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Cinema of Australia
List of Australian films
1896-1919
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980s
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990s
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000s
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

This is a chronological list of Australian films by decade and year. For an alphabetical A-Z list, see Category:Australian films

This is a list of notable and influential Australian films that have achieved this status by awards they have won, notable box office gross, or have been exceptionally received by the Australian audience or have International acclaim.

1890s-1930s

Australian filmmakers were at the forefront of cinema and film, having created what is considered the first feature length narrative film with the release of The Story of the Kelly Gang and other early films by directors John Gavin, W. J. Lincoln and Alfred Rolfe.

Notable Australian films of the early 1900s:

• The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) - The earliest known feature length narrative film, the first film based on the iconic Australian, Ned Kelly.
• The Sentimental Bloke (1919) - Based on an Australian poem, made by the best known partnership at that time.
• The Kelly Gang (1920)
• In the Wake of the Bounty (1933) - The first film to introduce Errol Flynn, an iconic Australian "swashbuckler" character.
• For the term of his natural life (1927) - Widely considered to be the first Australian feature film.

1940s-1970s

The mid 1900s had a slow start for Australian film, although saw the first Academy Award won for an Australian film, Kokoda Front Line. The industry picked back up during the 1970s with one of the first internationally released films Picnic at Hanging Rock and there was also the success of the series of Mad Max franchise films.

Notable Australian films of the 1940s-1950s:

• Kokoda Front Line (1942) - First Australian film to win an Oscar, for Best Documentary Feature in 1942
• Jedda (1955) - First Australian film to have two indigenous lead actors
• Conquest of The Rivers (1958) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Hard to Windward (1958) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Edge of The Deep (1959) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Power Makers (1959) - AFI winner for Best Film

Notable Australian films of the 1960s:

• Three in a Million (1960) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Bypass to Life (1962) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Night Freighter (1962) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Land That Waited (1963) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Dancing Class (1964) - AFI winner for Best Film
• I The Aboriginal (1964) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Legend of Damien Parer (1965) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Stronger Since The War (1965) - AFI winner for Best Film
• They're a Weird Mob (1966) - Said to have been one factor leading to the founding of the Australian Film Industry. Based on a novel of the same title
• Concerto for Orchestra (1966) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Cardin in Australia (1967) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Change at Groote (1968) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Talgai Skull (1968) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Jack And Jill: A Postscript (1969) - AFI winner for Best Film

Notable Australian films of the 1970s:

• Three To Go: Michael (1970) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Homesdale (1971) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Walkabout (1971) - First film appearance of David Gulpilil
• Stork (1972) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Wake in Fright (1971)
• Marco Polo Jr. Versus the Red Dragon (1972) - Australia's first animated feature film.
• Libido: The Child (1973) - AFI winner for Best Film
• 27A (1973) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Sunday Too Far Away (1975) - AFI winner for Best Film, acclaimed for its realism in character portrayal
• Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) - One of the first Australian films to reach an International audience, based on a book of the same title
• The Devil's Playground (1976) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1976) - A multi-award winning film
• Storm Boy (1977) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Newsfront (1978) - Winner of 8 AFI awards including Best Film and Best Actor: Bill Hunter.
• Mouth to Mouth (1978) - AFI Nominee Kim Krejus
• Mad Max (1979) - Held world record as the highest profit-to-cost ratio of a motion picture and introduced Mel Gibson to an international audience.
• My Brilliant Career (1979) - AFI winner for Best Film

1980s

The Man from Snowy River was a highly acclaimed Australian film released in the 1980s, along with Crocodile Dundee which boosted the nation's economy and tourism industry. The Year My Voice Broke is also held in high regard, also having been released in this decade.

Notable Australian films of the 1980s:

• 'Breaker' Morant (1980) - Nominated for an Oscar (for Best Screenplay), AFI winner for Best Film
• Gallipoli (1981) - AFI winner for Best Film. Gallipoli is an important historical Australian event
• Lonely Hearts (1982) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Man from Snowy River (1982) - Award winning iconic film
• BMX Bandits (1983) - The earliest film appearance of Nicole Kidman
• Careful, He Might Hear You (1983) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Phar Lap: Heart of a Nation (1983) - Based on the successful Australian racehorse
• Annie's Coming Out (1984) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Bliss (1985) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Crocodile Dundee (1986) - Received International acclaim, Nominated for an Oscar, for Best Screenplay
• Malcolm (1986) - AFI winner for Best Film. One of the first films starring Colin Friels.
• The Year My Voice Broke (1987) - Often cited by film critics as the best Australian film in the past 25 years., AFI winner for Best Film
• Dogs in Space (1987) - A cult film set in the post-punk "little band scene" in Melbourne in 1979.
• Evil Angels (1989) - AFI winner for Best Film and Meryl Streep Best Actress Oscar Nominee
• Houseboat Horror (1989) - featuring Alan Dale from Neighbours

1990s

The 1990s saw the release of the cult classics The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994 and The Castle in 1997. Strictly Ballroom was also a successful and influential release.

Notable Australian films of the 1990s:

• Flirting (1990) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Proof (1991) - AFI winner for Best Film, one of the first major films starring Russell Crowe and Hugo Weaving.
• Romper Stomper (1992) - A multi-award winning film, one of the first major films starring Russell Crowe.
• Strictly Ballroom (1992) - Nominated for Golden Globe, with additional 16 wins and 11 further nominations. AFI winner for Best Film
• The Piano (1993) - New Zealand co-production, won 3 Oscars and received a further 5 nominations. AFI winner for Best Film
• Muriel's Wedding (1994) - AFI winner for Best Film with worldwide success, one of the first films introducing Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) - A cult classic, now a performing musical production. The first large-scale appearance of Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving.
• Angel Baby (1995) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Babe (1995) - Won an Oscar, for Best Achievement in Visual Effects and nominated a further six
• Cosi - AFI winner for best screenplay; 2 other nominations. Ensemble piece starring Barry Otto, Toni Colette, David Wenham and Ben Mendlesohn.
• Shine (1996) - AFI winner for Best Film, Geoffrey Rush won Best Actor Oscar
• Idiot Box (1996) - Ben Mendelsohn & Jeremy Sims star
• Hotel de Love (1996) - Aden Young, Saffron Burrows
• Love and Other Catastrophes (1996) - nominated for 5 AFI awards
• Kiss Or Kill (1997) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997) - 10 AFI nominations winner of 4 (inc. Best Actor)
• The Castle (1997) - Low budget, box office success, received national acclaim
• The Boys (1998 film) (1998) - Nominated for 13 AFI awards, winner of 5, including Best Director
• The Interview (1998) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Paperback Hero (1998) - Hugh Jackman, Claudia Karvan
• Two Hands (1999) - AFI winner for Best Film

2000s

2000s in the history of Australian film has had some mixed successful films from Moulin Rouge! revitalizing the musical film genre, award winning short film Harvie Krumpet, and box office success Happy Feet.

Notable Australian films of the 2000s:

• The Dish (2000) - An internationally successful film which presents a somewhat fictionalised account of the Parkes Observatory's role in the Apollo 11 moon landing.
• Bootmen (2000) - A multi-award winning film, one of the first films starring Sam Worthington and Adam Garcia
• Better Than Sex (2000) - David Wenham, Susie Porter
• Chopper (2000) - A multi-award winning influential film based on the character of Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read
• The Wog Boy (2000) - Nick Giannopoulos, Vince Colosimo, Lucy Bell
• Looking for Alibrandi (2000) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Bank (2001) - Hi-Tech Thriller capilalising on strong anti-bank sentiment.
• Lantana (2001) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Moulin Rouge! (2001) - Widely credited with revitalising the musical genre and has won 7 major awards and a further 10 nominations.
• One Night the Moon (2001) - AFI winner and New York International Independent Film & Video Festival Genre award winner. A musical (winner, Screen Music Awards, Australia) based on the true story of a young girl who went missing in the Australian outback in 1932.
• The Tracker (2002) - AFI winner for Best Actor: David Gulpilil
• Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) - AFI winner for Best Film. Based on the book Follow The Rabbit Proof Fence and stirred debate over its historical accuracy.
• Dirty Deeds (2002) - 3 wins and 9 nominations.
• The Hard Word (2002) - 5 wins and 8 nominations.
• Swimming Upstream (2002) - Geoffrey Rush, Judy Davis, Jesse Spencer, Tim Draxl
• Harvie Krumpet (2003) - Won Oscar, for Best Short Film (Animated)
• Gettin' Square (2003) - AFI winner for Best Film AFI winner for Best Actor: David Wenham
• Take Away (2003)
• Japanese Story (2003) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Undead (2003)
• On The Beach (2004) - 2 AFI Nominations (Armand Assante, Rachel Ward, Bryan Brown, Jaqueline McKenzie, Grant Bowler, Steve Bastoni)
• Love's Brother (2004)
• Somersault (2004) - AFI winner for Best Film
• Wolf Creek (2005) - Seven AFI Nominations - including Best Director (John Jarratt, Nathan Philips)
• Look Both Ways (2005) - AFI winner for Best Film
• The Proposition (2005)
• The Illustrated Family Doctor (2005) - Samuel Johnson, Colin Friels, Jessica Napier, Sacha Horler
• Three Dollars (2005) - Based on the novel by Elliot Perlman and staring David Wenham and Frances O'Connor.
• Little Fish (2005) - Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Noni Hazlehurst all won AFI awards for this film set in Sydney.
• Kenny (2006) - AFI winner for Best Actor
• Ten Canoes (2006) - First film made with entirely native Australian Aboriginal spoken languages. AFI winner for Best Film.
• Candy (2006) - Abbie Cornish, Heath Ledger and Geoffrey Rush in a film about love and how drugs affect your life.
• Jindabyne (2006) - Laura Linney & Gabriel Byrne in a film set in Jindabyne.
• Happy Feet (2006) - The most expensive Australian film made, won Oscar, for Best animated feature film
• Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? (2006) - Answer to Australia's largest murder mystery and winner of Most Outstanding Documentary in the 2007 Logies.
• Last Train to Freo (2006)
• Romulus, My Father (2007) - Australian Film Institute Award for Best Film winner starring Eric Bana.
• Lucky Miles (2007)
• Clubland (2007)
• Noise (2007)
• December Boys (2007) - Based on the book, starring Daniel Radcliffe.
• The Square (2008) - Nominated for 7 AFI awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. Winner 2008 IF Awards - Best Sound.
• The Black Balloon (2008) - Featuring Toni Collette, Gemma Ward.
• Unfinished Sky (2008)
• Australia (2008) - a Baz Luhrmann Film starring Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman.
• Balibo (2009)
• Samson and Delilah (2009) - Cannes Camera D'or winner.
• The Blue Promise" (2009) - a Naysan Baghai film starring Ove Hoegh-Guldberg (biologist)

External links and Resources

Cinema of Australia Lists of films: 1896–1919 · 1920s · 1930s · 1940s · 1950s · 1960s · 1970s · 1980s · 1990s · 2000s Actors · Animators · Awards · Cinematographers · Composers · Critics · Directors · Editors · Festivals · Films A–Z · Producers · Schools · Screenwriters