Gallipoli (1981)
…………………………………………………
Gallipoli Movie Review
Gallipoli is a 1981 Australian war drama film directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson, Mark Lee and Bill Kerr. It is a problematically structured, but effective anti-war film.
………………………………………………….
“Supposed to shoot the enemy mate, not bite them“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in World War I. This was one of the biggest Australian New Wave movies back in the eighties that received many awards in its home country. It is so Australian, in fact, that it genuinely felt like a war and even western version representing the country of Australia, and that aspect to it I genuinely loved.
The comradeship and happy-go-lucky qualities of its characters was wonderful and again typical for the country. The dynamic worked entirely and is one of the highlights of the movie. The acting is also fantastic with Mark Lee and Bill Kerr delivering splendid work in their important roles while Mel Gibson is phenomenal in one of his earlier roles. It’s a moving look into these Australian soldiers’ troubles and the movie is quite emotional in some of the second half’s moments.
Gallipoli is a solid movie that never quite reached greatness due to its very messy pacing and structure. The film spends so much time before the war even starts with less interesting storylines that when the war eventually begins, it feels rushed and even abrupt in execution. The entire final part felt very clunky, and it genuinely felt just like one long war scene and that was pretty much it. It was a structure that did not work for me whatsoever, and I wished for better tackling of this important subject matter.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Gallipoli is also factually incorrect in putting all the blame on British soldiers when in reality they weren’t the ones to blame for the Australians suffering heavy losses in this particular historical event. The focus on running was so heavy that it reminded me of ‘Chariots of Fire’ unpleasantly. I needed more war and historical elements myself. The cinematography and score are fantastic and so is the editing of the war scenes, but the pacing was all wrong.
Gallipoli- if you had some background on the history and facts surrounding that battle, i you would see how great the film is. They were sent on a suicide mission- used /sacrificed yes specifically by Britain (Australia was a British colony at the time, did you not know that?) . They were untrained, poorly equipped, and sold a bill of goods about how they were helping the Allies- when the mission was only used for a distraction and was a major screwup on the part of Britan. So- the first part isnt just about their relationship. If you know about the battle, how history views it, and how it ends, you see it in a totally different light. Problem is that no one gives a crap to bother to learn history anymore.
I agree with you, but it’s not just a problem that nobody wants to learn history anymore, but that history is extensive, so it is difficult to know all the important events in-depth if you are not a history enthusiast. Thanks for the insightful comment!