Movie review - "Gallipoli" (1981) ****1/2

Stunning Australian film about the famous World War I campaign which looks just as good today as it did in 1915. The opening portions of the film are the weakest (the naivety of Lee’s character is a little insulting to the intelligence of the real Anzacs), and seem mainly to exist to have shots of Mel Gibson and Mark Lee run across the desert.

It picks up with the troops arriving in Egypt (screenwriter David Williamson shows off his skill in evoking the relationships between Australian males), and the final act, in Gallipoli, is all superb – the arrival at night at the beach, the trenches, the joking amongst the soldiers, the unforgettable ending. My own favourite bit: Bill Hunter going to his death even when he doesn’t have to, because he feels he can’t ask his men to so something he wouldn’t. Not a dry eye in the house. A masterpiece.

Good DVD features, done very much with an eye on the education market.