List of Australian sports films

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This is a compilation of Australian films in the genre covering sports activities. Films may cover issues in sport as World Series Cricket, 1968 Olympics Black Power salute, personalities Dawn Fraser and Phar Lap, sporting events and tours and satire. Films provide an insight into the importance of sport into Australian society.[1] Films include fictional and non-fictional stories.

Sport Title Date Gentre Comments
Athletics Salute 2008 Documentary Peter Norman role in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.
Athletics The Four Minute Mile 1988 Drama Mini-series about the race to run the Four-minute mile, focusing on the rivalry between Roger Bannister and John Landy.
Athletics Cliffy 2013 Telemovie Story of ultra marathoner Cliff Young.
Australian football The Club 1980 Comedy Based on satirical play by David Williamson. Inspired by the backroom dealings and antics of the Victorian Football League's Collingwood Football Club.
Australian football Australian Rules 2002 Drama
Australian football The Great Macarthy 1975 Comedy Adaptation of the novel by Barry Oakley. and about a local footballer who is signed up (or more appropriately, kidnapped) by the South Melbourne Football Club (now Sydney Swans).
Australian football Year of the Dogs 1997 Documentary Follows the 1996 season of the Footscray Football Club (now Western Bulldogs).
Australian football Valentine's Day 2008 Comedy Story about famous Aussie Rules footballer fallen on hard times that is required to coach "no-hoper" football team as part of a community service order.
Australian football Blinder 2013 Drama Story about aspiring football star who fled Australia following a local scandal.
Australian football Joffa: The Movie 2010 Comedy Story of Australia's best known sports fan, Joffa Corfe.
Australian football Aussie Rules the World 2014 Documentary
Australian football War Without Weapons 1980 Documentary Behind-the-scenes look at the North Melbourne Football Club and its head coach Ron Barassi during the 1979 Victorian Football League season.
Australian football Life of the Town 2009 Documentary Thirteen half-hour episodes of grassroots football ' tracking the fortunes of the Ongerup Football Club through the 2008 season.
Australian football The Warriors 2017 TV series Explores the elite world of professional sport through the eyes of recruits and established players living in a share house.
Australian football League of Their Own[2] 2017 Documentary Historic story behind the Women's Australian Football League and the athletes and trailblazers who made it happen.
Australian football The Merger 2018 Comedy Film explores the decline of a cash-strapped Aussie Rules rural footy club and the recruitment of refugees to keep the club viable.
Australian football The Final Quarter 2019 Documentary The final stages of the Australian football career of Adam Goodes, during which he was the target of repeated booing by opposition fans.
Australian football The Australian Dream 2019 Documentary Documentary that uses the remarkable and inspirational story of AFL legend Adam Goodes as the prism through which to tell a deeper and more powerful story about race, identity and belonging.
Australian football Collingwood: From the Inside Out 2019 Documentary Collingwood Football Club's journey to rebuild itself through the 2018 AFL season.
Boxing Rose Against the Odds 1991 Drama Mini-series about world boxing champion Lionel Rose.
Boxing Lionel 2008 Documentary Interviews with Lionel Rose, his family and friends.
Boxing Two Fists, One Heart 2008 Drama
Cricket Save Your Legs! 2012 Comedy
Cricket Bodyline 1984 Drama Mini-series about English cricket team in Australia in 1932–33 and its bodyline bowling tactic.
Cricket Bradman 1991 Documentary Definitive video of Sir Donald Bradman's life, from his youth and unsurpassed cricketing career, through to his time as Chairman of the Australian Cricket Board.
Cricket Backyard Ashes 2013 Comedy
Cricket Howzat! Kerry Packer's War 2012 Drama Mini-series about World Series Cricket (WSC),a break away professional cricket competition staged between 1977 and 1979.
Cricket How McDougall Topped the Score 1924 Drama
Cricket Prince Ranjitsinhji Practising Batting in the Nets 1897 Documentary One of the earliest surviving cricket films.
Cricket Warnie 2017 TV Mini-series Life of Australian spin bowler Shane Warne.
Cycling BMX Bandits 1983 Drama
Cycling Tracks of Glory 1992 TV mini-series Visit of Major Taylor to Australian and his rivalry with Australian cycler Don Walker in 1903.
Greyhound racing Gone to the Dogs 1939 Comedy
Horse racing Ride Like a Girl 2019 Drama The story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup.
Horse racing The Cup 2011 Drama
Horse racing Phar Lap 1983 Drama Story of Phar Lap, a champion Australian racehorse during The Great Depression.
Horse racing Thoroughbred 1936 Drama
Horse racing A Rough Passage 1922 Drama
Horse racing Silks and Saddles 1921 Drama
Horse racing Desert Gold 1919 Drama
Horse racing Won on the Post 1912 Drama
Horse racing The Double Event 1911 Drama
Horse racing The Cup Winner 1911 Drama
Horse racing A Ticket in Tatts 1911 Comedy
Horse racing Keane of Kalgoorlie 1911 Drama Australian silent film set in the racing and gambling circles of Sydney, based on a popular play by Edward William O'Sullivan and Arthur Wright, adapted from the novel by Wright.
Horse racing The Melbourne Cup 1896 Documentary Series of Australian silent films being the first time the Melbourne Cup Carnival was filmed.
Lawn bowls Crackerjack 2002 Comedy
Motor sport Brock 2016 TV series Chronicles the life of Australian driver Peter Brock.
Netball The Last Great Amateurs 2004 Documentary Melbourne Phoenix players, coach and administrators are followed through a season.
Rowing Paris or the Bush : the story of the Cods 2015 Documentary The story of the men's eight rowing team from Murray Bridge, South Australia that overcame multiple hurdles to qualify for the 1924 Paris Olympics.[3]
Rugby league Chasing Comets 2018 Drama Follows the onfield and offield life of Chase who is following his dream of playing National Rugby League.
Rugby league Broke 2015 Drama Story about a professional rugby league footballer at the end of his career with a gambling addiction and he is able to win back the respect.
Rugby league The Final Winter 2007 Drama
Rugby league Footy Legends 2006 Comedy
Rugby league 2008 Documentary The feud between two football teams - Fibros (Western Suburbs Magpies) and Silvertails (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles).
Rugby league The First Kangaroos 1988 Drama The 1908–09 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, the first-ever such tour by the Australia national rugby league team
Soccer Offside 2009 Comedy
Soccer Johnny Warren's Football Mission 2006 Documentary Chronicles the life of Johnny Warren.
Skating Deck Dogz 2005 Drama
Freestyle skiing The Will To Fly 2016 Documentary Olympic aerial skiing champion Lydia Lassila returns to the sport as a mother to perform the most complex acrobatic manoeuvre ever performed by a woman.
Surf life saving the Coolangatta Gold 1984 Drama Film which led to the establishment of the iron man race The Coolangatta Gold.
Surfing Fighting Fear 2013 Documentary
Surfing Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water 2007 Documentary
Surfing The Endless Summer 1966 Documentary
Surfing The Endless Summer II 1994 Documentary
Surfing Drift 2013 Drama
Surfing Palm Beach 1980 Drama
Surfing Puberty Blues 1981 Drama
Surfing Women in surf 1986 Documentary
Surfing Puberty Blues (TV series) 2012 TV series
Swimming The Dawn Fraser Story 1964 Documentary History of women's surfing in Australia from 1915, through the big board era to 1986.
Swimming Dawn! 1979 Drama The film deals with Dawn Fraser's rise to fame as a champion Olympic swimmer, her anti-authoritarian clashes with Australian Swimming officials, her triumphs, marriage and eventual divorce.
Swimming Swimming Upstream 2003 Drama Young male swimmer overcomes family dysfunction to become a world-class athlete.
Swimming Barracuda 2016 TV series
Swimming Streamline 2021 Drama Story of a teenage swimmer who faces problems after his father leaves jail.
Windsurfing Windrider 1986 Drama
Women's sport The Game is Up! 1993 Documentary Historical look at women in sport in Australia between 1896 and 1956.
Yachting 1984 Documentary Story of Australia II winning the 1983 America's Cup.
Yachting The Challenge 1986 TV Mini-series Story of Australia II winning the 1983 America's Cup
Yachting Kay Cottee : First Lady 1989 Documentary The story of Kay Cottee, the first woman in history to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world.
Yachting Lionheart : the Jesse Martin story 2001 Documentary In 1991, Jesse Martin b circumnavigating the world in his 34-foot yacht, Lionheart became the youngest person in history to sail around the world solo, non stop and unassisted.
Yachting 210 days: around the world with Jessica Watson 2010 Documentary In May 2010, 16 year old young Australian Jessica Watson sailed into Sydney Harbour and became the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world.

References[]

  1. ^ Oxford Companion to Australian sport (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Oxford Uni Press. 1994. pp. 163–165.
  2. ^ "Telling The Historic Story Behind The Women's AFL". Premier of Victoria website. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  3. ^ Sexton, Mile (22 April 2016). "Paris or the Bush doco about 1924 Olympic rowing team The Cods premieres in Murray Bridge". ABC News. Retrieved 3 December 2016.

Further reading[]

  • Headon, David. Significant Silents: Sporting Australia on Film, 1896–1930. Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 33 No. 1 Summer 1999 p. 115-128.
  • Miller, Toby. The Dawn of an Imagined Community: Australian Sport on Film, Sporting Traditions, Vol. 7 No. 1 Nov 1990 p. 48-59.
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