Best Oceanian western movies
A curated collection of popular western movies from Oceania.
The Legend of Ben Hall (2016)
Shadows of the Past (2009)
Shadows of the Past (2009)
Shadows of the Past is about Steve Kelly, a retired rodeo champion, who accepts a rematch with notorious bucking bull, 'Black Friday', the same bull that ended his career several years ago. Steve also must deal with the return of estranged wife Dannii. We see him battle with the prospects of a fading career and the chance to love again.
Utu Redux (2013)
Utu Redux (2013)
A digitally restored and re-edited version of the original 1983 'Utu'. It starts with the slaughter of a Maori village where almost every character seems to enter into their own personal vendetta against their enemies, turning the film into a prolonged ballad of revenge. These savage motivations mean the moral compass is effectively shattered, nobody is completely good or evil, and the stage is set for some incredibly visceral set pieces, a grim view of race relations and a black sense of humour.
We of the Never Never (1982)
We of the Never Never (1982)
Based on the well-loved Australian classic by Mrs. Aeneas Gunn, this is the remarkable true story of Jeannie Gunn, a woman who fought to overcome sexual and racial prejudice amid the harsh beauties of the outback. Leaving her Melbourne existence for a new life on her husband's isolated ranch, Jeannie's feisty, good-natured attitude soon wins over the misogynistic stockmen, but she faces a much tougher challenge in trying to change their racist attitudes towards the indigenous aboriginal population.
McLeod's Daughters (1996)
McLeod's Daughters (1996)
Tess returns home to Drovers Run, a family-run ranch in Australia’s outback, to reunite with her estranged father Jack and half sister Claire. Although Tess and Claire have feuded in the past, they must now work together to save the ranch from bankruptcy.
Miro (2017)
Miro (2017)
When Miro returns home at the end of World War II he finds his land taken, his people gone, his daughter stolen and his service record treated with contempt. But the battlefield has taught him how to fight and he sets out to reunite his family waging his own form of justice.
The Frog, the Dog, and the Devil (1986)
The Frog, the Dog, and the Devil (1986)
The short tells the story of a drunkard going through alcohol withdrawal, as personified by the Devil. Director Bob Stenhouse takes what could be a dark subject and makes it a funny madcap romp.
Bordello (2023)
Bordello (2023)
It is 1889, New Mexico. The gold rush is over and most of the prospectors have moved on. In the middle of nowhere stands a crumbling Antebellum mansion - a bordello that has seen better days. Enoch, the inept pimp, owes a considerable amount of money to the town's psychopathic Sheriff. Money is tight: business is down and the five-woman in the house are tearing each other apart. The only thing they can agree on is their love for Angel, a seven-year-old child whose mother died in childbirth.
A Miner's Luck (1911)
A Miner's Luck (1911)
A largely intact 1911 Australian film, produced by the Photo Vista Company for Pathe Freres; A drama about a miner who is swindled out of his gold claim.
Minnamurra (1989)
Minnamurra (1989)
Underrated leading man Jeff Fahey carries most of the dramatic weight of the Australian Wrangler. Fahey plays a handsome, athletic businessman who vies for the hand of rancher's daughter Tushika Bergen. Our hero must not only contend with his romantic rival, a dashing but dangerous cattleman, but also with a villainous creditor who craves the land left to Bergen by her late father. By nature of its plotline and setting, Wrangler can't help but invite comparisons to the popular The Man From Snowy River. Still, the stars and director Ian Barry keep up the appearances of freshness and originality
The Squatter's Daughter (1933)
The Squatter's Daughter (1933)
A story of rival sheep stations and of the strong-willed squatter’s daughter who wants to unite them.
Four Eyes The Fastest Gun (1967)
Four Eyes The Fastest Gun (1967)
“Burlesqueing western conventions, this film has silent movie titles and music and a posse of shetland ponies. A gumnut satire of Westerns with a fine eye for the absurd.” (The Australian Filmmakers Co-operatives Catalogue of Independent Film)
Bullseye (1987)
Bullseye (1987)
In the 1860s, two friends, Harry and Bluey, steal a thousand head of cattle and trek it across country from Queensland to Adelaide.
The Glenrowan Affair (1951)
The Glenrowan Affair (1951)
Shot almost entirely in 'Kelly Country', near the country town of Benalla, The Glenrowan Affair takes us back to the era of Victoria's most notorious bushranger, showcasing thrilling action sequences and horsemanship as time and again the Kelly Gang outwit the law. The film begins with old timer, Dinny (some say he knows too much for an outsider) telling the story of the Kelly Gang to a visiting sketch artist. His tale unfolds as Ned Kelly and Joe Byrne surprise the constabulary in the bar of the Glenrowan Hotel and Ned shoots a constable in the hand. The Glenrowan Affair includes the ambush at Eleven Mile Creek, the hold up at the Jerilderie Bank and the siege at the Glenrowan Hotel where Ned, dressed in a suit of homemade armour, taunts the 'traps' in a hail of gunfire before he is shot and captured.
Hell's Half Hectare (1988)
Hell's Half Hectare (1988)
1988 Australian Short Film
Wild Horses (1984)
Wild Horses (1984)
Amid the high country of the North Island interior, wild horse roam and breed. With the trees gone, Dan Mitchell and the Sullivan brothers, turn to the wild horses as a source of income. With rope and snare - and the help of an experienced horse catching team - Sam and Sara's example, the rough ex-loggers learn to respect a delicate balance between the wild horses and their catchers. The best stallions are left to breed and their riding horses are retired back into the wild herds.
The Phantom Stockman (1953)
The Phantom Stockman (1953)
Kim Marsden inherits a cattle station near Alice Springs after the death of her father. Kim becomes convinced her father was murdered. She sends for a legendary local bushman called the Sundowner, who was one of her father's best friends.
Dust in the Sun (1958)
Dust in the Sun (1958)
A Northern Territory policeman, is given the job of taking an Aboriginal prisoner Emu Foot, to Alice Springs to be tried for a tribal killing. Bayard is wounded during a revenge attack by tribesmen, and Emu Foot helps him get to a remote cattle station. But there Bayard gets involved in a domestic crisis involving Julie Kirkbride, the neurotic, bored wife of the station owner, and is tempted by the head stockman's daughter Chris Palady.
Shadow of the Boomerang (1961)
Shadow of the Boomerang (1961)
An American brother and sister move to Australia to manage a cattle station, but the brother's racist attitude causes problems. After hearing a message by evangelist Billy Graham on the radio though, he has a change of heart and learns to accept the Aboriginal people.
The Kangaroo Kid (1950)
The Kangaroo Kid (1950)
A 19th-century San Francisco detective named Tex Kinnane is sent "Down Under" to nab shyster lawyer Vincent Moller. Several comparisons are made between the American Wild West and the equally treacherous Australian outback.