Movie Info:
Writer: Baz Luhrmann, Ronald Harwood, Stuart Beattie, Richard Flanagan
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Cast: Jack Thompson, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, David Gulpilil, Brandon Walters
Rating: PG-13
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Release Info:
Theatrical Release: November 26, 2008
DVD Release Date: March 3, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $25.99
When I hear Baz Luhrmann is involved with a movie I know that it’s going to be good. I don’t know if he’s made so few movies because he’s trying to attain perfection with each one of them, but the movies he makes are masterpieces that will one day live on as classics. Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet have beautiful cinematography. Their stories are exceptionally well told. The acting is stand out. Luhrmann brings all the elements of perfection together into one, gorgeous film that is a several strides above the majority of what is coming out of Hollywood, these days.
While I just want to reach out and give Nicole Kidman a taco, these days (she is a little thin), she doesn’t appear to be nearly as gaunt in this film. She has exceptional chemistry with Hugh Jackman and the performances they give make you feel raw, true emotions while watching. Ashtyn won’t admit it, but I know she cried during part of this movie. I am not the crying type, but I won’t deny that Australia makes you feel…a myriad of emotions.
I’m the type of guy who isn’t always into showing my emotions. I don’t like to show them on my sleeve. I feel blasé about the vast majority of movies that center on romance because of this. In a Baz Luhrmann movie, I can expect romance, but the main plotline is so powerful that the romance is only a small part of the greater picture. I like a movie with plenty of action. Australia has both action and romance so regardless of gender, this movie is going to appeal to a wide variety of individuals. This is one of the few movies men and women can watch together and both can enjoy.
The beautiful Australian outback sets the stage for this stunningly made movie. The cinematography is exceptional. I already mentioned that the two primary actors did a phenomenal job, as do all of the supporting actors in their perspective role. The narrator of the film, nearly outshines all of them, though. He is a 11 or 12 year old boy named Brandon Walters who single-handedly brought together the entire action and story for this movie. Brand new to film, Walters is a standout performer in league with the adults he performs with in this movie.
Without an exceptional plot though this movie wouldn’t have been nearly as fantastic as it is. This movie is beautiful. It’s heartwarming. It’s filled with action. It flows nicely and even though it’s quite long every minute is well worth the time spent. I love this movie. It reminds me of movies like Titanic and Cold Mountain. This is an epic film that reminds me of many of the epics that once graced Hollywood screens on a regular basis. Baz Luhrmann has accomplished what other directors/writers only dream of, by keeping part of the old Hollywood style of filmmaking alive.
The Australia Plot
During WWII, the Japanese attacked the port city of Darwin, Australia. They blew the town to smithereens and then left. That was pretty much the extent of WWII in Australia. A few years prior to this event, a young aboriginal boy by the name of Nullah (Brandon Walters) is out fishing with his grandfather, King George (David Gulpilil). When they see cattle being forced across the stream from the Faraway Downs Cattle Ranch land to the land of King Carney (the man trying to have a single monopoly on the cattle industry/meat market in Australia), King George has Nullah hide underwater. The encounter ends in the death of a white man by an arrowhead.
The scene shifts to Darwin, Australia. A cattle driver called Drover (Hugh Jackman) enters a bar. He’s waiting on the arrival of Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who is coming from England to stay with her husband, Maitland Ashley. Ashley owns Faraway Downs. Maitland has hired Drover to accompany Sarah on the trip from Darwin to the Outback. Before he can fetch her from the docks, he gets in a fight about his friendliness he shows towards Blacks. Sarah ends up getting herself off her boat and is thrust in the middle of the bar fight, which has moved outdoors.
The prim, proper Lady Sarah is disgusted by Drover and his uncouth ways. She dislikes the fact that she has to ride in his dirty old truck with his black friend/work partner Magarri (David Ngoombujarra) and they pick up her husband’s drunk accountant, on the way to Faraway Downs, Kipling Flynn (Jack Thompson). Sarah soon discovers that Faraway Downs is really in the middle of nowhere. She doesn’t really understand why anyone would want to live in such a place.
Upon her arrival, Sarah learns that Maitland has been murdered. The authorities believe it is the work of King George, the aboriginal magic man, due to the fact that he has an arrowhead in his chest. Sarah is going to be returning to England and is considering taking King Carney (Bryan Brown) up on his offer to buy Faraway Downs. She’s putting the ranch in what she believes are the capable hands of the ranch’s overseer, Neil Fletcher (David Wenham). However, the night before she is to leave, Nullah comes to see Sarah. She finds out that Neil has been abusive to Nullah’s mother and is most likely the boy’s father.
Nullah tells her about what he saw the day that Maitland died, with the cattle heading over to King Carney’s land. When Sarah confronts Fletcher, she learns that he’s been sabotaging her husband’s ranch and believes she should sell to Carney. Fletcher is fired by Sarah and takes all his men with him. In retaliation, he sends the cops out after Nullah. If the “coppers” get him they will take him to Mission Island off the coast of Darwin, where the half-black, half white children aka creamy kids are sent to live with a missionary.
Discovering that Fletcher made Flynn doctor the books (though Flynn kept a private book with the real money going in and out of Faraway Downs). Sarah soon realizes that she has no choice but to rely on Drover and his two associates (one of whom is Magarri) to drive a head of 1500 cattle from Faraway Downs to Darwin before the heads of the beef industry can sign an exclusive deal with Carney. Along the way, the movie shows romance, adventure, pain, loss, sabotage, evil, and the eventual bombing of Darwin, which impacts their lives, indefinitely.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
When Fox brings 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 to Australia the results are nothing short of phenomenal. The picture quality here dazzles and I cannot remember a recent time when a movie looked so good. The color palette is strong, but natural. Facial tones look good, earthy colors shine, and blacks are strong. There are no visual problems with compression, edge enhancements, lines, dust, dirt, or other issues. It’s a strong undertaking that has netted a gorgeous result. Blu-Ray brought this film to life and though I am sure it looks just fine in DVD, I cannot imagine seeing it any other way now that Blu-Ray has spoiled me.
The audio is a rich, but balanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that is strong, but gentle all in one sitting. There are moments that are chilling, like when the Japanese planes are dropping bombs or when you hear the dirt crunching under a police car tires. Likewise, in those breathless moments when the only thing separating a stampede from a cliff is a young boy, the audio comes through beautifully.
The audio also shines in the quieter moments, too, though. When the wind whistles through the trees or you hear the young child sing Lady Ashley to him, the sound is soft, but effective. The surround sound is used to the best of its ability and nothing ever sounds forced. It’s all natural and well handled. From action to silence, it’s incredibly done. In addition to the English audio there are French and Spanish soundtracks in Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are available in English, Cantonese, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
While there are plenty of special features that we will get into in a minute, I have to say that there is one I was hoping for that was missing and that is the audio commentary. I was looking forward to a commentary with Luhrmann because this is the type of film that deserves a commentary. There were plenty of back stories that could have been added from the fact that Kidman took the role without reading the script and convinced Jackman to do the same, to the realization that around 15 babies were born to cast (Kidman) and crew throughout the filming process. Still, Luhrmann can be heard introducing many of the featurettes and it’s obvious that he has much love for this project, so it’s hard to fault him too much.
“Australia: The People, the History, the Location”: This seven minute featurette is a bit more on the promotional side, offering basic narration and information about the production. Not too much is offered here, so do not expect to be wowed. There are a few good moments, like when you see the actual locations where some of the scenes take place, but much here can be taken or left.
“Photography”: James Fisher, the still photographer shows some of his images that were taken on set, during this five minute featurette. Annie Leibovitz and Douglas Kirkland also weigh in on their experiences on set.
“Production Design”: Catherine Martin (Mrs. Baz Luhrmann) shows us the world of production design from sketches to computer images and other aspects of her job and how she brings everything together.
“Costume Design”: Martin joins us again to speak about her official job as the costume designer. She talks about the process of design and mentions how the cast (and extras) had about 1,800 outfits, not to mention various body decorations and other things. This was pretty interesting.
“Locations”: A short look at the various locations used in Australia. The team that handled the locations managed to fine beautiful wide open spaces in the area that could be adapted for the demands of shooting.
“Cinematography”: The director of photography, Mandy Walker lets us in on the processes that she went through when collaborating with Luhrmann throughout the making of Australia.
“Sound”: This feature gives you some in depth information about the various forms of sound and how they all come together in this movie. You will learn about dialogue, music, sound effects, and other sound aspects.
“Editing”: In this eleven minute featurette Luhrmann talks about what editing means to him and for this film. Over two million feet of film was shot and had to be pieced together to make the film what it is now. It is interesting to hear about the editing process by someone as passionate as Luhrmann, so this isn’t a bad feature.
“Music”: Composer David Hirschfelder is on hand to discuss what music is and what it means both in this movie and in general. He discusses how Australia was able to use many musical genres and how many influences were brought together.
“Visual Effects”: The visual effects personnel offer information about how the effects were used and chosen and where they would be used. They go into how the shots were handled and then studio work was done to ensure the proper sound was combined.
Things wrap up here with a series of two deleted scenes, three theatrical trailers for Australia, and a selection of trailers for other Fox movies.
Bonus Features: 
Bottom Line:
Australia was easily one of the best movies of the year where Blu-Ray is concerned (or period!). I have no doubt this will make our best of list when we are going through everything we have seen in 2009. It has one of those rare qualities in a movie that ensures it will appeal properly to both sexes. It has plenty of romance and mysticism and just as much action. Not only that, but it’s all wrapped in an epic story that will be sure to please most anyone. Australia comes highly recommended and if you have a Blu-Ray player I highly recommend you purchase the Blu-Ray over the standard DVD.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Blu-ray Review, Australia, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Word War II, Darwin
Written by Dominick Evans – Visit Website
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Dominick is in his late 20s. He lives in Michigan with his life partner, Ashtyn, their 14 year old son Robert, and their Shih-Tzu, Oliver. Dominick is a writer and the head editor for both LI Kids and Literary Illusions. He enjoys composing music and is an aspiring director/screenwriter. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family, playing and watching sports, playing video games, watching movies, and singing.
