L'attaque du fourgon blindé

One of the most under-rated Oz films of all time!, Brilliantly directed by Beresford it was superbly cast and scripted.

Ray Marshall appeared in every scene with a cigarette, and lucky Grills appeared in his normal quota of beer drinking scenes. Not to mention the use of profanity which is normally associated in the workplace which gave the natural realism. Also the plot which assumed that OZ coppers are completely bent really added to the authenticity.

And not to mention half the cast of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo being involved in a climatic shootout, BRILLIANT!!!!

Money Movers is another highlight of Australian cinema of the 1970s. It is overshadowed by the more successful Mad Max and failed at the Australian box office when released.

This heist thriller is more inspired by British movies such as Get Carter or television shows of that era such as The Sweeney.

Brothers Eric Jackson (Terence Donovan) and Brian Jackson (Bryan Brown) work as security guards for Darcy's Security Services.

They plan to rob their own firm but crime boss Jack Henderson finds out about their plan and wants a big cut. He also plans to have them killed once the job is done.

Leo Bassett is an insurance agent who has gone undercover as a security guard suspecting something bad is about to take place. Dick Martin is a disgraced ex cop who gets a second chance at Darcy's.

Director Bruce Beresford has made a tough thriller adapted from a novel. You can sense there is a complex plot here as the disparate elements of the story start to converge.

The movie also explores police corruption. With all the subterfuge and double crosses, it has a ferocious bloodsoaked finale.

It's an amazing film. The casting is amazing - notably Ray Marshall, Bryan Brown and Tony Bonne The planning of an armored car heist, you never quite know who's going to do right or wrong, until the very end when the sides are truly drawn and it culminates in an unbelievably violent finale. This, along with a toe clipping torture scene earlier on, gives it the feel of Tarantino/Avary and their ilk, but a good ten years earlier. The tension as the movies gets closer and closer to the actually heist is insane. Why this movie isn't as lauded as Beresford's films before and after this one is a mystery.

Money Movers really shows what can happen when greed and temptation come together. The money movers of the title handle millions of dollars each day in armored vans completely ready for an outside attack. But what happens when the danger comes from the inside? The answer is everything: Murder, double-cross of thieves, rival gangs, intrigue, suspicion, and the list goes on. This movie is packed with testosterone and has all the action you could ask for. Bruce Beresford directed who would latter come to America and did the Oscar winner Driving Miss Daisy. Based on the book of the same title by Devon Minchin this movie boasts one of the best robberies ever filmed – climaxing in the bloodiest, fastest, hottest shootouts ever put to film. This movie is hard to find in the US but if you come across a copy watch it!

In between wowing international audiences with 'The Getting of Wisdom' (1977) and 'Breaker Morant' (1980) Bruce Beresford shot this raw, extremely violent little crime drama with a high body count shot mainly in Adeleide. At the time it swiftly vanished without recovering even it's tiny budget, but deserves to be much better known.

It has a much bloodier climax than 'Reservoir Dogs' and laced with that dry humour one associates with even the grimmest Australian movie; as when crime boss Bud Tingwell wearily tells a henchman to "bring in the nail clippers" when simple persuasion isn't working.

(When I originally saw it I loved the music. So I should. It turned out to be the Adagio movement from Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta.)