Anzacs

I must premise this review by saying that I was only able to watch the abbreviated video version of Anzacs, which was released in North America. This is a seriously truncated version of the mini-series, and it shows. My suspicion is that all anyone who see's this version is being shortchanged, certainly I felt so and I don't feel it's fair to try to review the series adequately based on a chopped up version.

Therefore, I'll restrict my comments to the premise of the film, and what I could observe of the acting and production. First, the premise. The story of the Anzac's in the First World War is one of the great stories, and tragedies, of that dreadful conflict. Enthusiastic, if only partially trained, the Anzac's were first commited to the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey, an event which matched or exceeded any carnage seen on the Western front. Commanded by British generals whose incompetence exceeded even that of Douglas Haig and his crony's, they were slaughtered in their thousands fighting a useless and ill lead campaign. The Anzac's eventually were forced to surrender their hard won slivers of Turkish soil when the campaign was abandoned. Subsequently sent to the Western Front, they were placed under the command of 'Butcher' Haig and his merry men, where such joys as Paschendale and other acts of carnage ensued. Despite their repeated abuses at the hands of British idiots, the Anzac's gained a reputation as hard and skilled fighters, showing innovation and courage in a war marked mainly by incompetence and slaughter.

Alas, the video version of the movie captures little of the true story of the Anzac's, focussing instead on the quite weak stories of the characters. A tepid love story between nurse and a soldier ensues, various secondary characters die, and most gratingly, Paul Hogan does his interpretation of a WW1 Sgt. Bilko. The combat scenes are poorly portrayed, and little is done to even try to capture the true horror experienced by the Anzac's in both Gallipoli or France.

On the positive side, some effort is made to capture the utter incompetence of the British generals commanding the Anzac's, and there is a recognition in the film of the tragedy of superb soldier's lives being utterly wasted in utterly useless assaults. If more emphasis has been placed on this and the actions of the soldier's in the trenches, it is possible that a very gripping story might have ensued.

Overall, I think that the series would probably be worth seeing, as it does deal with a part of history that has been ignored for too long. It must be remembered that this mini-series is now over 15 years old, and the production values reflect that era. North American audiences should avoid the truncated video, as it does little justice to the subject.

7 out of 10, in acknowledgement of an attempt to honor brave men sacrificed needlessly.

Anzac Day seemed an appropriate day to bring out my World War one movies, and so I arrived home from the Dawn Service, and stuck the first episode of Anzacs starring Andrew Clarke, Paul Hogan, and Jon Blake, into the VCR.

It was an excellent mini-series - or movie, depending on where you live - when I first watched it three years ago, and I was pleased to know that it hasn't lost any of it's filmic brilliance. Excellent performances from perennial Australian actor Andrew Clarke (playing Martin Barrington), legend Paul Hogan (cocky Pat Cleary) and Jon Blake (Flanagan) combined with great special effects, and much attention to historical detail, make this mini series an excellent thing to watch. It's certainly one of the best Australian productions ever.

The thing that sets Anzacs apart from anything else is the way the film begins in Victoria, just before war is declared, and takes the viewer on a journey from the boot camps, to the Gallipoli Peninsula, and on to the hellish battlefields across France and Belgium. The series follows a small platoon, originating in Victoria, and their trials and tribulations throughout the four years of World War One.

Key Australian actions from Lone Pine to the battle at Villers-Bretonneux are depicted with amazing attention to detail, and with great, sweeping battle sequences. The series is also remarkable in the way that it focuses on both the battlefield events, as well as events behind the lines. I like this, especially considering that infantry spent on 30% of their time in the line.

Gallipoli and The Lighthorseman are unfairly compared to Anzacs but shouldn't be, because these two movies focus on only a small campaign, where as Anzacs is long enough to show the whole war.

This is an excellent production, and is a good education into the way things happened during World War One, and is well worth the price of the video rental.

Andrew

Excellant drama that charts the story of an ANZAC (Australian New Zealand Army Corps) volunteer regiment from Gallipoli through to the end of the war. It is a story of tragedy and triumph, laughs and tears and is a series I can't wait to get the opportunity to watch again.

I thought it was quite a good series. I can't imagine how this could be reduced to a 2hr? tele-movie without losing just about everything good about it. I'm Australian, and this was produced for Aussies, no apologies for that. It's about time, rather than the usual good and bad Hollywood and to a lesser extent Brit efforts. If you don't know a Zac from a Brass Razoo, well we've had to put up with your slang and slight cultural differences for long enough. But I digress, this showed a part of history which has been long ignored, both here and overseas. In Australia we know full well the tale of Gallipoli, however the further efforts on the Western Front have largely been ignored. It's also good to see mention of the Home Front politics regarding conscription which severely divided the nation at the time and the Diggers response, which left it the only Allied fully volunteer Army in WW1. All in all I throughly enjoyed it, a good mix of believable characters, action, behind the lines antics and the Home Front drama, well worth seeing if you can get the original 5 part series.

For reviewers

Some of the previous commentators have said they wouldn't mind getting a copy of this. The only place I know that sells it is the Australian War Memorial. As you don't want URL's I won't include one however I'll leave it to you to phrase this part if you want to include it. Stuart Coates

A sometimes-humorous, sometimes-serious look at Australian soldiers during the Great War, from enlistment, through training, to several campaigns, culminating in the huge battles in France, to the end of the war and back home. The miniseries contains all the elements of an entertaining show: pathos, humour, and accuracy of detail and period. Paul Hogan plays Pat Cleary, a whimsical parody of the knockabout characters of the turn of the century with the irrepressible and uniquely Australian sense of humour. Watch particularly for the character "Flanagan", played by Jon Blake, who gives a stunning portrayal of the epitome of the returned soldier. A brilliant performance and excellent character development.