Gallipoli • The Next Reel

The late 70s and early 80s were a great time for Australian cinema. The filmmakers churned out lots of great (and cheap) movies and these movies helped create a resurgence of Australian films on the world cinematic stage. Peter Weir was one of these filmmakers, and his 1981 film Gallipoli really helped this resurgence with its story of friendship and the loss of innocence in times of war. Join us — Pete Wright and Andy Nelson — as we continue our 1981 series with Weir’s Gallipoli. We talk about the horrors of this battle in Turkey, who fought it and how this film portrays the war. We discuss the odd structure of the film as it focuses primarily on character and less on the war, and why that works, but also why it makes the first half of the film lag a bit. We chat about Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, how they work as actors in this film, and why we like their portrayals. And we touch on how this film’s popularity did help boost it and other Australian films up onto the world stage. It’s a powerful film, even if it’s not something we feel like we’d find ourselves returning to very often. Still. well worth looking at. Tune in! Hey! You know what would be awesome? If you would drop us a positive rating on iTunes! If you like what we’re doing here on TNR, it really is the best way to make sure that this show appears when others search for it, plus, it’s just a nice thing to do. Thanks!! The Next Reel on iTunesThe Next Reel on FacebookThe Next Reel on TwitterThe Next Reel on FlickchartThe Next Reel on LetterboxdGuess the Movie with The Next Reel on InstagramCheck out the Posters with The Next Reel on Pinterest And for anyone interested in our fine bouquet of show hosts: Follow Andy Nelson on TwitterFollow Pete Wright on TwitterFollow Steve Sarmento on TwitterCheck out Tom Metz on IMDBFollow Mike Evans on TwitterFollow Chadd Stoops on TwitterFollow Steven Smart on LetterboxdSupport The Next Reel Family of Film Podcasts:Become a member for just $5/month or $55/yearJoin our Discord community of movie loversThe Next Reel Family of Film Podcasts:Cinema Scope: Bridging Genres, Subgenres, and MovementsThe Film BoardMovies We LikeThe Next Reel Film PodcastSitting in the DarkConnect With Us:Main Site: WebMovie Platforms: Letterboxd | FlickchartSocial Media: Facebook | Instagram | Threads | Bluesky | YouTube | PinterestYour Hosts: Andy | PeteShop & Stream:Merch Store: Apparel, stickers, mugs & moreWatch Page: Buy/rent films we've discussedOriginals: Source material from our episodesSpecial offers: Letterboxd Pro/Patron discount | Audible