Transcript of AE 1367 - Top 10 Aussie Movies

So, welcome to this episode of Aussie English, guys. I'm your host, Pete, and this is the number one place for anyone and everyone wanting to learn Australian English.

As you might have guessed it, today we're going through my top ten Aussie films, classic Aussie films, to watch if you are learning Australian English. Let's start.

Number one. Mad Max. This came out in 1979. It is a gritty, dystopian action film set in a lawless, post-apocalyptic Australia. It follows a highway patrolman seeking justice after his family is attacked by a violent gang.

Why is this good for English learners? It features loads of Australian slang. Its fast paced dialogue and iconic Aussie accents from the late 70s are abundant throughout the film, obviously, and it's great for tuning your ear to roar regional speech. You're going to get lots of explosions as well, so.

To be honest, it's probably not one of the most dialogue heavy films you will ever come across, but you will get to see lots of, lots of Australia. And you will also get to see Mel Gibson in his breakout role in Australia, which is. Yeah, it's funny, isn't it? He got famous here first.

[Mad Max. You don't want to make Max mad. Because when Max gets mad, he gets even.].

Number two, Picnic at Hanging Rock. I grew up watching this as a kid. My parents loved this, this film. In fact, I think my dad had a crush on the actress, Anne-Louise Lambert.

So, Picnic at Hanging Rock was released in 1975, and it is a haunting mystery about the unexplained disappearance of schoolgirls and their teacher during an outing to a remote rock formation in 1900.

Why is it good for learners? It's full of rich, formal language, period-style English, with poetic narration and slow, clear speech, and its ideal for listening, practice and cultural insight. Some of the famous actors in this film are Rachel Roberts, Jacki Weaver, and Anne-Louise Lambert. Go check it out, it is an absolute classic.

And you can go to Hanging Rock! It's a real place in regional Victoria if you are living down here in this part of Australia.

[Miranda, Miranda! Don't go or they come back!].

Number three, guys. Number three, Gallipoli. Another classic. And another one with Mel Gibson in it. 1981 is when Gallipoli came out. This is a moving war drama that follows two young men from rural Western Australia who enlist to fight in World War One and are sent to the Gallipoli front.

It's good for learners because it combines rural and urban Australian accents. It's got lots of historical vocabulary and cultural themes central to Australian identity in it as well. Gallipoli is a huge part of our culture in Australia. Pretty much every Australian who's born and raised here is going to know what Gallipoli was, what happened there. And how that period was kind of the beginning of the Anzacs, right? The Australian New Zealand Army Corps. So definitely check out Gallipoli.

In fact, I think I noticed it up on YouTube for free. So you may be able to find that if it is still listed. It has Mel Gibson in it. It also has Mark Lee and Bill Hunter.

[I know nothing at this boat. We're going in with the bayonet. Steady, lads. Wait for it.].

All right. Number four, the Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. This one came out in 1994, and I think I probably watched this a dozen times as a kid. Again, it was a family favourite. We loved it. It is a very touching film. It's got comedy in it. It's also got a lot of serious tones in it as well.

There's lots of Australian Outback. It's just a beautiful movie. So definitely check out The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the desert. It is a colourful road trip film about three drag performers travelling across the Australian outback in a bus named Priscilla.

Why is it good for English learners? It exposes learners to a variety of Aussie slang, humour and regional accents, and it's great for understanding Australian LGBTQ+ culture and wit. Famous actors like Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce and Terence Stamp in this film, so you should recognise some faces.

[Who's going to show me the sights? Be my pleasure. Oh. So how about it? Well, I suppose the fuck's now out of the question.].

Number five, Muriel's Wedding. "Oh, Muriel. You're terrible." There's so many of these lines from these different films that if you watch them, you will learn and you'll start hearing Australians using them.

So Muriel's Wedding was released in 1994. It is a heartwarming and quirky comedy about, you guessed it, Muriel, a socially awkward young woman who dreams of love and a glamorous wedding.

It's great for English learners because it showcases suburban Australian life. You get everyday expressions and emotional, expressive speech, and it's great for vocabulary and tone. Famous actors like Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths and Bill Hunter can be seen in this film as well. So again, you should recognise some faces.

[People invite us to parties and they know we'll just have a good time. Mama. Party. Party. Party. That's our image. You know what I mean? We're mad! We don't want you hanging around us anymore.].

Number six. Another Aussie classic that I love, Strictly Ballroom. Again, I probably watched this a dozen times as a kid as well. This one came out in 1992. It's a romantic drama about a rebellious ballroom dancer who challenges tradition by dancing his own steps with an unlikely partner.

Why is it good for learners? It features clear dialogue, Aussie humour, themes of self-expression and a good mix of formal and informal speech. And the other aspect that I really like about it is it combines different cultures. You get this kind of like Australian culture combining with, I think the female actress is meant to be from Spain and like lots of Spanish kind of culture and dancing in there and her family life and everything.

So it's a really nice little window into that, that world, that sort of conflict between different groups in Australia at that time and how they saw each other. Famous actors in it are Paul Mercurio, Tara Morris and Bill Hunter again.

[I keep asking myself why? Did I do something wrong? Did I fail him as a mother?].

All right. Number seven, The Castle. This should have been number one. What am I smoking? This is probably the quintessential classic Aussie film. It is probably the most famous Aussie film, if you ask Australians, okay.

It's a beloved Australian comedy about an ordinary family battling to save their home from government acquisition. There are so many different lines in this film that Australians use every day. "Ah, telling him he's dreaming", and "That's going straight to the poolroom". There's a whole bunch, "Daryl dug a hole". There's so many of these. So if you watch this film, you're going to learn a heap of these types of pop cultural references that you can whip out and use with other Australians and get that kind of like, "Oh, you've seen The Castle!"-look from people.

Why is it good for learners? It's packed with iconic Australian idioms, deadpan humour and working class Melbourne speech. Its ideal for learning expressions still used today in Aussie English, and it has famous actors Michael Caton, Eric Bana and Anne Tenney in it. And I think this was one of Eric Bana's first sort of serious movie roles as well.

Last night I had a visit from some hired thug. Yeah, me too. What do you mean you too? Hey, man, you come to my house and he say, stop with the court business. If not, stop your friend to come and beat me. And I say you have friend. I have friend, my friend. Come to your house, put bomb under your car and blow you into the fucking sky!].

Number eight. Breaker Morant. I had to study this one at school and I actually really enjoyed it. This is from 1980 when it was released, but it was a historical movie, so it was set during the Second Boer War in, I think, South Africa, right. So it's a historical courtroom drama based on the true story of three Australian soldiers tried for war crimes during the Second Boer War.

Why is it good for learners? It offers exposure to military, legal and historical vocabulary, and it's excellent for understanding formal versus informal registers. And you also get to learn loads about Australian history and culture. It's a very big story in Australian culture. We know about Breaker Morant and what happened. You know, because it was a controversial thing that took place at the time.

The famous actors like Edward Woodward- say that ten times fast. Brian Brown and Jack Thompson are in this film. It's a ripper. Go check it out.

[We didn't carry military manuals around with us. We were out on the belt fighting the Boer, the way he fought us. I'll tell you what rule we applied, sir. We applied rule 303. We caught them and we shot them under rule 303!].

Number nine. Chopper. This was Eric Bana's breakout film. This is where he, he really made a mark, I think, and got noticed. Prior to that, Eric Bana, the actor was. He was in some comedy shows. He was in The Castle as a minor role, and he wasn't really a big name by any stretch of the imagination. After this film, everyone knew who he was because of the physical transformation that he went through. He put on a lot of weight for the second half of the film, and also the way that he completely transforms himself into the character of Chopper.

So, Chopper is a gritty, darkly comedic crime biopic based on the life of infamous Australian criminal Mark Chopper Read. The film explores his violent rise to notoriety, his time in prison, and his unique perspective on fame, loyalty and crime. And it is one of those movies where the more you watch it, the more you pull out of it, the more you get. You know, you watch it the first time and you're kind of like, okay. And then you watch it the second time and it's sort of like, wait, is this what's actually happening? Or is this what the main character is imagining is happening? So it's a very good film.

Why is this good for learners? It offers intense exposure to broad Australian accents, slang, and street level language. It's great for advanced learners wanting to understand Australian humour, irony and how language reflects class, culture and bravado.

But it's not for the faint hearted. It has strong language and violence throughout the movie and it has the famous actors Eric Bana, Simon Lyndon and David Field in this movie.

[I'll tell you what. You try getting from where you're sitting to the front door. Because I reckon I could shoot you from where you're sitting to the front door. Because that's about as long as you've got to produce some money for me right now. I'll give you 20 seconds to produce some cash, as I'll fucking shoot you. One. Two. I've got no cash, mate. Four.].

All right. And number ten. Drumroll, please. Number ten is Crocodile Dundee. It's Crocodile Dundee, guys. This came out in 1986 and it is similar to The Castle, a quintessential Aussie Film that every Aussie is going to know, and is probably the film that most Americans would think, Oh, that's Australian. I would imagine, I would imagine. Maybe that's older Americans now. The younger ones might have something else.

So, Crocodile Dundee is a 'fish out of water' comedy, where a rugged bushman from the Australian outback visits New York City for the first time. Why is it good for learners? It's perfect for hearing contrast between rural Australian English and American English.

It features classic Aussie slang, cultural humour and the whole point of the film is kind of contrasting the differences in language and culture between Americans and that rural, broader Australian English. And so it's just a brilliant film.

You get to see lots of Australian outback, lots of animals, obviously crocodiles. You get to also experience the inner city of New York and what the fast paced life is there, and the sort of comedic contrast between the two with the female reporter who comes to the outback and is sort of a 'fish out of water'. And then the outback guy, Crocodile Dundee, who goes to New York and is a 'fish out of water' there.

So the famous actors in this film are Paul Hogan, Linda Kozlowski and Mark Blum.

[You got a light, buddy? Yeah. Sure, kid. There you go. And your wallet? Nick, give him your wallet. What for? He's got a knife. That's not a knife. That's a knife.]

So go check those films out, guys. Definitely start with that. If you're looking for ten classic Aussie films to use to learn Australian English, or to just learn more about Australia.

And if I've missed any that you think should have been on the list, put them in a comment below and maybe I'll have to make a second video. But anyway, I'm Pete, this is Aussie English. Thanks for joining me. Youtube reckons you're going to enjoy this video next and I'll see you next time. Tooroo!