Gallipoli Details

Although its ultimate location is the Dardanelles front during the First World War, this landmark in the emergence of Australian cinema steers between overt pacifism and Anzac pride to focus on the spirit of competition and camaraderie that underpins the national character. Peter Weir refuses to shirk the issue of imperial troops fighting European battles and admirably conveys the chaos and waste of warfare by pointedly contrasting the warren-like trenches with the sunlit acres of the opening scenes. But his interest clearly lies in the specific response to the situation of zealous sprinter Mark Lee and his cynical buddy, Mel Gibson.

The heartbreaking final scenes of Aussie youths matching their bayonets against machine guns elevate the film to an antiwar masterpiece