Writer/Director Baz Luhrmann isn’t known for making small, little movies. The Australian born auteur showed he preferred big, ambitious projects with the 2001 release of Moulin Rouge! which netted a 2001 Best Picture Oscar nomination. For his follow up, Luhrmann released Australia, a sprawling and ambitious project, starring two of the movie worlds brightest stars–Hugh Jackman (The X-Men Trilogy) and Nicole Kidman who had starred in Moulin Rouge! With a runtime of 166 minutes, Australia is truly a film of epic proportions. The film manages to elicit a broad range of emotions from viewers, both real and contrived. Australia nearly succeeds at being the great epic the film clearly set out to be but a few notable issues keep it from being a classic.
Australia is set amidst actual events during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. After coming to Australia to confront her husband about what she suspects are his extramarital affairs, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) is surprised to learn that he has been murdered at his ranch, known as Faraway Downs. Her husband was supposedly killed by an aboriginal dubbed “King George” (David Gulpilil). Sarah becomes suspicious of the ranch’s manager, Neil Fletcher (David Wenham), when a young aboriginal child, Nullah (Brandon Walters in his motion picture debut), accuses him of herding the ranch’s cattle towards a competing ranch owned by cattle magnate ‘King’ Carney (Bryan Brown). When the racist Fletcher threatens Nullah and his mother and attempts to beat the boy for informing Sarah of the situation, he is fired and finds himself a suspect in the slaying of Sarah’s husband.
Determined to save the ranch, Sarah hires the bossy Drover (Hugh Jackman), widely thought to be one of the best horseman around (he also happens to be incredibly good looking), to drive 1,500 head of cattle across the outback for the army to buy. In a race to get to the city of Darwin before Carney’s cattle arrives, Sarah and the Drover encounter problems at almost every turn. In the midst of all this, Sarah and the Drover find themselves falling in love with each other, despite the fact that they come from two very different worlds.
As Sarah begins to love the Drover and her newfound homeland, she also develops a motherly bond with young Nullah. However, because of the underhanded tactics of ‘King’ Carney and Neil Fletcher as well as impending war with Japan and Australia’s laws concerning aboriginal people, their happiness will not last.
Australia has everything an epic needs–sweeping vistas (the work of cinematographer Mandy Walker is first rate), romance, a believable villain, lots of action, a rousing score and a nearly three hour runtime. The problem is, as good as Australia is on the whole, it seems like it drags a bit in the beginning. It seemed that way in the movie theater and it still feels that way watching the film on Blu-ray. One wonders if Baz Luhrmann was trying so hard to make an epic, he didn’t craft the story as tightly as he could have. Still, there’s plenty to love about Australia, the story itself just takes a little while to find its footing. Once it’s on solid ground, the film becomes a compelling journey of adventure and self-discovery while offering a message on the importance of love and acceptance of others.
Despite some obvious clichés, Australia largely succeeds because the actors have made the audience care about their characters. Nullah is the outcast with an abundance of energy and hope in the future, a loving boy that sees past the racial make-up of those around him; Sarah Ashley is the prototypical “fish out of water” who must adjust to the rough-and-tumble life she now finds herself in; Drover is the cowboy with an eye for women, a strong back, and a big heart. It is through the fine work of Kidman, Jackman and Walters that Australia overcomes the clichés to make Baz Luhrmann’s latest film a must see.
20th Century Fox presents Australia on Blu-ray with a stunning 1080p, 2.35:1-framed transfer. This is a fabulous transfer, often rivaling the best available on Blu-ray. Colors may be a bit warm with a red push, particularly in flesh tones, but it’s incredibly clear and well defined, with a gorgeous color palette that stands out nicely, particularly the blues. The blue of the ocean, the outfit Sarah Ashely wears as she arrives in the Land Down Under, and even the blue of her eyes stand out with vivid precision that allows them to jump off the screen. Detail is often extraordinary; from the sandy, rocky terrain to the musky interiors of a bar. It’s truly a testament to the power of film, great cinematography, and the Blu-ray format to be witness to the weeds, rocks, and other natural wonders of the Outback with the level of clarity and resolution as found on this disc. Film grain adds a bit of a cinematic feel to the proceedings. Banding is extremely minimal but noticeable in a few shots. A few scenes also reveal less-than-stellar levels of detail in faces; these very minor blemishes are more likely inherent to the film itself rather than a problem with the film’s transfer to Blu-ray.
Australia features a high quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film’s rousing score consistently serves as one of the audio highlights; it plays effortlessly and fills the soundstage with vigor, its reproduction clear as a bell and a joy to behold. The track offers plenty of minor environmental ambience — blowing winds, for example — that travel nicely around the listening area. Surrounds aren’t put to full use in every scene, but they do come in to support the track when The track often features thunderous bass, particularly when herds of cattle or horses pound their hooves on the dusty, barren terrain. The sonic highlight of the film comes during the war sequences. Japanese Zeros scream across the sky and swoop through the listening area; machine gun fire and explosions rattle the windows and bring a powerful, engaging listening experience to the final act of the film. Dialogue is also strong and accurately delivered.
Australia comes to Blu-ray with several standard bonus features. Australia: The People, the History, the Location (1080p, 7:01) is a brief, dryly narrated promotional piece that looks both at the film and the history of the locations seen therein. Behind the Scenes is a series of nine interesting and informative shorts, presented in 1080p high definition, that examine the various pieces of the production that came together to create Australia. Among them are Photography (4:37), Production Design (5:30), Costume Design (6:58), Locations (6:22), Cinematography (6:44), Sound (11:05), Editing (11:05), Music (10:23), and Visual Effects (8:40). Also included are two deleted scenes — What About the Drove? (1080p, 2:02) and Angry Staff Serve Dinner (1080p, 0:56). Concluding the supplements are three 1080p trailers for Australia and one for Slumdog Millionaire.
