Anzacs

1985

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
8.1| NA| en| More Info
Released: 27 October 1985 Returning Series
Producted By:
Country: Australia
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Anzacs was a 1985 5-part Australian miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force in 1914, fighting first at Gallipoli in 1915, and then on the Western Front for the remainder of the war. It follows in the wake of Australian New Wave war films such as Breaker Morant, Gallipoli, and precedes The Lighthorsemen. Recurring themes of these films include the Australian identity, such as mateship and larrikinism, the loss of innocence in war, and also the continued coming of age of the Australian nation and its soldiers.

Genre

Drama

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Anzacs Audience Reviews

Clevercell Very disappointing...
Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Loui Blair It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.
Sal One good way of rating a movie is how soon are you willing to watch it again. Well i just bought the 3 disc set and it will be the 3rd time i'd have watched it in 3 months. Their are very few Aussie films that can match this production..Yea OK, we probably don't make that many films, but it's up there amongst our best.It's about a group of 12 or so who volunteer to fight in the Great War, jubilantly thinking it would be just one long adventure. For a lengthy film it never loses it's pace. It doesn't focus too much or too graphically on each particular battle, but the film is so well done that it appears to. Andrew Clark(Barrington) is the standout with good support cast all round. Jon Blake(Flanagan) is worth a mention too as is Paul Hogan(Cleary) who steals the odd scene. You can't help getting caught up in this film. A must see, the full 524 min version, not the truncated version! It's not a bad educational film either. I knew the diggers did us proud but i didn't realize how much of an impact we made in WW1 until i did some research on the net. The allies might have still won the war without the Aussies but definitely not by 11-11-1918. Also there was some documentary a little while back about how some schools in France have a kangaroo emblem in their classroom and how they play and sing Waltzing Matilda(Aussie unofficial National Anthem) every day. The reporter asked, 'why do the french have such an overwhelming regard for Australia'?. 'Because they came from more than half a world away to fight and die for us!', was the reply.
Jim-399 This was an excellent mini-series, packed with sub-plots, all revolving around the story of an Aussie platoon during the First World War. Comic relief is provided by the brilliant Paul Hogan as the wheeling-dealing private Pat Cleary, and a sense of realism is maintained through the narrative character of Roly Collins (excellently played by Christopher Cummins). The story never dips in interest and, I'm pleased to say, strives to keep an actuate journal of real events during the Great War from all battles; violent and political.And if you want to know why the world has to thank Australia and New Zealand for their part in history, I advise you look out for ANZACS. 10/10
mooncity This is an interesting chronicle of the ANZACs, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.One reason my fellow reviewer here might not have enjoyed this film is that it was created for an entirely different culture (Australia). To brand it as "bad" simply because it isn't American is patently unfair.This made-for-TV production is really aimed squarely at the Australian audience, who still revere the memory of the ANZACs, the troops who suffered horrendous losses at Gallipoli in WWI. The heroism of the ANZACs, who fought so bravely and with such determination, was such that the Turkish enemy erected a monument to them.While it is true that the film (culled from a five-part mini-series), is not riveting entertainment compared to something like "Centennial" or "War and Rememberance", it does outline the feelings, views, and politics of the day faced by the ANZAC forces.The Australian and New Zealand viewpoints of the Great War are rarely on display, and here we have all of the various sentiments played out before us. The overall feeling (still is tangible today), is that the incompetence and arrogance of British officers (under whom the ANZAC force operated), were directly responsible for the waste of lives in pointless charges against the heavily entrenched Turkish forces.The mini-series is positively anti-colonial in regards to the portrayal of the British as uncaring, and more interested in saving British lives than that of the Aussies or New Zealanders.Paul Hogan will most likely be the only familliar face for American viewers. I would recommend the Mel Gibson film "Gallipoli" for those looking for a familliar cast and a relatively big budget look. That film also has more weight to it, and is more stylized.While "ANZACs" does come off as a bit like "light drama", or perhaps almost a glorified soap opera, if someone is interested in the topic of WWI, and the Australian and New Zealand participation in particular, the mini-series is worth a viewing. For scholars studying the events in this theater of the war, is a must see to examine both the attitudes of the day, and at the time the mini-series was made.
Sneddy Just watched this recently on video. Shows how the Australians performed during World War One. Many humorous moments. The title music is very good. Shows the historical aspects of this war accurately and gives us an idea what it was really like for the soldiers. Recommended viewing.