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Guidelines for Film Reviews in HIST 381
Every student is required to review a film of merit from Australia or New Zealand. The following works
are available locally (at NDSU, MSUM, Concordia, Fargo Public Library, or my
personal collection). Please use library copies if available. To check out an
item from my collection, write an e-mail to my assistant, who will bring or
send it to class. (The request has to be made by e-mail, so that we have a
coherent record of who has borrowed what.)
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Film
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Description
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Format
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Availability
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NDSU
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MSUM
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CC
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FP
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TI
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We of the Never Never (1982)
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Synopsis to be added
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Australian Rules (2002)
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Synopsis to be added
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The Tracker (2002)
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Synopsis to be added
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Ten Canoes
(2006)
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Synopsis to be added
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The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of
the Desert (1994)
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Synopsis to be added
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Strictly Ballroom (1992)
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Synopsis to be added
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Dead Heart (1996)
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Serious, distressing film of racial conflict in an
outback settlement, of aboriginal versus whitefella law. Bryan Brown is the
constable-antagonist at center of the conflict.
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DVD
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X
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The Last Wave (1977)
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Synopsis to be added
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DVD
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X
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My Brilliant Career (1979)
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Synopsis to be added
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DVD
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X
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Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
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Synopsis to be added
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DVD
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X
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Walkabout (1970)
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Synopsis to be added
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DVD
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X
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Rabbit Proof Fence (2002)
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A compelling film, set in Western Australia, treating
the abduction of aboriginal children from their families to be
institutionalized or adopted out to white families. Based on the book by
Doris Pilkington Garimara.
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DVD
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X
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X
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Utu (1988)
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Situation: the New Zealand Wars, 1870. Director:
Geoff Murphy. The theme of the film is utu,
or blood revenge. A quirky, bloody, and ambiguous film.
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DVD
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X
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Heavenly
Creatures (1994)
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A beautifully creepy film based on a scandalous murder
case in Christchurch.
Starring Kate Winslet, before she got spoiled. Director: Peter Jackson.
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DVD
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X
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X
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The Price of
Milk (1999)
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Magical realism on a dairy farm. This is one you might
want to view with someone else, relax, talk about it, and see what themes you
can tease out.
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DVD
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Gallipoli
(1981)
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Director: Peter Weir. With Mel Gibson and Mark Lee.
Situation: two Western Australian recruits with ANZAC troops experience the
mythic disaster that was the Gallipoli invasion. The theme of ordinary
people being ground up by military incompetence may be universal, but this
story assumes particular resonance with the rise of Australian
republicanism in the late 20th century.
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DVD
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X
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VHS
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X
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X
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The Piano
(1993)
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With Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill. Director:
Jane Campion. Worth watching purely for its lyric sensuality, this film also
works for consideration of historical themes such as gender roles in
settler society, perceptions of the colonial environment, and images of
Maori.
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DVD
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X
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VHS
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X
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Breaker Morant (1979)
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Situation: the Boer War, with Australian troops serving
under British command. Bryan Brown as the Breaker, the Australian officer
who, as an apparent sacrificial lamb of the British military, became a
retrospective hero of Australian republicanism.
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DVD
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X
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VHS
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X
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Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
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Director: Peter Weir. With Helen Morse. A beautifully
ambiguous, lyric, disturbing film dealing with the disappearance of young
Australian girls on a school outing.
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DVD
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X
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Based on the novel by Witi Ihimaera. An engaging
treatment of generation and gender as elements of Maori society, with
admixtures of the mystic.
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DVD
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X
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VHS
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X
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Cane Toads: An Unnatural History
(1982)
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A documentary, or mock-documentary, about a celebrated
miscalculation in environmental history. A cult classic.
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DV D
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X
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X
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X
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X
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Once Were Warriors (1994)
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A film depicting urban Maori in disturbing fashion—first
because of its frank treatment of dysfunction and abuse in a family, and
second because in incorporates a message of self-help as the only answer to
such problems. Based on the novel by Alan Duff.
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DVD
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X
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X
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This story, woven around Australia’s role in the Apollo
11 mission, provides good material for commentary both on the Australia-US relationship
in the Cold-War era and on Australians’ conceptions of themselves during
the era. Sam Neill has a lead role.
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DVD
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X
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A Town Like Alice (1981)
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Based on the novel by Nevil Shute. Starring Helen Morse
and Bryan Brown. The film has terrific sweep, from the Second World War
into the postwar situation, as an English heroine and a cattle-station
ringer confront the social stagnation of an outback town.
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VHS
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X
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Angel at My Table (1989)
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Based on the autobiography of Janet Frame. Director:
Jane Campion. Frame’s fiction may be inscrutable to popular readers, but
this production of her autobiography was wildly popular in New Zealand.
The film is particularly powerful for its handling of Frame’s mental
condition and its unfortunate treatment.
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VHS
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X
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DVD
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X
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Bordertown (1995)
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Multi-part (3-CD), high-end, made-for-TV soap dramatizing
the experiences of eastern European immigrants in an Australian refugee
camp. Cate Blanchett arrives mid-way through the
series as a strange and compelling provocateur.
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DVD
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X
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Best of Australia
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Series of regional features by Australian Geographic, including Tasmanian Wilderness, Queensland’s
Outback, Kakadu & Arnhem Land,
The Great Ocean Road, and Warlu
Way.
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DVD
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X
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Always on the lookout for additional films to be added to
the collection! If you hear of promising releases, or have additional
suggestions, please advise.
Guidelines for Reviews
1.
Choose a film of merit, or a representative
television production, such as one of those listed in the tables above. If reviewing television shows, treat
content equivalent to a feature-length film.
(For instance, three half-hour episodes of a TV series.)
2.
Do some background research on the film (or TV
production), checking online reviews and whatever else is convenient, to
prepare you to view the film thoughtfully.
3.
Jot a few notes as you view. Brief quotes, striking
images, key points.
4.
Write the review soon after from your notes and
recollections, to a length of 300 words.
5.
Summarize the content, but do more than just
summarize. You should point out particular features of interest and give an
evaluation of the film.
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Rubric for
Evaluation of Film Reviews
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Summary
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A good summary captures background and plot.
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5
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Critical
Evaluation
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A critical review points out strengths and weaknesses
and, most important, its value to us as students of the history of Australia and New Zealand.
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3
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Appropriate
Length
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Target length: 250-300 words
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1
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Matters of
Style
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Composition, grammar, and punctuation are important to
communication.
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1
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Points Possible
for Review
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10
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Home Page for HIST
381
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