Simon Wincer
At the heart of this true story is Damien Oliver, a young jockey who loses his only brother in a tragic racing accident, hauntingly reflecting of the way their father died 27 years earlier. After suffering through a series of discouraging defeats, Damien teams with Irish trainer Dermot Weld, and triumphs at the 2002 Melbourne Cup in one of the most thrilling finales in sporting history.
As Australian cinema broke through to international audiences in the 1970s through respected art house films like Peter Weir's "Picnic At Hanging Rock," a new underground of low-budget exploitation filmmakers were turning out considerably less highbrow fare. Documentary filmmaker Mark Hartley explores this unbridled era of sex and violence, complete with clips from some of the scene's most outrageous flicks and interviews with the renegade filmmakers themselves.
Monte Walsh and Chet Rollins are long-time cowhands, working whatever ranch work comes their way, but "nothing they can't do from a horse." Their lives are divided between months on the range and the occasional trip into town. Monte has a long-term relationship with prostitute Martine Bernard, while Chet has fallen under the spell of the widow who owns the hardware store. Camaraderie and competition with the other cowboys fill their days, until one of the hands, Shorty Austin, loses his job and gets involved in rustling and killing. Then Monte and Chet find that their lives on the range are inexorably redirected.
When courageous young Neera becomes separated from her family in the desert, she chances upon a wild colt. Together they find friendship, trust, and their way back home only to discover her family is about to lose everything!
After settling in the tiny Australian town of Walkabout Creek with his significant other and his young son, Mick "Crocodile" Dundee is thrown for a loop when a prestigious Los Angeles newspaper offers his honey a job. The family migrates back to the United States, and Croc and son soon find themselves learning some lessons about American life -- many of them inadvertent
Ponderosa is a television series developed by Bonanza creator David Dortort for PAX-TV that ran for the 2001–2002 television season. Envisioned as a prequel to the long-running NBC series Bonanza, it had less gunfire, brawling and other traditional western elements than the original. Bonanza creator David Dortort approved PAX TV's decision to hire Beth Sullivan, creator and executive producer of Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman to oversee scripts and executive produce, which some believe gave the series a softer edge. Ponderosa was canceled after one season, in part because of disappointing ratings and high production costs. Although Sullivan had hoped to film the series in and around Los Angeles, PAX decided to film in Australia to reduce costs. Series "show runner" Sullivan sustained severe injuries in a car crash only twelve days after the airing of the first season's last episode. The show should not be confused with Ponderosa, the title used for Bonanza reruns aired on NBC during the summer of 1972.
Rafe Covington is as good as his word, and he's determined to keep his promise to a dying man that he'll look after the man's widow and Wyoming ranch. But the widow doubts the integrity of drifter Covington. And an unscrupulous land grabber and his gunmen are sizing up the ranch the way a spider eyes a fly.
Africa, December 1916. Despite disobeying orders, Indy is promoted to Captain after capturing a German machine gun. He is then ordered to cross the jungle with Remy and Captain Boucher to pick up a shipment of weaponry. Along the way his Ubangan Sgt, Barthelemy picks up the sole surviving child from a disease ridden village despite Boucher's orders against it. On the way back, Indy and company succumb to disease themselves, and are picked up by Albert Schweitzer and the orderlies from his jungle hospital. At first resistant to being treated by a German, Indy soon begins to realize that Schweitzer is not interested in war, only attempting to cure people against all odds.
Indiana Jones, now a captain in the French army, is assigned to escort two Austrian princes to meet with Emperor Karl I and convince him to broker a peace deal with France and Britain at the expense of Austria's alliance with Germany. Two months later, at the French Embassy in Petrograd, Indy must decide between his loyalty to his friends and his work in French Intelligence when he is pressed to discover details of a possible bolshevik revolution in Russia which would cripple the French war effort.
Working with a beautiful lady spy, Indiana Jones is assigned to assist the British forces in their attack on the Turkish-occupied town of Beersheba. With a regiment of the Australian Lighthorsemen approaching, Indy must defuse the explosives the Turks have placed throughout the town.
August, 1917. Using the name 'Henri Defense', 17 year old Indiana Jones has enlisted in the Belgian army to fight in the Great War. After all his commanding officers have been wiped out during combat in Flanders, Corporal 'Defense' is left in charge of what's left of the 9th Belgian Infantry. They are assigned to the French 14th Company and dispatched into the Battle of the Somme. When Indy is captured by the Germans, he quickly gains a reputation as an escape artist, and is sent to the maximum security prison at Dunsterstadt on the Danube.
This series illustrates the life and career of P.T. Barnum, America's greatest showman and promoter. Starting as a young man who managed an old woman who was supposedly George Washington's nursemaid, we see his career as he finds success promoting curiosities and attractions with panache and a judicious mix of truth and creativity, whether it be promoting his museum or characters like the midget General Tom Thumb. Yet because the demands of his businesses, his family life is troubled and marred by tragedy. All the while, events lead to his greatest creation, the Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey Circus.
A small-town cat-and-dog detective duo investigate a new neighbor who they believe may have committed a murder, but the snag is, locals are attempting to pair him off with their owner.
An American entrepreneur is closing a deal in Saudi Arabia in 1977. After a fallout with his influential Saudi partners, they have him arrested. Due to the US policy of noninterference in SA, the embassy won't help him. He must escape.
Scenic settings in Australia enhance this Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation, a simple yet engaging tale about a teenage girl's adjustment to a new family.
The 21st successor to the role of Bengalla's resident superhero must travel to New York to prevent a rich madman from obtaining three magic skulls that would give him the secret to ultimate power.
Five Green Berets stationed in Vietnam in 1968 grudgingly undertake the mission of a lifetime -- to secretly transport an 8,000-pound elephant through 200 miles of rough jungle terrain. High jinks prevail when Capt. Sam Cahill promises the Montagnard villagers of Dak Nhe that he'll replace their prized elephant in time for an important ritual. But for Capt. T.C. Doyle, the mission becomes a jumbo-sized headache!
Lightning Jack Kane is an Australian outlaw in the wild west. During a bungled bank robbery he picks up mute Ben Doyle as a hostage. The two become good friends, with Jack teaching Ben how to rob banks, while they plan Jack's last heist.
When maladjusted orphan Jesse vandalizes a theme park, he is placed with foster parents and must work at the park to make amends. There he meets Willy, a young Orca whale who has been separated from his family. Sensing kinship, they form a bond and, with the help of kindly whale trainer Rae Lindley, develop a routine of tricks. However, greedy park owner Dial soon catches wind of the duo and makes plans to profit from them.
It's the lawless future, and renegade biker Harley Davidson and his surly cowboy buddy, Marlboro, learn that a corrupt bank is about to foreclose on their friend's bar to further an expanding empire. Harley and Marlboro decide to help by robbing the crooked bank. But when they accidentally filch a drug shipment, they find themselves on the run from criminal financiers and the mob in this rugged action adventure.
American Matt Quigley answers Australian land baron Elliott Marston's ad for a sharpshooter to kill the dingoes on his property. But when Quigley finds out that Marston's real target is the aborigines, Quigley hits the road. Now, even American expatriate Crazy Cora can't keep Quigley safe in his cat-and-mouse game with the homicidal Marston.
Palestine, 1917. The British advance has been stopped by the Turkish line running from Gaza to Beersheba. The latest attack on Gaza has failed. The attacking forces included a regiment of Australian mounted infantry, the Light Horse... Lighthorseman Frank is wounded in a skirmish with Bedouin. He is replaced by a young soldier, Dave, who proves to be a crack shot, but reluctant to fire at the enemy. Dave proves himself during a German biplane attack. Recuperating in hospital, he meets a sympathetic nurse, Anne... The regiment is called upon for a bold flanking attack on Beersheba. But how do you convince the Turks the main attack will come at Gaza? And how do you attack across a desert without water?
The Last Frontier is a 1986 television miniseries Starring Linda Evans, Jack Thompson and Jason Robards.
A Cambodian family is given sponsored immigration to the United States where one daughter becomes a spelling bee champion.
Daryl is a normal 10-year-old boy in many ways. However, unbeknown to his foster parents and friends, Daryl is actually a government-created robot with superhuman reflexes and mental abilities. Even his name has a hidden meaning -- it's actually an acronym for Data Analyzing Robot Youth Life-form. When the organization that created him deems the "super soldier" experiment a failure and schedules Daryl to be disassembled, it is up to a few rogue scientists to help him escape.
In this modern-day version of the Rasputin story, David Hemmings plays an up-and-coming senator, Nick Rast, whose young son is terminally ill with leukaemia. A mysterious faith healer, Gregory Wolfe, appears and seems to cure the boy. Rast's wife Sandy falls in love with Wolfe, but the powerful interests behind Rast's career, represented by geriatric monster Doc Wheelan are less happy with events.
Against the Wind was a 1978 Australian television mini-series. It is a historical drama portraying both the British rule of Ireland, and the development of New South Wales and Australia. The producers were Bronwyn Binns, Ian Jones and Henry Crawford. The directors were George T. Miller and Simon Wincer. The scriptwriters were Bronwyn Binns, Ian Jones, Peter Kinlock, Tony Morphett, Paul Davies and Cliff Green. Jon English won the Logie Award in 1979 for "Best new talent" for his role in the miniseries as "Jonathan Garrett". The complete series is now available on DVD in Australia, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands in PAL format. It is also available in North American format.
The Lost Islands is an Australian television series. It first aired in Australia on 1 January 1976, and was later screened around the world, including the UK, France, Italy, The Netherlands, as well as Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and the United States.
Tandarra was the follow-up Australian television series to Cash and Company, set during the Victorian gold rush period of the 1850s. It was produced in 1976, consisted of 13 one hour episodes and was shown on the Seven Network in Australia and London Weekend Television in the UK. Two of the originals characters from Cash and Company continued in Tandarra. These were Joe Brady and Jessica Johnson. The other main character, introduced in the final episode of Cash and Company was Ryler. He had been a bounty hunter who was later convinced of Joe’s innocence and decided to join with him. Tandarra was taken from the name of the homestead, owned by Jessica’s character, and the series primarily dealt with the adventures of running the large farming property. The original premise of the first series, namely that Joe and Sam Cash were fugitives from the law and were being assisted by Jessica was totally removed. No reference to the Sam Cash character was ever made in this series. The previous antagonist, the corrupt police trooper, Lieutenant Keogh only appeared in the first episode of Tandarra, and the character of Jessica’s servant, Annie only appeared in the second.
Cash and Company was an Australian television period adventure series, set during the Victorian gold rush of the 1850s. The original series consisted of 13 one hour episodes, filmed in colour and on location in rural Victoria. Production began in July 1974 and the series premiered in Sydney on the Seven Network on 26 May 1975, in Melbourne on 29 May, and in Brisbane a few weeks previously. It was also was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, and was sold to Sweden, Holland, Yugoslavia, Ireland, Norway, Rhodesia and Nigeria. The series was also shown at Sunday lunchtime in the United Kingdom by the London Weekend Television Network, in advance of its airing in Australia. It was produced by Homestead Films, a TV production company set up by Patrick Edgeworth and Russell Hagg, who had worked together at Crawford Productions on Matlock Police. Edgeworth's brother is the musician Ron Edgeworth, who was married to Judith Durham of The Seekers. The episodes dealt with the adventures of bushrangers Sam Cash and his partner Joe Brady and a helpful widow, Jessica Johnson. Cash and Brady were fugitives, constantly absconding from the authorities, led by the corrupt police trooper Lieutenant Keogh. Other regular and recurring characters included Jessica’s father in law and her servant, Annie.
Ryan was an Australian adventure television series screened by the Seven Network from 27 May 1973. The series was produced by Crawford Productions and had a run of 39 one hour episodes. The title character was a dashing private investigator played by Rod Mullinar. Ryan's assistant was played by New Zealand-born actor Pamela Stephenson, soon to leave for England and a successful television career. Other regular characters were Tony Angelini, a taxi driver and Ryan's regular informant, while Detective Cullen was Ryan’s main liaison with the police force. Ryan was shot entirely on film and in colour with an eye to potential international sales. An initial sale of 39 episodes to the Seven Network recouped only 55% of the series' relatively high production costs. An international sale was therefore crucial to the show's continued feasibility. Australian television was still broadcasting in black and white in 1973, while key international markets broadcast in colour and would more readily purchase a colour series. Though many Australian series shot their interior scenes on videotape in the studio using a multiple-camera setup with only outdoor scenes shot on film, because Australia was yet to switch to colour television the television studios were not yet equipped with colour equipment. This meant Ryan had to be shot entirely on film. In another concession to international marketability Mullinar was instructed to play the role using a Mid-Atlantic American accent.
