient justice to the broad history of Australian cinema. This is due to the selections of the editor and his contributors, and it is also the result of the inclusion of a rather truncated account of NZ cinema.
I won’t repeat in this review, a similar listing of movies that were forgotten or excluded in the section on New Zealand cinema, as I have just done for part of the book that looks at Australian movies. However, when one sees in this book minimal references to important New Zealand movies such as ‘Utu’, ‘Bad Blood’ and ‘Smash Palace’, with only a few Kiwi films get the similar depth of analysis given to Australian movies in this book, it is rather disappointing.
If this review seems rather too negative then perhaps I’m being a little unfair. The basic problem with this book is that it would’ve been better if it been only about Australian movie, and that the New Zealand section of this text had been separated out into its own volume. If that had been done, then more movies and genres from the Australian tradition, could’ve been included, and New Zealand films that are spoken of in a minimal fashion could’ve been given far more detailed analysis. To be fair, there is a second volume in the series which I have not as yet read, and it may well address some of the omissions made here. Also, if one focuses on what is said about the considered directors, films and genres, there is plenty of fascinating content to consider. Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand (Volume 1) is a solid attempt at documenting two countries’ cinematic histories, cultures and industries, and if you want to learn about how the two Antipodean nations have contributed to global cinema then you might be hard out to find a better entry point. Oh, it will also serve as a helpful entree to the actual movies and directors discussed in the volume. Hopefully those who read the book will go and watch (more) Australian and New Zealand films.
Displaying 1 of 1 review