“Faraway Downs”, the director’s cut of “Australia”

[SalvorHardin]

One of my favourite films is Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 “Australia”, a sprawling multi-genre epic starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, set during the Second World War.

Baz Luhrmann found himself at a loose end during the lockdown and decided to make a director’s cut. So Australia has been turned into a six-part series “Faraway Downs”, by adding about an hour to what was a very long film (2 hours 45 minutes originally) using footage which never made it into the original film, removing some of the original and adding new dialogue recorded by the original cast.

Just over a week ago all six episodes were released on Disney+. A very pleasant surprise IMHO, I had heard nothing about it until stumbling across it by accident on Disney+. Enough changes have been made so that it isn't just a case of "spotting the new bits".

The plot is that a month before Germany invades Poland, an English aristocrat flies to her husband’s ranch in Australia to confront him about his fraternising with the local women. What starts off as a romantic comedy soon mutates into a Western, with a cattle drive halfway across the Northern Territory in a race against a rival cattle baron to get to Darwin in order to supply the troops. Eventually it turns into a war film when the Japanese bomb Darwin.

Weaved throughout the film is the story of the Stolen Generations; mixed-race Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families by the State to be raised by the church-run missions and reservations. The real star IMHO is Brandon Walters who plays Nullah, an Aboriginal boy who is being hunted by the authorities. He steals every scene that he's in (he's in quite a bit more of Faraway Downs than Australia).

The Guardian’s film critics have consistently hated Australia over the years and have now turned their vitriol onto Faraway Downs (if you're one of those people who looks for offence and racism in everything you will hate Australia / Faraway Downs). As a rule if The Guardian really dumps on a film I consider it to be a strong recommendation to see it and I’ve not been disappointed by them so far.

Australia trailer (the film is also on Disney+)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfI4hK9I2k0

Faraway Downs trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZEbJQ3Kk7U

[MaraMan]

Thanks for the recommendation. I really enjoyed Australia despite what I recall as the critics being lukewarm about it. I will defo check out Faraway Downs.

MM

[terminal7]

]The Guardian’s film critics have consistently hated Australia over the years

Seems to me that the Guardian critics have a similar view to Australia that reflects the overall view of film critics in general.

As a rule if The Guardian really dumps on a film I consider it to be a strong recommendation to see it and I’ve not been disappointed by them so far.

Any examples to support this approach to film choice?

T7

[SalvorHardin]

]The Guardian’s film critics have consistently hated Australia over the years

Seems to me that the Guardian critics have a similar view to Australia that reflects the overall view of film critics in general.

As a rule if The Guardian really dumps on a film I consider it to be a strong recommendation to see it and I’ve not been disappointed by them so far.

Any examples to support this approach to film choice?

T7

None that I'm prepared to provide to you in response to your demand. [expletive deleted] off

I haven't forgotten when you slagged me off regarding my knowledge of France, the vast majority of which came from my late Father who was a Francophile and spoke the language with native fluency.

Back in the foe box for you