Despite its outstanding cinematography and a moving, credible script, Gallipoli has never achieved its due recognition as a great anti-war film. Its story of two early twentieth century sprinters had the odd coincidence of being released the same year as a more heralded film using the same plot device, Chariots of Fire.

Set in 1915, Gallipoli follows the lives of two fictional Australian sprinters, Archy (Mark Lee) and Frank (Mel Gibson). Archy is the younger and more idealistic of the two, and is eager to join the Great War and fight for his country. Frank knows that war is a fool's game hazardous to one's health. However, he hopes that the adventure will land him greater respect, and a more promising post-war position. But war is a hell far hotter than either of them realize.

Director Peter Weir wisely concentrates on establishing the characters of the young friends, delaying anti-war and anti-British sentiments until the film's resolution. But Weir and screenwriter David Williamson can't resist one early dig at the British, depicting them as stiff snobs during a confrontation with Aussie soldiers at an Egyptian marketplace.

Gallipoli was released just one year after 'Breaker' Morant (1980), another Australian film which had the lives of courageous Aussie soldiers taken by cynical British officers. Gallipoli also reminds the viewer of Paths of Glory (1957), the Stanley Kubrick film about a futile World War I assault against an entrenched machine gun nest.

Gallipoli was nominated for twelve Australian Film Institute awards. It won eight of them, including Best Film, Best Director (Peter Weir), Best Screenplay (David Williamson), Best Cinematography (Russell Boyd), Best Actor (Mel Gibson), and Best Supporting Actor (Bill Hunter). It was Gibson's second Best Actor AFI award, following Tim (1979).

In the U.S., Gallipoli received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film. The Academy Awards and British Academy Awards snubbed the movie. However, Hollywood was quick to enlist Mel Gibson and Peter Weir, who both found rapid success in America. Gibson capitalized on the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon films to become the leading action movie star, whose greatest success came with Braveheart. Meanwhile, Weir has since received four Oscar nominations, each for Hollywood films not nearly as strong as Gallipoli. (80/100).


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older