Best Australian Films
by jessayling17 | created - 06 Mar 2013 | updated - 18 Jan 2022 | PublicMy fave Aussies and Kiwi flicks!
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1. Australia (2008)
PG-13 | 165 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 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.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Shea Adams, Eddie Baroo
Votes: 129,724 | Gross: $49.55M
2. The Dish (2000)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, History
A remote Australian community, populated by quirky characters, plays a key role in the first Apollo moon landing.
Director: Rob Sitch | Stars: Sam Neill, Billy Mitchell, Roz Hammond, Christopher-Robin Street
Votes: 17,097 | Gross: $2.25M
3. The Castle (1997)
R | 85 min | Comedy, Drama
A working-class family from Melbourne, Australia fights city hall after being told they must vacate their beloved family home to allow for infrastructural expansion.
Director: Rob Sitch | Stars: Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Anthony Simcoe
Votes: 17,488 | Gross: $0.86M
4. The Sapphires (2012)
PG-13 | 103 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In 1968, four talented young Australian Aboriginal girls learn about love, friendship, and war when their all-girl group The Sapphires entertains the US troops in Vietnam.
Director: Wayne Blair | Stars: Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens
Votes: 15,168 | Gross: $2.45M
5. Strictly Ballroom (1992)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A maverick dancer risks his career by performing an unusual routine and sets out to succeed with a new partner.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson
Votes: 29,397 | Gross: $11.74M
6. Kenny (2006)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy
This 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.
Director: Clayton Jacobson | Stars: Shane Jacobson, Travis Golland, Chris Davis, Alf Scerri
Votes: 7,279
7. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Music
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
Director: Stephan Elliott | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Rebel Penfold-Russell
Votes: 55,007 | Gross: $11.22M
8. Moulin Rouge! (2001)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A poor Bohemian poet in 1890s Paris falls for a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star coveted by a jealous duke.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 299,280 | Gross: $57.39M
9. Danny Deckchair (2003)
PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Romance
An Aussie becomes a national sensation when he lifts off in his deck chair tied to balloons.
Director: Jeff Balsmeyer | Stars: Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, Justine Clarke, Rhys Muldoon
Votes: 5,242 | Gross: $0.16M
10. Bran Nue Dae (2009)
PG-13 | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
An Aboriginal student on the west coast of Australia in the late '60s runs away from a Catholic boarding school with his cruel headmaster in hot pursuit, meeting eccentric characters along the journey back to his hometown.
Director: Rachel Perkins | Stars: Rocky McKenzie, Jessica Mauboy, Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins
Votes: 2,012 | Gross: $0.11M
11. Happy Feet (2006)
PG | 108 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce!
Directors: George Miller, Warren Coleman, Judy Morris | Stars: Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Robin Williams
Votes: 199,949 | Gross: $198.00M
12. Looking for Alibrandi (2000)
103 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
At seventeen Josie Alibrandi is about to enter her final year as a scholarship student at an exclusive Catholic College. It's the year her life is turned upside down and changed forever.
Director: Kate Woods | Stars: Greta Scacchi, Anthony LaPaglia, Elena Cotta, Kerry Walker
Votes: 3,589
13. Bootmen (2000)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Charismatic tap dancing Sean tries to find a way out of working at the steel mill. When failure brings him home he starts his own dance group wearing hardhats. He must then find inspiration in the steel mill he once tried to escape.
Director: Dein Perry | Stars: Vaughan Sheffield, Christian Patterson, Lisa Perry, Sam Worthington
Votes: 2,477 | Gross: $0.02M
14. Charlie & Boots (2009)
101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A father and son who travel from Victoria to Cape York to fulfill their lifelong ambition to fish off Australia's northern tip.
Director: Dean Murphy | Stars: Paul Hogan, Shane Jacobson, Roy Billing, Morgan Griffin
Votes: 1,680
15. Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
R | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When their country is invaded and their families are taken, eight unlikely teenagers band together to fight.
Director: Stuart Beattie | Stars: Caitlin Stasey, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis, Deniz Akdeniz
Votes: 32,024
16. Ned Kelly (2003)
R | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
An innocent man becomes one of the most wanted criminals the world has ever known.
Director: Gregor Jordan | Stars: Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts
Votes: 28,090 | Gross: $0.07M
17. The Nugget (2002)
R | 97 min | Comedy
'The Nugget' looks at how instant wealth suddenly changes the lives of three working class men - not necessarily for the better, but always with hilarious consequences.
Director: Bill Bennett | Stars: Eric Bana, Stephen Curry, Dave O'Neil, Peter Moon
Votes: 2,033
18. Crackerjack (2002)
92 min | Comedy, Sport
When dwindling membership and increasing overheads makes a local bowling club and prime candidate for a takeover, it's all hands on deck to save the club, in what turns into an epic battle ... See full summary »
Director: Paul Moloney | Stars: Mick Molloy, Bill Hunter, Frank Wilson, Monica Maughan
Votes: 3,151
19. Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
R | 105 min | Biography, Drama, History
Set in 1980s Nottingham, social worker Margaret Humphreys holds the British government accountable for child migration schemes and reunites the children involved -- now adults living mostly in Australia -- with their parents in Britain.
Director: Jim Loach | Stars: Emily Watson, Aisling Loftus, Stuart Wolfenden, Lorraine Ashbourne
Votes: 5,903
20. Go Big (2004 TV Movie)
150 min | Comedy, Romance
Gina Katz is fired for being seven minutes late every morning, despite the best sales in the telemarketing firm. Refused entry to the bar where she went to drown her sorrow as ... See full summary »
Director: Tony Tilse | Stars: Justine Clarke, Tom Long, Alex Dimitriades, Leon Ford
Votes: 141
21. Samson & Delilah (II) (2009)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Romance
A glue-sniffing boy and his girlfriend escape the government-controlled no-hope Aboriginal community they live in and go to the city, Alice Springs, looking for a better life.
Director: Warwick Thornton | Stars: Rowan McNamara, Marissa Gibson, Mitjili Napanangka Gibson, Scott Thornton
Votes: 3,763
22. Strange Bedfellows (2004)
R | 100 min | Comedy
Two 'very straight' old timers have to learn how to pass as a loving gay couple after falsely claiming same-sex status to take advantage of newly legislated tax laws.
Director: Dean Murphy | Stars: Michael Caton, Paul Hogan, Andy Pappas, Paula Duncan
Votes: 2,001
23. Crocodile Dundee (1986)
PG-13 | 97 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
An American reporter goes to the Australian outback to meet an eccentric crocodile poacher and invites him to New York City.
Director: Peter Faiman | Stars: Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski, John Meillon, David Gulpilil
Votes: 115,418 | Gross: $174.64M
24. Red Dog (2011)
PG | 92 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
Based on the legendary true story of the Red Dog who united a disparate local community while roaming the Australian outback in search of his long lost master.
Director: Kriv Stenders | Stars: Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor, Rohan Nichol, Luke Ford
Votes: 19,424
25. Babe (1995)
G | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Gentle 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?
Director: Chris Noonan | Stars: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes
Votes: 134,079 | Gross: $66.60M
26. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
PG | 94 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
In 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.
Director: Phillip Noyce | Stars: Everlyn Sampi, Tianna Sansbury, Kenneth Branagh, Laura Monaghan
Votes: 30,251 | Gross: $6.17M
27. Romulus, My Father (2007)
R | 104 min | Biography, Drama
It 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.
Director: Richard Roxburgh | Stars: Eric Bana, Franka Potente, Marton Csokas, Kodi Smit-McPhee
Votes: 4,314 | Gross: $0.00M
28. Mental (2012)
Not Rated | 116 min | Comedy, Drama
A charismatic, crazy hothead transforms a family's life when she becomes the nanny of five girls whose mother has cracked from her husband's political ambitions and his infidelity.
Director: P.J. Hogan | Stars: Toni Collette, Anthony LaPaglia, Liev Schreiber, Rebecca Gibney
Votes: 5,200 | Gross: $0.02M
29. The Man Who Sued God (2001)
97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An ex lawyer now fisherman sees his fishing boat sunk by a lightning. His insurance company claims "Act of God". Sue the insurance company or God/churches?
Director: Mark Joffe | Stars: Billy Connolly, Judy Davis, Colin Friels, Wendy Hughes
Votes: 5,249
30. Muriel's Wedding (1994)
R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
A young social outcast in Australia steals money from her parents to finance a vacation where she hopes to find happiness, and perhaps love.
Director: P.J. Hogan | Stars: Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Bill Hunter, Sophie Lee
Votes: 41,717 | Gross: $15.19M
31. The Man from Snowy River (1982)
PG | 102 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 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.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Tom Burlinson, Terence Donovan, Tommy Dysart
Votes: 10,026 | Gross: $20.66M
32. The Tracker (2002)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Western
Fanatic is a government trooper who is heading an expedition to find an Aboriginal man accused of murdering a white woman. Others in the expedition are the Follower, a greenhorn trooper, the Veteran, and the Tracker.
Director: Rolf de Heer | Stars: David Gulpilil, Gary Sweet, Damon Gameau, Grant Page
Votes: 3,296
33. Cliffy (2013 TV Movie)
TV-G | 92 min | Biography
Set against the backdrop of the early eighties, Cliffy retraces his extraordinary journey from famously training in gumboots among cow paddocks through the epic six-day period of the ultra ... See full summary »
Director: Dean Murphy | Stars: Kevin Harrington, Roy Billing, Krew Boylan, Martin Sacks
Votes: 250
34. The Wog Boy (2000)
92 min | Comedy
When a 'dole bludging' Greek gains national fame following a television appearance, he's recruited by a political party as the face of their campaign to improve the country's unemployment rate.
Director: Aleksi Vellis | Stars: Nick Giannopoulos, Lucy Bell, Vince Colosimo, Geraldine Turner
Votes: 2,313
35. December Boys (2007)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, Romance
One summer, four orphans boys who have grown to be the closest of friends find themselves competing for the attention of the same family.
Director: Rod Hardy | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Teresa Palmer, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers
Votes: 12,431 | Gross: $0.05M
36. Beneath Hill 60 (2010)
R | 122 min | Drama, History, War
In 1916, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company is tunneling beneath German fortifications and bunkers to detonate massive explosive charges.
Director: Jeremy Sims | Stars: Brendan Cowell, Harrison Gilbertson, Steve Le Marquand, Gyton Grantley
Votes: 8,808
37. Two Hands (1999)
R | 103 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
A 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.
Director: Gregor Jordan | Stars: Heath Ledger, Bryan Brown, David Field, Tom Long
Votes: 13,658
38. Gallipoli (1981)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins
Votes: 41,953 | Gross: $5.73M
39. The Lighthorsemen (1987)
PG | 131 min | Drama, History, War
In 1917 when the British forces are bogged down in front of the Turkish and German lines in Palestine they rely on the Australian light horse regiment to break the deadlock.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Peter Phelps, Nick Waters, John Larking, Jack Heywood
Votes: 2,019
40. Footy Legends (2006)
90 min | Comedy, Drama, Sport
An unemployed sports fan enters an amateur rugby league tournament where losing just isn't an option if he's to keep his family together.
Director: Khoa Do | Stars: Anh Do, Angus Sampson, Lisa Saggers, Tom Simmons
Votes: 593
41. Australian Rules (2002)
95 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
In Prospect Bay, a remote outpost on the South Australian coast, two communities, the Goonyas and the Nungas, come together on the one field they have in common, the football field. But the... See full summary »
Director: Paul Goldman | Stars: Nathan Phillips, Luke Carroll, Lisa Flanagan, Tom Budge
Votes: 853
42. Shine (1996)
PG-13 | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Music
Pianist David Helfgott, driven by his father and teachers, has a breakdown. Years later he returns to the piano, to popular if not critical acclaim.
Director: Scott Hicks | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Justin Braine, Sonia Todd
Votes: 56,688 | Gross: $35.81M
43. Japanese Story (2003)
R | 106 min | Drama, Romance
Against 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. ... See full summary »
Director: Sue Brooks | Stars: Toni Collette, Gotaro Tsunashima, Lynette Curran, Matthew Dyktynski
Votes: 6,757 | Gross: $0.65M
44. Jindabyne (2006)
R | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After four men on a fishing trip discover a dead body in the water, they choose to delay reporting it and continue fishing.
Director: Ray Lawrence | Stars: Laura Linney, Gabriel Byrne, John Howard, Stelios Yiakmis
Votes: 7,074 | Gross: $0.40M
45. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
PG-13 | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A national manhunt is ordered for a rebellious kid and his foster uncle who go missing in the wild New Zealand bush.
Director: Taika Waititi | Stars: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rachel House
Votes: 141,835 | Gross: $5.20M
46. Pork Pie (2017)
TV-MA | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Pork Pie tracks the escapades of a trio of accidental outlaws as they travel the length of the New Zealand in a yellow mini, protesting conformity and chasing lost love, with a posse of cops and a media frenzy hot in their pursuit.
Director: Matt Murphy | Stars: Dean O'Gorman, James Rolleston, Ashleigh Cummings, Antonia Prebble
Votes: 2,413
47. The Dressmaker (I) (2015)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Western
A glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse | Stars: Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 65,320 | Gross: $2.02M
48. Sherpa (2015)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary
In 2014, director Jennifer Peedom was working on a documentary about the Sherpas of Mount Everest when the largest avalanche in recent history occurred on the mountain, killing 16 Sherpas.
Director: Jennifer Peedom | Stars: Russell Brice, Tim Medvetz, Pasang Tenzing Sherpa, Phurba Tashi Sherpa
Votes: 5,411
49. The Water Diviner (2014)
R | 111 min | Drama, History, War
An Australian man travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try to locate his three missing sons.
Director: Russell Crowe | Stars: Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Isabel Lucas
Votes: 77,893 | Gross: $4.19M
50. Tracks (I) (2013)
PG-13 | 112 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A young woman goes on a 1,700-mile trek across the deserts of West Australia with four camels and her faithful dog.
Director: John Curran | Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver, Lily Pearl, Philip Dodd
Votes: 31,723 | Gross: $0.51M
51. Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)
R | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When their country is invaded and their families are taken, eight unlikely teenagers band together to fight.
Director: Stuart Beattie | Stars: Caitlin Stasey, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis, Deniz Akdeniz
Votes: 32,024
52. Eagle vs Shark (2007)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Romance
The tale of two socially-awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find love: through revenge on high-school bullies, burgers, and video games.
Director: Taika Waititi | Stars: Loren Taylor, Jemaine Clement, Craig Hall, Joel Tobeck
Votes: 26,252 | Gross: $0.22M
53. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Horror
Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.
Directors: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi | Stars: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Cori Gonzalez-Macuer, Jonny Brugh
Votes: 200,157 | Gross: $3.33M
54. The Breaker Upperers (2018)
90 min | Comedy
For the right price, BFFs Jen and Mel will ruthlessly end any romance. But when one grows a conscience, it threatens to derail their relationship.
Directors: Madeleine Sami, Jackie van Beek | Stars: Madeleine Sami, Jackie van Beek, James Rolleston, Celia Pacquola
Votes: 6,886
55. Backyard Ashes (2013)
90 min | Comedy, Sport
Dougie Waters loves nothing more than a weekend barbie and cricket match with his mates. But his paradise on earth is destroyed when his best mate and neighbour Norm is forced to leave town... See full summary »
Director: Mark Grentell | Stars: Andrew S. Gilbert, Rebecca Massey, Maddison Smith-Catlin, Jake Speer
Votes: 784
56. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, War
A young German boy in the Hitler Youth whose hero and imaginary friend is the country's dictator is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
Director: Taika Waititi | Stars: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi
Votes: 441,130 | Gross: $33.37M
57. Lion (2016)
PG-13 | 118 min | Biography, Drama
A five-year-old Indian boy is adopted by an Australian couple after getting lost hundreds of kilometers from home. 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
Director: Garth Davis | Stars: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawar
Votes: 251,020 | Gross: $51.74M
58. Ladies in Black (2018)
PG | 109 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The lives of a group of department store employees in 1959 Sydney.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Julia Ormond, Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Alison McGirr
Votes: 8,090
59. Top End Wedding (2019)
TV-14 | 113 min | Comedy, Romance
Lauren and Ned, in love and engaged, have just ten days to find Lauren's mother who has gone AWOL somewhere in the remote far north of Australia, reunite her parents, and pull off their dream wedding.
Director: Wayne Blair | Stars: Brooklyn Doomadgee, Helena Johnson, Dan Collins, Antonio Tipiloura
Votes: 2,341
60. Molly's Game (2017)
R | 140 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.
Director: Aaron Sorkin | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera
Votes: 187,597 | Gross: $28.78M
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