Gallipoli (1981, Australia, classified PG (New Zealand, Australia), PG (Singapore), PG (United States), PG (United Kingdom))
Run time 111 minutes, directed by Peter Weir, starring Mel Gibson
Overall rating: 23/25 (★★★★ ⅗)
Sweet as or not? – Definitely sweet as.
Verdict: One of the luminaries of Australian cinema showcases brotherhood and the journey into manhood with near perfection, although more action occurs with ‘steel spring’ legs in Australia than on the titular peninsula.
Watch or Skip? – Watch it now, or when you get the chance to.
Review by J.M. Broad • July 15th, 2020 (July 16th, 2020 NZT)
Kia ora folks, and welcome back to Sweet As?, the review site that reviews stuff with New Zealand panache from a uniquely NZ perspective, so you don’t have to, fresh from its most recent hiatus.
That’s right folks, we’re back. Anyway, in this edition, which happens to be our sophomore film review, we shall be reviewing one of the earlier Mel Gibson flicks, Gallipoli, a historical insight into trench warfare that gives more airtime to showing brotherhood and a journey across the desert on the other side of the Tasman than the warfare itself, as well as a fundamental part of both modern Australian and New Zealand history.
Now, before we jump into the review proper, it is time for the obligatory disclaimer. If you are not into war films, or if you do not want to see a film from thirty-nine or so years ago, it is advised that you move to another corner of this site or another corner of the Internet, i.e. leave this site altogether.
If you would like to read this review, however, please feel free to continue reading.
Now, let’s begin. After a somewhat lengthy and underwhelming opening credits sequence consisting of merely text and classical music, we are transported back in time and space to the plains of western Australia in May 1915, as well as being given an insight into country life through the rounding up of cattle on horseback, to say the least, where we see a number of running sequences set to excerpts from French electronic music, namely Oxygène by Jean-Michel Jarre, which unfortunately comprises more of this film than the actual warfare on the titular peninsula, flanked by comparison of the lead character’s legs to ‘steel springs’, which even acts as the movie’s opening sequence.
Around sixteen minutes into this foray of one hour and fifty-one minutes, we get our first glimpse into the basis of this story and into the camaraderie shared by the main characters who later enlist and make the journey in the latter part of the film, and this continues throughout the film as the characters develop their relationships and brotherhood, for example.
Later on in the film, we see a journey across the pseudo-western Australian outback (the film was shot mainly in South Australia), allowing us to follow the main characters on their foray into manhood, represented by the big city, as well as through reading of The Jungle Book featuring in dialogue earlier on, and carefree youths assuming pseudonyms, as well as resorting to fabricating fake moustaches so as to enlist with the army and do their country proud, which I feel gives an in-depth historical insight into what happened during the time this film is set, the First World War, and I believe that Peter Weir’s forte is in historical films as a result. Kudos to the director for this.
Next, we move onto the plot, which is what you would expect for a historical warfare film, but at the same time, also out of the ordinary as it could be considered an athletics movie based solely on how much running features within the film in comparison to the warfare and I feel that director Peter Weir could have included more action sequences besides running to techno music akin to that featured in recent Blake Lively flick The Shallows.
In terms of the visual effects, especially in regards to the landscaping, it is highly believable due to the fact that the film was shot on location in both Australia and Egypt, so we can gain an insight into the lives of Australian soldiers both before enlisting and when being let loose on the town prior to combat. In the latter part of the film, when the warfare sequences commence, the visual effects are still highly believable as there are realistic pyrotechnics in the form of explosions and gunfire, which is comparable to high-budget war films nowadays, which Gallipoli may or may not be considered, as it was made on an approximately A$3 million budget.
Finally, we move onto the directing, which is by far one of the most impressive forays made by Peter Weir, who is widely considered as one of the luminaries in Australian cinema for a number of reasons which I am not going to list in this review due to time constraints and since we are only focusing on this film, to say the least. It is highly impressive due to the fact that Weir gives an in-depth look into a number of concepts, such as brotherhood and making the theoretical journey into manhood, centralised around a fundamental part of modern history on both sides of the ditch, something that brings both Aussies and those who call Aotearoa home together in remembrance, although some aspects of this film have been cited by critics as being historically inaccurate.
Nevertheless, the movie gets most of its facts right and Weir’s style of directing brings out the acting prowess of Mel Gibson throughout, making the audience feel sympathy for the characters, particularly in its closing minutes where we witness the demise of some lead characters, foreshadowed merely minutes before via an operatic piece by Georges Bizet, which makes up part of the limited soundtrack as most of the film is not set to music and when it is, it is too ‘old-timey’ for my liking, comprising solely of wartime folk songs or classical pieces.
Last Word
Overall, Gallipoli is one of the better films out there, however I do not feel that Peter Weir has done enough to make this stand out as a trench warfare movie due to the fact that running sequences make up the bulk of this film and the action on the titular peninsula only occurs in the latter part of this movie, although Peter Weir showcases key concepts such as brotherhood and the theoretical journey into manhood to perfection.
I would definitely recommend this film to everyone who is interested in what may be considered a hidden gem in Australian cinema for a number of reasons, such as the fact that a soundtrack album does not exist for this film, for example, as director Peter Weir showcases a tale of brotherhood and journeying into manhood centralised around the Gallipoli campaign magnificently.
The Addendum
Ratings – Acting: 5/5, Soundtrack: 4/5, Visual Effects: 5/5, Plot: 4/5, Directing: 5/5
Overall rating: 23/25 (equates to 4.6 stars overall using Sweet As? star rating calculations criteria)
Sweet as or not? – Definitely sweet as, as Peter Weir is considered one of the luminaries of Australian cinema and the cinematography is magnificent. An added bonus is that this film is one of the earlier flicks starring Mel Gibson. It also showcases the concepts of brotherhood and making the journey into manhood with perfection and is a hidden gem as no soundtrack album exists for this film.
Watch or skip? – Watch it now, or when you get the chance to do so. This film is too good to miss out on watching.
How can I watch this film?
Gallipoli is available on video tape and various optical disc formats. A number of television networks also air this film in a periodic manner.
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