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In honour of Barbenheimer and the theatrical experience

The majority of my film viewing nowadays, whether for Down Under Flix or otherwise, is at home via physical media or streaming. I’m also on a continual pop culture delay of several years, which I appreciate as I can watch most things divorced from hype and any Pavlovian influence. However, the conversation around Barbenheimer is a nice reminder of the value of deliberate and communal moviegoing, as opposed to just movie-watching. Listed below are all the Australian films I've watched in cinemas during their theatrical releases, as well as a few in revival screenings.

I’ve followed AACTA rules, hence the likes of The Great Gatsby and Hacksaw Ridge are included along with earlier Australian/overseas co-productions. Excluded are American films from Australian filmmakers that I saw in theatres [1] along with films like The Matrix sequels and Star Wars prequels—shot in Australia with local crews and cast members—which I saw theatrically. It’s a curious list, with many unfortunate gaps and omissions for films I later saw on video, DVD, or streaming; some fallow years punctuated by some rather busy ones; and the occasional head-scratching investment of my discretionary moviegoing funds (i.e. Russian Doll [2]). In these respects, the list speaks to the peculiarities of recreational moviegoing. 

1992 - Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest, Strictly Ballroom

1994 - Lightning Jack

1995 - Babe

1996 - Shine

1997 - Kiss or Kill

2000 - Better than Sex, Chopper, The Dish, Eye of the Beholder

2001 - The Bank, Charlotte Gray, He Died with a Felafel in His Hand, Lantana, Molokai: The Story of Father Damien, Moulin Rouge, Mullet, Russian Doll

2002 - Dirty Deeds, The Hard Word, The Quiet American, Rabbit-Proof Fence, The Tracker

2003 - Alexandra’s Project, Japanese Story, Ned Kelly, The Old Man Who Read Love Stories

2005 - Look Both Ways, The Proposition, Wolf Creek

2006 - Kokoda, Macbeth

2007 - Rogue

2009 - Disgrace

2010 - Red Hill

2012 - The King is Dead

2013 - Charlie’s Country, The Great Gatsby, Tracks

2014 - The Babadook, Predestination, The Rover, The Water Diviner, Wolf Creek 2

2015 - The Dressmaker, Mad Max: Fury Road, Partisan, Wyrmwood

2016 - Down Under, Goldstone, Hacksaw Ridge, Lion, Red Dog: True Blue

2017 - Australia Day, Jasper Jones

2018 - Ladies in Black

2019 - Storm Boy

In revival - Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mad Dog Morgan, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Roadgames, Turkey Shoot, The Well

Ben

   

[1] A list of this sort would include Dead Poet’s Society, Driving Miss Daisy, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, The Phantom, The Saint, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Snow Falling on Cedars, Hearts in Atlantis, Peter Pan, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Passion of the Christ, I Robot, The Road, The Conjuring, Insidious I and II, The Expendables 3, Gods of Egypt, Macbeth, and in revival Highlander. 

[2] I suspect as a Woody Allen fan I was attracted to its Allen-esque premise, though in hindsight Hugo Weaving and David Wenham, despite their strengths, are not built for tossing off witty bon mots. 

 

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