Product Description

Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, David Wenham, Bryan Brown, Jack ThompsonDirectors: Baz Luhrmann

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3234 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Action & Adventure
• Released on: 2009-04-27
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 158 minutes

Synopsis
Moulin Rouge's Baz Luhrman and Nicole Kidman reteam for this epic that pays homage to their homeland. In Australia, Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) is a prim and proper Englishwoman who journeys to Australia in the years before World War II reached the country's shores. She is determined to have her estranged husband sell his cattle ranch to a monopoly-craving businessman named King Carney (Bryan Brown), but when she arrives, Lord Ashley is dead, and her plan to sell the ranch changes when she sees an employee named Fletcher (David Wenham) cheating her husband's business and mistreating a young boy named Nullah (Brandon Walters) because he is of mixed race. Urged on by both pride and a sense of justice, Lady Ashley wants to drive her herd of cattle to Darwin so she can sell them to the troops, but she'll require the help of an independent cowboy (fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman) to get them there.


Australia changes genres almost as much as Kidman's character changes from fantastic costume to fantastic costume (courtesy of Luhrman's wife and collaborator, Catherine Martin). The film begins as a fish-out-of-water comedy, then changes into a Western, then morphs into a romance, and it finishes as a World War II drama. But in this genre-bending epic, there's something for everyone, especially for fans of Jackman. The actor has rarely looked better, and there's plenty of opportunity for him to show that he can be an action star as well as a romantic lead in the mould of the Golden Age stars. The film itself harks back to classic Hollywood, at times resembling essentials such as Gone With The Wind and The African Queen. And fans of The Wizard Of Oz will enjoy seeing how the beloved film works its way into Australia's plot and score.

Customer Reviews

A fine story of love, culture, and history!

Having seen the movie more than once has given me a more nuanced appreciation of this epic movie. Its storyline tackles the relationship between two people coming from different cultures who eventually found themselves together -- initially at odds, in love, and part of a family unit -- all amidst the backdrop of the sprawling Australian outback, the divide of races and social strata, the age-old clash between good and evil, and the onset of the second world war in the Pacific! The movie experience is like curling up with an extraordinary epic novel - and at the end feeling what a well-spent afternoon it has been!

The movie's length does justice to this tale of love and adventure in a faraway culture and of unusual natural beauty. The cinematography provides all the lush scenes of the Australian landscape, the rush of blood in some of the most awesome action scenes, and the loving closeups of the story of the relationship between Lady Sarah Ashley, The Drover, and their defacto son, Nullah! The musical score gives the movie the perfect complement to the excellent cinematography. The story unwinds from an initial meeting full of comedic winks ( including the now famous shower scene - featuring the leading man!) and clashing cultures. It then dawns on the central role played by the child Nullah and his aboriginal culture. Plus what would an epic movie be without the quintessential villains? As the movie progresses and we witness the triumph of the independent cattle company versus the monopoly, it also gives us a slice of Australian history and its development in its early frontiers. When the second world war breaks out and it marches down to Darwin, we are caught in another story between good and evil, so cinematically well-portrayed. And they lived happily ever after, with a twist --the expected end of a truly epic movie!

Who are the main characters and how are they portrayed?

Lady Sarah Ashley is the English rose who became an adopted daughter of the Australian frontier. She is transformed into a loving nurturer of a child and the harsh land because the relationship which came into her life also changed her outlook. Nicole Kidman very ably portrays this complicated woman who changes from a non-sympathetic character to a caring heroine. This transformation is so well portrayed in the changing face of Lady Ashley - from the very beautiful and well-turned out woman to the woman whose inner beauty shines through her bedgraggled locks and almost plain face, through her pained expression as she undergoes tragedy and is touched by sorrow, and finally to the look of someone who has come to terms with what is important in life. This is one of Nicole's best movie portrayals!

The Drover has a mysterious past and a rough image as we are first introduced to him. He is a man who is iconic in the history of the outback but it was his reaching out to the shunned aboriginal community in the past which showed that he was an extraordinary man. In the song by Elton John, played second in the movie credits, called The Drover's Ballad, his story turns out to be rich in tragedy and a life full of love for the outback, which gives us more of a complete picture of this man with a heart of gold. The tragic life seems to follow him even much later in the movie - and this is where he shows his heart on his sleeve! Hugh Jackman is magnificent in the role and it is hard to imagine anybody else giving a more masterful performance. The magnificence is not just in how he looked ( Baz Luhrmann did show Hugh Jackman as the representation of physical perfection...surprisingly, because the other choice was Nicole Kidman) but also in his acting chops. There are several scenes where Hugh displays his acting range at the highest emotional level - when he realizes that the people he loved may have become victims of the tragedy of war...and then the realization that fate had actually been kinder. Who can't help but be mesmerized by his face and his voice in the scene by the burning war HQ and at the ruined bar, in the Mission Island rescue, and at the wharf in Darwin? Had the past of the drover been more meaningfully played out on the screen, the role could have garnered Hugh an award recognition!

The third important role is the child Nullah, as charmingly portrayed by a new child actor named Brandon Walters. He charms everyone except the villain. He is in a sense at the heart of the story and Brandon makes us follow Nullah's journey with almost a maternal/paternal eye for his welfare in the story. At the end, he is conflicted about his real family and culture, but I am sure that when Nullah grows up, it will both cultures and both families that he will truly call his own!

Kudos likewise to the actors who portrayed the main villain, the iconic aboriginal character, the Drover's friend and main man, even the hotel keeper and his gruff ways...as well as to the other Australian actors who gave life to this epic story.

The creatives have done well to transform such a tale magnificently on screen! Baz Luhrmann provides the vision and the direction of the story-telling with such interesting and charismatic characters and amidst a magnificent background of natural beauty, culture, and slices of history!

While the movie could only be given full justice in a cinema with its impressive big screen and excellent sound, I would still love to get a DVD/blu-ray version to allow me to see it again and again - much like wanting to read and re-read a very good epic novel!

What Blu Ray was made for...
I won't say too much about the film - a very good review already on this site. But I will say that Blu Ray was made for this film (and vice versa)! The shots were nothing short of stunning on Blu Ray and a 50" Full HD Panasonic screen... Breathtaking detail, vibrant colours... just incredible really.

Deserves to be seen and bought
Read Mr.Reader (Asia) review. It is a fine film. Action, romance and above all fantastic cinematography. I have seen the film twice. First time on cinema, but also great on Blu-Ray (as fine as it gets).
Mr.Chisholm seems not to like Australia or Australians. Well, he might have crossed an Australian Crocodile.