February - June 2006
Feb 3
Opening Night Party and special FRANK HURLEY progam:
SNOW, SAND AND SAVAGES (Dir: Anthony Buckley Aust 1973 47 min b&w)
Portrait of the Australian photographer and filmmaker, Frank Hurley, featuring
extraordinary footage from many of the films he shot in Antarctica, the tropical north of
Australia and New Guinea.
JEWEL OF THE PACIFIC (Dir: Frank Hurley Aust 1932 20 min b&w)
Romantic view of life on Lord Howe Island. A characteristic Hurley travelogue expressing
the grandeur of nature & the quaint ways of the islanders. Commentary by Hurley himself,
who also produced & photographed.
Feb 17
THE DAM BUSTERS (Dir: Michael Anderson GB 1954 124 min b&w)
Michael Redgrave and Richard Todd star in this exciting, realistic, war procedural film, in
which the primary obstacle to success is bureaucratic intransigence rather than the hostile
forces of the enemy.
Mar 3
RED SORGHUM (Dir: Zhang Yimou China 1987 91 min colour Cinemascope)
A stunningly photographed fable of Chinese life during the 20s and the 30s, leading up to
the invasion by the Japanese. Gong Li stars in what has been described as a Chinese version
of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
Mar 17
************* SPECIAL GUEST STEPHEN WALLACE. *************
MAIL ORDER BRIDE (Dir: Stephen Wallace Aust 1984 86 min colour ABC)
Realistic drama in which a Filipino woman arrives to marry an Australian, only to realise
that this new world is not so different from the one she left behind. The theme of underlying
racism is now more pertinent than ever!
DIS-CONNECTED (Dir: Stephen Wallace (World premiere of this short film and the
Filmgroup's first digital screening)
Apr 7
IT'S ALWAYS FAIR WEATHER (Dirs: Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen USA 1955 101 min
colour MGM
Conceived as a follow-up to On the Town, this MGM musical is one of the studio's more
intriguing efforts, with deft swipes at television and an occasionally bitter tone which gives
an edge to the stirring dance routines.
Apr 21
INTRUDER IN THE DUST (Dir: Clarence Brown USA 1949 87 min b&w MGM)
Adapted from the novel by William Faulkner, and filmed in his home town, this is part of
Hollywood's post-war 'racial tolerance' cycle in which an innocent African-American is
confronted by a lynch-mob mentality.
May 5
THE LADY EVE (Dir Preston Sturges USA 1941 94 min b&w Paramount Pictures)
A gullible ophiologist is no match for a father & daughter con-artist team who've set their
sights on his money and his heart respectively. Screwball comedy at its best with Henry
Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck in top form.
May 19
THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL (Dir: Luis Bunuel Mexico 1962 92 min b&w)
Darkly witty satire in which upper class guests at a party, finding themselves inexplicably
unable to leave, quickly descend into a state of genteel savagery. One of the great screen
surrealist's most celebrated films.
Jun 2
DON'S PARTY (Dir: Bruce Beresford Aust 1976 86 min colour)
A group of friends gather to celebrate an ALP victory at the 1979 election, but as it becomes
clear the result isn't going their way, their thin veneer of civility begins to crack. An
amusing and truthful gem of the 70s.
Jun 16
No screening during the Sydney Film Festival.