Beneath Hill 60 (2010)
Mature themes, violence and coarse language
| Director: | Jeremy Sims |
| Actors: | Brendan Cowell, Jacqueline McKenzie, Gyton Grantley, Aden Young, Anthony Hayes, Leon Ford, Steve Le Marquand, Bob Franklin, Bella Heathcote |
Set underneath the trenches of World War One, this never-before-told Australian story takes place during 1916 and 1917 in Belgium, when Queensland miner Captain Oliver Woodward (played by Brendan Cowell) – undertrained and never having faced hostile fire before – finds himself on the Western Front's bloodiest battlefield in history. Deep beneath the German lines, Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnellers fight to defend a labyrinthine tunnel system packed with high explosives. It’s a silent and savage war where one tiny sound can turn a man from hunter to hunted.
| Status: | QuickPick |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 122mins |
| Origin: | AUSTRALIA |
| Aspect Ratio: | 16:9 |
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Member Reviews (99)
99 Member
Reviews
Kathleen
says
Brilliant Australian film! In my opinion, Australians do certainly know how to make a good war film.
says
total garbage lasted about 20mins
gordon
says
A fascinating and saddening view of a piece of World War 1 history. Well conceived, written, directed and acted. In fact all elements of this movie were highly professional making it a very realistic and believable look at the tough role our forefathers faced on the western front. A must watch for those Australians with ancestors who fought or died in the First WW. Well done to Jeremy Sims the director
Purplesue
says
Thought this was quite boring & way way too long. Actors were good but that was all. A waste of time! Very disappointed given the reviews from other members
margaret
says
This was a very interesting and enjoyable movie.
says
Turn on your subtitles for all the whispering in the tunnels. A great movie, and especially relevant to my family, who were all Wallsend coal miners around that time.
says
Very explicit and a noteworthy part of our history. Good movie
Tanya
says
Thoroughly enjoyed this film.
says
Sub-titles are a must when everyone is whispering in the tunnel! Not on the same level as Gallipoli with Mel Gibson, but I suppose that being a true story made it a slower and more realistic movie.
Lesley
says
Very good.
E-Ro
says
The best Aussie drama I've seen. Believable characters in a gut-wrenching situation with the odds stacked against them. Brendan Cowell is fabulous, with a terrific supporting cast. It's more engaging because you know it's based on a real wartime event, and it's played well enough to have you imagining yourself there and empathising with their decisions and attitudes. Awesome movie.
WIvison
says
Very well done, acting-wise and presentation-wise!
Halan
says
Great Aussie WWI story. Well cast and filmed.
colourman60
says
Excellent. Atmospheric, tense and realistic horrors of war.
Angela
says
Very believable. One of the best I have seen on this subject (WWI) that has no Hollywood hype. Great acting, lots of mud and believable death scenes and heroics. Highly commendable!!
Liz
says
A powerful film with the Australian understatement intensifying the drama. I liked the development of characters which draws the viewer closer to feel the situations these men are confronting. Amazing.
Robin
says
Slow
Jude
says
Enjoyable - depicting the ugly side of how it was in the trenches and showing the heroes and the bravery..well done
nivek draw
says
I seem to have difficulty with modern movies in being able to understand all that the characters lines. I don't have this problem when watching old B & W movies or listening to ABC news. This movie was no exception, so I had some problems understanding the strategies in the movie. Based on actual events, the movie was realistic, but not necessarily enjoyable, even though it was well made and well acted.
Cherie
says
Movie was great except when it completely jammed in the latter part of the film. Very disappointing as missed a crucial part. I always clean the disc before playing it, but the only way to watch the rest of this movie was to completely turn off the DVD player then select the next scene selection following the jam.
rob
says
I enjoyed watching this movie probably because it had a quirky and realistic tone but I wouldn't put it at the top of my list.
T Rex
says
brilliant.... a must watch film to show the young ones of our generation. A story very well told.
jo
says
didnt finish watching... maybe i wasnt in the mood for it, but got bored after half hour
L. Turner
says
I enjoyed this movie. I do like a well told True Story. Sometime they can get a bit boring, but this one doesn't.
Arie
says
Best re creation i have ever seen, amazing move
sandy
says
very good a different war movie
pat fuller
says
excellent movie
Lydia
says
Incredible Story, but a weaker movie than I hoped for.
Tony
says
You won't see a better re-creation of the times at home and at the front than this. Australians really can make great films, superior to many overseas offerings.
Suitable for a wide audience, and remembered long after as a memorable film.
vixson
says
great story suppose to be a true one
Kate Tiley
says
This was a great movie. We enjoyed watching it.
Alan
says
Excellent - the younger generation should watch it and see what our ancestors went through to give them a better life.
margaret worth
says
Very good movie
K
says
Excellent. One of the better Australian made movies
Stafford
says
I was very impressed with this movie. It is a different kind of war story & very well done!
Alex
says
Great Aussie movie
Eagles
says
Great Australian war film. Very different to all the other war films. Great storyline.
CC
says
A bit dull
Tegz
says
Great movie!
bill c
says
Excellent movie but disk freezes often towards end
meryl
says
interesting action but frustrating - couldn't always understand what was being said.
Pam
says
Brilliant film and certainly an eye opener
tlb
says
Very well done. A captivating storyline from beginning to end. Flawless acting. Brilliant.
Heardy
says
Very good
Chris
says
Great World War one Australian story. Worth a watch.
MJ
says
Enjoyed this movie. Well worth a look.
R. Rorhwell
says
This gave a realistic picture of life in the trenches without all the horrors. We should know what our men had to endure.
Mark
says
OK
Irene Ashbolt
says
A real eye opener as to what these men did in the war, so courageous.
Kerry
says
What Australian's seem best at, making movies about historical events. This is a very worthy film with some excellent acting by a wide range of actors. A bit slow at times, and shallow in places, but worth watching if you are in the mood for a serious film.
Gertie
says
Interesting story but a little wooden.
JtC
says
This is Aussie history which is not taught in schools. A must see for all. What a mighty effort by such brave men. I was extremely moved by this movie.
Terry
says
Well made. Based on real events in WWI. Brave and insane things people have to do in a war.
Lorraine Cassels
says
Faulty - Picture Freezes
Dropbear
says
Why had we not heard more about the subject of this movie? Kept me watching, even though it was obviously a low-budget job they did well with limited money (about $8m I believe, not a big spend these days). Another case of the Pommie brass saying "It's too damned risky, let's send in the Colonials"? Like Gallipoli et al?
Petab
says
Great film, great story, worth watching
Carol
says
Such a good movie. My teenage daughter watched and was in absolute awe of this story and these men. Beautiful but heartwrenching. And it left me asking the question: why? Lets hope we never have another war like this one.
BRANDIVINO
says
I say this is an excellent movie all done in australia, qld with mainly aussie characters, amazing to think how it was film in wet conditions in a wharehouse and a very good true story, with a bit of romance included.
mcfrood
says
What I find amazing about this story is that it had been kept under wraps for so long. I have seen one of the craters in northern France, made by a mine which was a small one compared to that exploded near Ypres, I can hardly imagine the destruction it must have wrought. The film itself has some good solid performances - Brendan Cowell is a consumate actor (see Noise if you haven't already), and it is supported by a really fine cast (though can we get someone other than Bob Franklin to do a Pom? C'mon everyon knows he has lived in Australia like forever!). A really great Aussie story and a great film. I shall be buying this one and adding it to my Aussie film collection.
Mickey G
says
Nice production, great detail, but typical war story. Nothing really comes out of this but people suffer, people die, sacrifices are made. War is hell.
William C
says
Nicely understated war drama with a sting in the tail
Guy
says
Much like a submarine movie where two subs silently circle each other despertaly listening to pinpount the others position, in this movie its two groups of miners under the trenches digging and listening for each other.
Very claustrophobic and well filmed show a group of WW1 heroes previously unseen
PK
says
A portrayal of the inner sanctum within a small brigade of Australian troops fighting a seemingly endless and brutal war. Watching this film around Anzac Day, seemed to give the film more ‘weight’ than I believe it would normally; Well executed, but a bit of a history lesson. Worthwhile watching to learn more about the increasingly unearthed stories of the the Great War, a by product of the dwindling survivors of the era.
Nicole
says
A truly Australian film, true to its period and people. How little we know about our own digger's WW I and II achievements...
Greg H
says
How did this gem slip beneath the radar? The best Australian movie in years,
possibly the best Aussie war movie ever. To anyone who thought it boring,
someone said war is long periods of boredom, interspersed with brief periods of
sheer terror. Not much of a budget, but excellent acting, a wonderful script and
cinematography to die for kind of make up for the fact that it ain't in 3 goddamn D.
willo43
says
Great. What a perfect movie to have received in time to watch on Anzac Day.
MareeDe
says
I thought it was boring - just drags
Therese Sheil
says
An excellent film using an unique theme. The characters were real and I felt that I was transported back to the first World War era.
Leila
says
Fantastic movie very moving and interesting, love our Aussie movies.
RJWQLD
says
Mud, mud trenches, tunnels in mud, rain, mud and rain, and shooting and bombing interspersed with flashbacks to home, loved ones and background in order to lighten the mood. A heavy, slow, boring movie of a great allied moment in a horrid war. It is worth watching for the historical context.
marytea13
says
good show true story should be recommendewd to schools
S hay
says
Good movie, iteresting topic
liz and dave
says
I turned it off after 5 minutes. The most boring movie ive seen for a long time.
ka-tet
says
I don't mind historical drama and a good war movie but for some reason this did not grab me like it should have. It's good but didn't inspire me to find out more about this incident maybe I was more impressed with what I had already learned and wanted more of a documentary telling.
Alex H
says
A dramatic film about the slaughter in WW1 using the miners of Brocken Hill,s expertise to digg under a mountain and blow it up along with thousands of the enemy.
Morgan
says
It took a while for the film to draw me in cause it was kind of boring, but when it did, it was pretty enjoyable.
The Master
says
This movie is excellent, since my late Grandfather was there at the start and talked about it, it was good to see what he was discussing. He was born in 1893 and survived (only just. The movie was a classic piece of Australiana..... Very well presented. I give it 9/10
Maureen
says
great story.
Anne D
says
My husband was very diappointed with this movie, how much poetic licence can a producer take? It was a war film with not much substance, if you are a baby bomer do not go for this movie it will annoy you totally with inaccuracies.
Wayne Newton
says
the bloody idiocy of war. 16 million almost the pop. of aus. gone for bloody what?
great acting on a very little known historical fact, and it was all for what?? NOTHING.
Again the failure of governments, schools and parents, to push for australian history to be a compulsory subject at all schools at all levels. I know i did very very little local history at school.
hanndam
says
great Aussie movie about the little known factual story of WW1.Great acting and good flash backs. Action scenes were a bit down, but we aren't privy to big budgets!
Erin
says
McLovin
says
Excellent Aussie film, great story and great action. I liked the flicking back to Australia, and the story of the miners at war was one that I had not read of before.
tk
says
great movie
Dean Jones
says
This is quite good, interesting and well acted but I found it a bit slow
Mike Moralee 5
says
Excellent story of an unwritten happening in world war one,could not fault in any way
joffa
says
one of the top 10 aussie movies of all time. highly recomended
Wayne
says
A really well made and acted movie, well worth seeing
4
says
Good movie
kimbo
says
The extraordinary true story of Oliver Woodward. It's 1916 and Woodward must tear himself from his new young love to go to the mud and carnage of the Western Front. Deep beneath the German lines. Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnelers fight to defend a leaking, labyrinthine tunnel system packed with enough high explosives to change the course of the War.
As a war historian buff I found this to be a very enjoyable and well acted movie
Christine B.
says
Very good historical movie. I certainly learnt something watching this well acted film.
Ben Hall
says
A very good aussie movie in the last 5 years
Elspeth
says
Excellent story well told, great characters.
Nicole
says
A fantastic Australian movie. To think that this is based on real life events and that our Diggers experienced such things is just unbelievable.
Keaton
says
Desperately wanted to see this film and was very happy when it turned up. Although obviously filmed on a modest Australian budget, this film was surprising and held its own. Acting was impressive and attention to detail added a genuine believability to the action. A credit to all involved.
ruth l
says
a brilliant movie, really gives a very valuable insight into what sacrifices and trials they faced back then and how they lived. I found the whole romantic sub plot with the young girl a bit boring, but the rest of the movie was A grade, best aussie movie in a while
Antony D
says
A very good film, realistic as it was in Europe WW 1. Acting was very good, they behaved as they would in those days. The scenery is as I remembered from the books of the 'Great War' as told in Holland, Wet, cold and miserable. Another excellent Australian movie!
Andrew
says
Slow paced, poorly scripted and with mediocre acting, this motion picture is hard to follow and best given a wide berth. Direct your valuable viewing time elsewhere.
Steve
says
Interesting story but needed more development of the characters