Love The Castle? Stream These Classic Australian Movies This Weekend

From Portaloo to Porpoise Spit, the Aussie film classic brings to mind a bingo card of pure Straya nostalgia. Ever since the release of The Story of the Kelly Gang in 1906, an Australian production widely considered the world’s first ever feature-length film, our industry has served up a buffet of stone-cold classics. Everything from outback horror to rom coms, road movies and crime sagas.

We’ve won Oscars, BAFTAs and Golden Globes, and many of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars are homegrown talent (think Cate Blanchett, Nicole Kidman, Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth and Jacob Elordi). Although we’re mainly known for our larger-than-life characters like Crocodile Dundee, Steve Irwin and Kath Day-Knight, we’re so much more than a stack of GIFs.

Many other stories deserve a space in our hearts. And speaking of heart, there’s plenty of it here in this list.

Stream these classic Australian movies this weekend.

Mad Max (Stan)

In 1979, renowned Aussie director George Miller made a film that would kickstart one of the most popular cinematic franchises of all time. From its opening scene until the final credits, Mad Max doesn’t take its foot off the gas, vibrating with the same maniacal DNA that drives Fury Road and more recently, Furiosa. The origin story is set in a ravaged near-future where a barbaric bike gang, led by the terrifying Toecutter, rules the road. Poor Max just wants a peaceful vacation with his family, but when Toecutter and his crew start terrorising his family, Max is forced to go full turbo mode.

Definitely an essential watch if you love the later films.

The Castle (Stan)

We couldn’t make a list of classic Australian films without including this national treasure. Released in 1997, The Castle is a bloody banger, starring everyone’s favourite Aussie dad Michael Caton in the role of Darryl Kerrigan, a man fighting for his family home against a greedy multi-billion dollar company who wants to tear it down so they can build more airport runways. A charming feel-good flick full of iconic one-liners, including probably the best use of the word “vibe” in any film, ever.

Chuck this one on with the fam on a Sunday arvo, you won’t regret it.

Lantana (Netflix)

The lives of several couples in Sydney are put under the microscope in this thematically rich thriller featuring an absolutely stacked cast in Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Armstrong, Barbara Hershey and Vince Colosimo. A film that opens with a Lynchian-style crime scene, Lantana is a suburban nightmare that draws you in with a murder, but ends up being so much more nuanced than a conventional whodunnit.

You might also like:

• The Best Aussie Horror Movies
• The Best Aussie Comedies
• First Nations Movies on Netflix

Wake In Fright (ABC IVIEW)

The 1970s was a groundbreaking time for Aussie film, signifying the dawn of the Australian New Wave, a cinematic resurgence that saw a whole new generation of filmmakers telling uniquely Australian stories. Wake in Fright—an early entry in this period—is an adaptation of Kenneth Cook’s 1961 novel, exploring a British man’s descent into madness after he gambles away all his money and befriends an unsavory group of dudes in the remote mining town of Bundanyabba. Now a beloved cult classic exploring themes of toxic masculinity and immorality, Wake in Fright is a sweaty, smelly outback thriller that will have you second guessing your next beer.

Samson And Delilah (SBS ON DEMAND)

Directed by renowned First Nations filmmaker Warwick Thornton (Sweet Country, The New Boy) and winner of the 2009 Caméra d'Or for Best First Feature, Samson and Delilah is the story of two teenagers living in an isolated Aboriginal community in Central Australia. It’s an incredibly intimate film with sparse dialogue and a love story that runs throughout, beautifully rendered by Rowan McNamara and Marissa Gibson in their first major on-screen roles. Tackling themes of addiction, isolation and resilience, the characters of Samson and Delilah will stay with you long after the credits roll.

Muriel's Wedding (STAN)

Years before she was snubbed by the Oscars for arguably one of the best on-screen performances of all time in Hereditary, Toni Colette had her breakthrough role in the 1994 comedy-drama Muriel’s Wedding. Unlucky in love with a penchant for compulsive lying, Murial is desperate to walk down the aisle, believing that the institution of marriage will save her from a life of mediocrity in her small town of Porpoise Spit (best fictional town name ever?). This camp classic will have you pissing yourself with laughter one minute and ugly crying the next, oscillating effortlessly between comedy and tragedy, all to the sounds of Murial’s favourite band, Abba.

Kenny (Netflix)

One of the funniest Aussie films of all time, Kenny is a mockumentary about a super nice bloke who delivers and installs porta-loos from one corporate event to the next. No matter how hard he works, Kenny is never taken seriously and the film does such a good job of shining a light on a trade that most people overlook. In Kenny, filmmakers and brothers Clayton & Shane Jacobson created a beloved salt of the earth character that has continued to live on in TV, with the 2010 spin-off Kenny’s World. If you’re after a heartfelt comedy and a shit ton of fun (pun intended), this one’s for you.

The Adventure Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Dessert (AMAZON PRIME)

Stephan Elliott’s 1994 road comedy about two drag queens and a trans woman driving a lavender bus across the country, so they can perform a drag show in Alice Springs, was an instant crowd favourite upon release and has only grown in reputation since. An international phenomenon starring Guy Pearce, Hugo Weaving and Terence Stamp, The Adventures of Priscilla is a joyous tribute to chosen family and second chances, with an iconic soundtrack that will have you lip-syncing along with Tick, Felicia and Bernadette.

Strictly Ballroom (ABC IVIEW)

It’s clear that Baz Luhrmann’s flair for maximalist filmmaking and stylised production was part of his toolkit from day one. Strictly Ballroom–his debut feature film–throws its audience into the world of competitive ballroom dancing and follows the extremely talented Scott, played by a very spunky Paul Mercurio, who's bored with ballroom and wants to dance his own way. Unfortunately for him, he doesn’t seem to have much support, that is until he meets Fran, a fellow dancer who is committed to being his new partner. A love letter to creativity and following your dreams, Strictly Ballroom is a total crowd pleaser from beginning to end. If you’re a sucker for beautiful costumes and sexy dance flicks, add this to your watch list immediately.