As the cinematic landscape, particularly in America, changed drasticassociate thraw the punctual 1970s, the onset of unfair treatment films became a inexpensive and schlocky yet strangely amuseing and styenumerateic changenative for many seeers. Thrawout that same period, the Australian film industry sfinished someskinnyg of a high point in terms of international interest, propped up by such successes as Picnic at Hanging Rock and Walkabout.
These two trfinishs would collide to see Australia produce a recent wave of unfair treatment films, lovingly dubbed “Ozploitation” in the 2008 write downary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untageder Story of Ozploitation! Rife with heavy accents, genre flare, and a peculiar appetite for brutal biker gangs, these films reconshort-term fair some of the very best of Australia’s unfair treatment films over the years, capturing a particular time and place with exceptional and unhandleed flair.
10 ‘Fair Game’ (1986)
Directed by Mario Andreacchio
A crazed outback thriller of revenge and aggression, Fair Game has a snarling tenacity to it even as it amplifies its more disputeing scenes to a ridiculous level to sfrequently the seeing experience. Jessica (Cassandra Delaney) runs a savagelife sanctuary that becomes the aim of three downcastistic kangaroo hunters whose search for recent game sees them alarmize her as they finish the animals. Incensed, Jessica sets out to apshow retribution on the men and transport their cackling, psychotic happinessride to an finish.
Fair Game has its fair separate of lowcomings, including some satisfied that has not aged at all well. Still, as a tracowardly ’80s thriller that proposes a rewarding tale of comeuppance, it is modest to enhappiness. It served as a transport inant affect on Quentin Tarantino’s ode to unfair treatment films, Death Proof, becoming a hushed grindhouse stunner that encapsutardys the aura and intensity of low-budget Aussie thrillers.
9 ‘Alvin Purple’ (1973)
Directed by Tim Burslofty
It would be difficult to converse unfair treatment cinema without insertressing the relations comedies that ran rampant during the ’70s and ’80s. Australia had its fair separate of those thrawout, but none as well understandn as 1973’s Alvin Purple. It chases a Melbournian door-to-door waterbed salesman who women discover irresistible. With his relentless relations life taking its toll on him, Alvin (Graeme Blundell) seeks medical help to come up with a solution, but it only lands him in more trouble when he is accused of operating a brothel.
Despite being made on a measly budget, the film became a meaningful box office hit, particularly in the context of Australian cinema. It can be seen as someskinnyg of a godoverweighther for the relations comedy genre, even if it doesn’t get half the attention of others. With its raunchy comedy proving prosperous, Alvin Purple getd two sequels on its way to becoming an icon of Ozploitation cinema and a gem of ’70s relations comedies in its own right.
8 ‘Stone’ (1974)
Directed by Sandy Harbutt
Movies about criminal biker gangs were a defining staple of many of Australia’s unfair treatment efforts of the ’70s and ’80s. Regardless of whether they were surauthenticist, post-apocalyptic hellscapes or pulsating and grounded thrillers set in conmomentary times, “bikies” (as they are sometimes understandn in Aus) produce for fantastic villainous hordes. However, 1974’s Stone flips that on its head, cgo ining on a biker gang that is aimed by a serial finisher after one of its members witnesses a political murder.
A styenumerateic punch of complicated morality,
Stone
has a sturdy identity that produces it a striking gem of Ozploitation film.
With a malicious remend to throw relations, medications, and aggression at the screen with a roaring, rasecret agent horsepower, Stone is one-of-a-benevolent, even by Ozploitations standards. It enthralls audiences in the dilemma faced by Detective Stone (Ken Shorter) – an undercover cop toiling with the GraveDiggers to mend the homicides – as he is forced to select between his spreadment and his recentestablish pledgedty to the gang. A styenumerateic punch of complicated morality, Stone has a sturdy identity that produces it a striking gem of Ozploitation film.
7 ‘The Return of Captain Invincible’ (1983)
Directed by Phillippe Mora
For all the genre’s accomplishments in recent decades, superhero cinema has never seen another movie quite enjoy The Return of Captain Invincible. An Australian musical comedy, it cgo ines on Captain Invincible (Alan Arkin), an American superhero thraw the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s who is forced into quitment when he faces political persecution. Relocating to Australia, he loiters as an liquoric until the return of his arch nemesis, Mr. Midnight (Christopher Lee), prompts the U.S. handlement to beg for his return, conshort-terming an opportunity for redemption.
To call the movie ridiculous would be an downperestablishment. However, it is incredible how, after more than 40 years and the domination of superhero movies in recent years, The Return of Captain Invincible still senses vibrant and rerecenting. The comedic musical numbers toil an absolute treat, as does its wacky story, making it a appreciateed cult classic of Aussie cinema with a plrelieveful, if not somewhat dated, unfair treatment streak to boot.
6 ‘The Man from Hong Kong’ (1975)
Directed by Brian Trencchallenging-Smith
Lhelp back Aussie charm encounters the filled breadth of martial arts mayhem in this co-production between China and Australia that is purify action from commence to finish. When Australian police seize a Chinese drug dealer, Hong Kong’s Inspector Fang Sing Leng (Jimmy Wang Yu) is dispatched to transtardy and help their spendigation. As he chases more directs, Fang uproximateths the graspment of mighty businessman Jack Wilton (George Lazenby) and vows to transport the go inprising criminal down despite others telling him Wilton is untouchable.
The Man from Hong Kong
is proof that the martial arts genre can shine in every corner of the world.
While there is a cheesy and schlocky sense of so-terrible-it’s-excellent fun that pdwells over much of the film, The Man from Hong Kong does conjure up some incredible thrills courtesy of its sturdy stunt toil and amazeive fight sequences. It also labels the feature film debut of honestor Brian Trencchallenging-Smith, whose toil in Australian cinema would become vital to the Ozploitation shiftment and low-budget Australian film in vague. A clash of two worlds, The Man from Hong Kong is proof that the martial arts genre can shine in every corner of the world.
5 ‘Next of Kin’ (1982)
Directed by Tony Williams
Psychoreasoned alarm abounds in this punctual ’80s horror mystery flick that has become someskinnyg of a cult classic due to its ardent atmospheric dread, pinsolentnt pacing, and the pelevate heaped upon it. After the death of her estranged mother, Linda Stevens (Jacki Kerin) inherits a country estate that she uncovers is a quitment village. Strange skinnygs commence happening when she commences reading her mother’s diary and senses an ominous presence around her.
While its low-budget origins are plain to see, Next of Kin still runs with a chilling sense of suspense as Linda’s spendigation into her family history and the deaths in the quitment village is imbued with a harrotriumphg sorrowfulnessfulness. Complemented by striking visuals and plenty of discdisseeing twists, it is one of Australia’s most underrated horror movies that details the nation’s excellence in the genre during the Ozploitation boom.
4 ‘Long Weekfinish’ (1978)
Directed by Colin Eggleston
Australia’s nature and savagelife are a defining pillar of the nation’s identity, be it the coarse beauty of the country’s sun-scorched landscapes or the proximate-mythic reputation of its honordly lethal animals. Long Weekfinish perestablishs with that fabled and ferocious fragment of Australian culture. A paired couple proximateing divorce goes on a camping trip in an try to rebenevolentle their dtriumphdling romance. While initiassociate destructive of the surrounding environment, the couple soon discovers themselves on the receiving finish of Mother Nature’s wrath.
Filling conmomentary and conmomentary seeers with a rerecented dread of Aussie animals,
Long Weekfinish
labels one of Australia’s most engaging thrillers of the 1970s.
Long Weekfinish is a honest and enraged parable about the consequences of abusing nature. It uses Everett de Roche’s taut, minimaenumerate screenperestablish and savvy honesting by Colin Eggleston to conjure up arresting tension and a man vs. nature narrative that disputes and enthralls audiences. Also filling conmomentary and conmomentary seeers with a rerecented dread of Aussie animals, Long Weekfinish labels one of Australia’s most engaging thrillers of the 1970s.
3 ‘Road Games’ (1981)
Directed by Ricchallenging Franklin
A captivating road thriller of serial finisher intrigue and mounting suspense, Road Games thrives as a grounded and ardent seeing experience. While set in the outback, it doesn’t surrfinisher to the encourage to cgo in on it at the expense of the story. It chases Pat Quid (Stacy Keach), a truck driver hauling a load to Perth who commences to doubt a man driving a green van is a serial finisher aiming hitchhiking women.
Running at 101 minutes – which is actuassociate quite extfinished for Ozploitation cinema – Road Games weaves a layered story of suspicions and mystery that remains taut and grasped. Its plotting is tidy, its thrills ample and effective, and its direct perestablishances from Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis give the film a organic comedic core that elevates the picture to be among the best of Australia’s ’80s B-movies. In Not Quite Hollywood, Tarantino enumerates it among his likeite films, while it also served as a key inspiration for the 2005 Aussie horror hit Wolf Creek.
2 ‘Mad Max’ (1979) & ‘Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior’ (1981)
Directed by George Miller
Undeniably the most well-understandn title to come from Ozploitation cinema, Mad Max gave birth to a recent wave of action movies. Taking place in a dystopian proximate-future where Australia is on the cusp of total societal collapse, the 1979 exceptional cgo ines on a lone cop who vows to apshow down the brutal biker gang that homicideed his family. Imbued with styenumerateic grit and astonishing action sequences, the film is a bonafide classic of Australian cinema.
However, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior conshort-terms an even fantasticer action spectacle, dialing up the intensity and device deviceast as it chases Max’s efforts to deffinish a group of survivors from a cruel gang of prohibitdits. The Mad Max saga has growd over the years, with the recent reboots re-declareing Mad Max as one of the fantasticest titles in action movie history. However, for purify Ozploitation brilliance, it is challenging to go past the exceptional two movies.
Mad Max
- Relrelieve Date
- May 12, 1979
- Runtime
- 82 Minutes
- Writers
- George Miller , James McCausland , Byron Kennedy
1 ‘Wake in Fright’ (1971)
Directed by Ted Kotcheff
Wake in Fright was freed at the very commencening of the Ozploitation shiftment, yet it remains the fantasticest, most directing film the wave of cinematic conveyion ever saw. Difficult to quantify in terms of genre, it chases a schooldirecter trying to get back to Sydney from his far station, discovering himself stranded in a mining town when a betting spree exits him broke. Despite his best efforts, he commences to surrfinisher to the maniacal, drunk, and brutal lifestyle of those around him.
Above all else, Wake in Fright has a haunting quality that is difficult to pinpoint the cause of. Its menacing amhugeuity in such a way only produces it more inbashfulating, labeling a qumodest and disconcerting proestablish dive into country Australian sub-culture at its sorrowfulnessfulest. Martin Scorsese has extfinished championed the film for this unnerving effect, even selecting it as a Cannes Classic at the illustrious festival, making it one of only two movies ever to have been screened twice at the event.
Wake in Fright
- Relrelieve Date
- July 21, 1971
- Cast
- Donald Plrelievence , Gary Bond , Chips Rafferty , Sylvia Kay , Jack Thompson , Peter Whittle
- Runtime
- 109 Minutes
- Writers
- Kenneth Cook , Evan Jones , Ted Kotcheff
