Dr George Miller, 1996
The centenary of film was 1995, and some bright spark had the idea of producing a compilation of films called A Century of Cinema with one for each of several countries and each introduced by a major player in the cinema of that country. The American version (A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies) I cannot recommend too highly; the French one, Deux fois 50 ans de cinéma français, 1995, which has never been screened in Australia afaik - is by Jean-Luc Godard (who also made Histoire(s) du cinéma, 1998); the New Zealand collection (A Cinema of Unease) is by Sam Neill (who is now a director and producer as well as an intelligent actor); the Japanese century (100 Years ...) is by Oshima, and Stephen Frears presents A Personal History of British Cinema. For the Australian entry Dr George Miller got the gig, and does a brilliant job, in my opinion.
You used to be able to buy White Fellas Dreaming on videotape from ABC bookshops, but they've removed it from the catalog (of course) and I have a horrible feeling it will never be released on DVD. Kennedy-Miller own the copyright. I wrote to them to try to buy a copy, but they just said they couldn't help me.
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The first three clips are from non-Australian films directed by Miller: Twilight Zone: The Movie (Dr George Miller, 1983) |
1 Movies as Visual Music |
Songs of the LandSons of Matthew (Charles Chauvel, 1949) (with Michael Pate) The BushmenOn Our Selection (Ken G. Hall, 1932) Convicts(various short clips, not named) BushrangersStory of the Kelly Gang, The (Charles Tait, 1906) Mates and LarrikinsSentimental Bloke, The (Raymond Longford, 1919) The DiggerForty Thousand Horsemen (Charles Chauvel, 1940) Pommy BashingSplendid Fellows (Beaumont Smith, 1934) |
The Sheilas
Journey among Women (Tom Cowan, 1977) Gays
Dad and Dave Come To Town (Ken G. Hall, 1938) The Wogs
Silver City (Sophia Turkiewicz, 1984) Black FellasBitter Springs (Ralph Smart, 1950) Urban subversion
Return Home (Ray Argall, 1990) |
Murdoch University Library catalog entryThe Century of Cinema [videorecording] : a personal portrayal of the development of international cinema by the world's leading directors [Sydney] : ABC Video, 1997 |
Description 2 videocassettes (VHS) (396 mins.) : sd., col |
Provides a kaleidoscopic and at times controversial view of the development of international cinema over the last 100 years. Seen through the eyes of its practitioners, these highly personal views are presented by leading directors throughout the world. |
In addition to the above, see this useful page on IMDb, which lists relevant films as a 'series' of 14 'episodes'.
Variety's review of White Fellas Dreaming, by Derek Elley.
Garry Gillard | New: 17 March 2003 | Now: 3 January, 2022