Classic Cult Australian Films

There is no doubt about it. When it comes to creating unique films about controversial and somewhat awkward subjects, the Australian Film Industry is up there with the best in the world.

Below are listed just a few of these iconic Aussie movies which have become cult classics over the years. They also feature many actors such as Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Eric Bana, Hugo Weaving and more who have later gone on to super stardom in Hollywood.

Image Credit: http://cannonade.deviantart.com/

Some of the films below are quite violent and controversial

They are all award winning Australian films, but some are a little bit on the violent side and of a nature which some viewers might find disturbing. So, please read the descriptions of each film and if you are easily offended, please do not watch any of those video trailers which might be offending to you.

When referring to AFI awards in the film descriptions below, AFI stands for Australian Film Industry.

Mad Max is notable as it featured a young and then unknown actor by the name of Mel Gibson in the lead role of Max. The film also held a record in Guinness Book of Records for 20 years as the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture. Costing only $400,000 to make, it grossed $100 million worldwide!

This trailer is for the US version of the film which was dubbed over by Americans because the Australian accents and slang words were obviously a little too hard to understand!

The two other thumbnail videos below are for the film sequels.

BMX Bandits is notable as being one of the first screen appearances for actress Nicole Kidman who has since appeared in many Hollywood films and was once married to Tom Cruise. Nicole is one of the main actors in the film. One of the "BMX Bandits"

Kenny is a "Mockumentary" about a plumber who works for a toilet rental company. The film follows Kenny through his daily life of delivering, cleaning and emptying public toilets at events throughout the city of Melbourne. Please note that this film is very tongue in cheek and is not a real documentary. It is just made to appear like a real life documentary.

Starring Russell Crowe, Romper Stomper is a pretty confronting film about Neo-Nazi Skinhead gangs and racial violence in the working class suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Definitely not one for the kiddies!

The Castle is a film about the Kerrigan family. Working class heroes who are out to fight the big boys in order to save their home from being taken by the government and the adjacent airport. The film itself is a bit of a working class hero, grossing over $10 million at the box office in Australia, compared to its budget of just $19,000.

A pretty sick and twisted film, it gives an insight into what it can be like to be mentally retarded in an often cruel world. Viewer discretion advised on this one.

Chopper is an autobiographical film about Mark "Chopper" Read, a career criminal from Melbourne, Australia. "Chopper" Read has spent most of his 57 years in prison so far. At one stage spending only 13 months on the "outside" between the ages of 20 and 38. The film was based on Chopper's autobiographical books on his life. It stars Eric Bana as Chopper and was the role which lead to him becoming noticed by Hollywood. Before this film, Eric had only done comedy (including the film The Castle above) and was part of a TV comedy skit show "Full Frontal" in which he played Chopper in short comedy skits. He was actually suggested by Chopper Read himself to play the part after he had seen Eric taking him off on the TV show.

Starring Heath Ledger and Bryan Brown, Two Hands is one of those films which depict the comedy of errors that can happen to stupid criminals, along the same lines as "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or "Reservoir Dogs". But this film is distinctly Australian and set in Sydney around Kings Cross and Bondi Beach. I was instantly attracted to the film on it's release due to having worked with Heath Ledger two years prior and the fact that the soundtrack had lots of great Aussie music that I was into at the time.

"Priscilla" is a film about a group of Drag Queens (men who dress up as women for a living) who are on a journey not only across the Australian outback in a bus, but are also on a journey of self discovery. Featuring well established actors on the Aussie movie scene at the time in Hugo Weaving and Guy Pierce as well as internationally renowned English actor Terence Stamp. Hugo Weaving has since also gone on to super stardom having been a major player in several big budget films with worldwide success.

This 2001 comedy film was based upon the 1994 novel of the same name by author John Birmingham. It follows the path of a young man as he moves from share house to share house and meets all sorts of weird and wonderful characters. It is a story of love, hate, drug addiction and struggling to get on with life.

Do you like Aussie movies?