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Off the record
Go behind the scenes of SBS's Australia: An Unofficial History with Off the Record – a curated capsule of rare, revealing 1970s titles from the National Film and Sound Archive. These features and shorts spotlight the real people who lived through Australia’s social transformation – and the filmmakers who brought those tensions to the screen.
Excerpt from Tempo – Australia in the Seventies (Keith Gow and David Haythornthwaite, 1971). An Australian Commonwealth Film Unit Production. NFSA title: 32738
Tempo – Australia in the Seventies
What happens when a computer is asked to sum up a nation? In Tempo – Australia in the Seventies, a futuristic mainframe crunches statistics, lifestyle data and economic forecasts to deliver an audiovisual report on a country on the move.
Using fast cuts, narrated summaries and dynamic imagery, the film presents a vision of 1970s Australia shaped by growth, industry and possibility. It’s part time capsule, part techno-optimist fever dream, and a fascinating glimpse into the era's faith in machines, models and modernity.
Read: Off the record – Uncovering the 1970s you didn’t learn in school
Excerpt from George and Toula (Deborah Kingsland, 1978). A Film Australia Production. NFSA title: 16050
George and Toula
Toula was born in Australia to Greek parents. George migrated from Greece. They’ve been married 10 years, but don’t always see eye to eye. Toula works full-time, lives in a flat and hasn’t had children – choices she feels attract judgement from the Greek community. George is more comfortable with tradition.
George and Toula is an honest and quietly tense look at how identity, culture and expectation play out inside a marriage. It’s not a culture clash, exactly, but something more layered.
Read: Off the record – Uncovering the 1970s you didn’t learn in school
Excerpt from The Australia Game (Brian Hannant, 1978). A Film Australia Production. NFSA title: 1119
The Australia Game
Three finalists take to the stage for a quiz show like no other, where every question is about Australia, its history, its people and its quirks.
The Australia Game borrows the format of TV trivia and turns it into a lively meditation on national identity. There’s playfulness, yes, but also reflection: what do we think makes someone Australian? What facts do we value? A lively and humorous examination of national identity.
Read: Off the record – Uncovering the 1970s you didn’t learn in school
Excerpt from Talking About Belonging (Philip Robertson, 1978). A Film Australia Production. NFSA title: 20043
Talking About Belonging
In Wellington, a small town in western NSW, four friends talk candidly about life, friendship and what it means to belong. Talking About Belonging explores how relationships shape identity – not just between the four men, but with their families, the townspeople, and the filmmakers themselves.
Philip Robertson and sociologist Dale Gillen revisit the group after a community screening, inviting reflection on what the original film captured – and what it didn’t. It’s thoughtful, unguarded and rich with quiet revelations.
Read: Off the record – Uncovering the 1970s you didn’t learn in school
Spotlight on
Marco Polo Jnr Versus the Red Dragon
Marco Polo Jnr never expected to inherit a legacy tied to the legendary explorer, but when fate hands him half of a magic medallion, he sets off with his sidekick Sandy the Seagull on a daring quest. Their adventure leads to the kingdom of Xanadu, where they must help Princess Shining Moon confront the menacing Red Dragon.
Australia’s first animated feature, this landmark film brought together over 100 animators and artists. Former American teen idol Bobby Rydell lent his voice to Marco, adding pop star charm to this classic adventure.
Rangle River
When Marion (Margaret Dare) returns from Europe, she quickly butts heads with Dick Drake (American star Victor Jory), the new manager of her father’s struggling cattle station. With Rangle River mysteriously drying up, suspicions fall on the rival station next door. But is there more to the story?
Also known as Men with Whips, this pulpy Australian western packs romance, adventure, singing cowboys, and a high-stakes stockwhip showdown. The story comes from prolific American adventure writer Zane Grey, inspired by his 1930s big-game fishing trip to Australia.
From NFSA Restores
Excerpt from The Cars That Ate Paris (Peter Weir, 1974). NFSA title: 147
The Cars That Ate Paris
Peter Weir's breakout 1974 film, The Cars That Ate Paris, became a cornerstone of the Australian New Wave and a prime candidate for digital restoration through the NFSA Restores program. Set in an eerie outback town where car crashes are disturbingly deliberate, this cult classic blends dark satire with horror in a way only Weir could achieve.
Fifty years after its Cannes debut, the restored film premiered to a sold-out audience at the Sydney Film Festival and is now available to stream on NFSA Player.
Read: The Alchemy of Restoration – 10 Years of NFSA Restores
The Cheaters
A landmark of Australian silent cinema, The Cheaters was created by the trailblazing McDonagh sisters – the first women to own and run a production company in Australia. Their third feature is a gripping melodrama, blending suspense with the visual flair of 1920s American and German films.
At its heart is Paula Marsh, a professional thief torn between love and loyalty. Falling for the adopted son of Travers, a wealthy businessman, she’s ready to leave her criminal past behind. But her crime-boss father has other plans – one last heist, and Travers is the target. Restored by the NFSA in 2017, the film features stunning sequences of colour tinting, carefully reproduced from the surviving reels.
Staff picks
MARCO POLO JNR VERSUS THE RED DRAGON: I found a 1974 review of this film in the BFI’s Monthly Film Bulletin that described it as ‘another hopeless case of playing safe’ and doggedly listed its cliches, including a ‘jumping-jack baddy who sings about how he likes to be mean’... Well, I can safely say that these are the things I hopelessly LOVE about this film. It had me hooked right from the psychedelic astrological opening sequence. The beautiful animations of Xanadu perched atop a cliff in the clouds, the musical numbers, Princess Shining Moon’s wardrobe (fashionable AND functional for fighting the comically evil Red Dragon) – it’s all so much fun with amazing nostalgic quest energy.Evelyn L
RANGLE RIVER: I’m so curious to see Rangle River in full on NFSA Player. I’m obsessed with the idea of 'lost classics' that can give us new insights into the past but can also take on a whole new light in the present day. I know about this film more by reputation. Unsurprisingly, as a film featuring singing cowboys and based around a bromance between a strapping Aussie cattleman and a fey English adventurer, it has earned itself minor cult status as a sleeper queer classic. I’ve watched clips from it and it’s hard to believe that the filmmakers weren’t at least slyly nodding to the possibility of same-sex attraction in 1930s Western Queensland. Fun, original, and with a dash of camp: that’s how we like our cult classics.Patrick M
MR PATTERNS: Mr Patterns is a fascinating and tender film that tells the remarkable story of Geoff Bardon and his close and enduring friendships with the Papunya First Nations people, resulting in the world-renowned Papunya Tula art movement. This beautifully directed film intercuts Bardon’s original colour footage shot during his years as a teacher in Papunya with interviews with Bardon, the artist Michael Nelson Tjakamarra and those who worked with him at the Papunya school. Featuring throughout the film are the intricately painted Papunya Tula artworks described by Hetti Perkins, an Arrernte and Kalkadoon curator, as having both 'spatial and spiritual perspective'. Bardon’s passion and the brilliance of the Papunya Tula artists emanate from the film and stay with you long after.Anna N
Spotlight On: Film Australia Collection
A Commonwealth-funded program that operated for most of the 20th century, Film Australia captured life across the country – and helped develop the careers of some of our leading filmmakers. See highlights below.
Mabo: Life of an Island Man
On 3 June 1992, six months after Eddie ‘Koiki’ Mabo’s tragic death, the High Court upheld his claim that Murray Islanders held native title to land in the Torres Strait. The legal fiction that Australia was empty when first occupied by white people was laid to rest. This revealing film tells the private and public stories of a man so passionate about family and home that he challenged an entire nation and its legal system.
Nullarbor Hideout
The adventures of a group of kids from the Nullarbor Plain who discover that a gang of criminals is sharing their secret hideout.
The Floating Brothel
Three Australian women find out more than they bargained for about their convict ancestors who arrived in the Second Fleet.
Kokoda: The Invasion
The fierce battle for the Kokoda Track was a turning point in the Second World War and forever changed Australian history.
A Steam Train Passes
Since its release in 1974, A Steam Train Passes has captivated rail enthusiasts and film lovers alike. With Oscar-winning cinematographer Dean Semler behind the lens, the film beautifully captures the journey of steam locomotive 3801 – showcasing the people, infrastructure, and mode of travel now lost to history.
Rare Chicken Rescue
Mark Tully owes his life to his endangered chickens. Now he is on a mission to save them.
Staff picks
ROLLER DERBY GIRLS: Go, go roller girl, look at that girl go! When I was a little kid, I used to watch the women’s roller derby league on TV with my dad. The roller derby women were strong, fierce and fearless – I loved them! Roller Derby Girls is a 2008 documentary about the re-emergence of women’s roller derby leagues in Australia, specifically Brisbane. Featured are the Sun State Roller Girls who are visited in one of their training sessions by some original 1970s roller derby women. The OGs are obviously as pleased as punch to see a new generation of women participating in the sport they love. Documentary filmmaking should highlight the spectrum of everyday life, and Roller Derby Girls is a cracker. Like the derby women who came before them, the Sun State Roller Girls are strong, fierce and fearless.Bronwyn D
THE STORY OF ROSY DOCK: This beautiful animated short film is highly nostalgic for me, having grown up lovingly borrowing Jeannie Baker’s books from my primary school library, reading and attempting to re-create some of her miniature collage constructions. The Story of Rosy Dock uses an emotive soundtrack mixing flute, piano and strings with the sounds of natural bird and insect song, rain, storms and running water then contrasting them with sharp man-made sounds of whips, voices and rattling tin. This is combined with gentle storytelling narration and the animated, textured movement of Baker’s gorgeous collages created from natural and artificial materials. The technique of using sound and music, storytelling and visually beautiful artwork to explore and highlight an important environmental message in only 9 minutes is inspiring and what makes The Story of Rosy Dock one of my favourite titles in the NFSA’s Film Australia Collection.Naomi W
Film critic and ‘committed couch potato’ Wenlei Ma previews the newest NFSA Player collection.
Spotlight On: True crime and mysteries
In our online collection Australian true crime and mystery stories, the NFSA casts a magnifying glass over the films, documentaries, news stories and podcasts that feed our collective fascination.
Award-winning journalists Rachael Brown and Hedley Thomas delve into true crime podcasting.
Six dramatised stories explore some of Australia’s most high-profile crimes, criminals and police investigations, offering gripping narratives and compelling performances.
And Unfolding Florence, Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? and The Prime Minister is Missing are all available on demand.
Video file
Unfolding Florence – The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst
An unconventional documentary about the in-demand Australian designer whose brutal murder in 1977 remains a mystery.
Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler?
New scientific evidence suggests a solution to one of Australia’s most baffling unsolved criminal mysteries.
The Prime Minister is Missing
Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt disappears without a trace while in office – an event unparalleled in the history of western democracy.
Spotlight On: Roller Derby Dolls
The frenetic sport of roller derby invites players to shed their everyday personalities to embrace an alter ego, and in 2008, the film Roller Derby Dolls chronicled its revival in Brisbane.
Roller Derby Dolls
Roller Derby Dolls 15 years on
Over 15 years after Roller Derby Dolls, the women who documented the sport's thrilling return share their reflections on the experience.
Excerpt from Roller Derby Dolls (Phoebe Hart, 2008).
Roller Derby Dolls
In the sprawling outer suburbs of Brisbane, a revolution is brewing. Roller Derby Dolls is a story of female friendship and women inspiring other women to embrace the lost sport of full-contact roller derby in Australia.
Spotlight on: King of the Coral Sea
Ted King (Chips Rafferty), a pearler on Thursday Island, finds a body floating in the water and uncovers a people smuggling operation. When the smugglers kidnap Ted’s daughter Rusty (Ilma Adey), he must join forces with Peter Merriman (Charles 'Bud' Tingwell), a big-city playboy and owner of the pearling company, to rescue her.
Produced by and starring Chips Rafferty, this romantic action-packed adventure marks the film debut of future Hollywood star Rod Taylor. The film was beautifully shot on location in the Torres Strait and is notable for including a mask dance performed by the traditional owners of Thursday Island, the Kaurareg people.
Spotlight On: Rats in the Ranks
Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson – two of Australia’s most distinguished documentary filmmakers – gained extraordinary access to the inner workings of a Sydney local council to make this fascinating portrait of how politics really works.
Excerpt from Rats in the Ranks (Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson, 1995). NFSA title: 299414
Rats in the Ranks
Ambition, courage, envy, betrayal, disaster, triumph – in other words, a classic study of politics.
Bob Connolly in conversation with Travis Green at the NFSA about Rats in the Ranks, May 2024.
Bob Connolly filmmaker Q&A
In May 2024, the NFSA partnered with DocPlay and Madman Entertainment to present a special Rats in the Ranks screening followed by a Q&A with director Bob Connolly.
In this excerpt, Connolly explains the challenges of observational documentary making and making a feature film out of life unfolding in real-time.
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia acknowledges Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and gives respect to their Elders both past and present.