SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Sal One good way of rating a movie is how soon are you willing to watch it again. Well i just bought the 3 disc set and it will be the 3rd time i'd have watched it in 3 months. Their are very few Aussie films that can match this production..Yea OK, we probably don't make that many films, but it's up there amongst our best.It's about a group of 12 or so who volunteer to fight in the Great War, jubilantly thinking it would be just one long adventure. For a lengthy film it never loses it's pace. It doesn't focus too much or too graphically on each particular battle, but the film is so well done that it appears to. Andrew Clark(Barrington) is the standout with good support cast all round. Jon Blake(Flanagan) is worth a mention too as is Paul Hogan(Cleary) who steals the odd scene. You can't help getting caught up in this film. A must see, the full 524 min version, not the truncated version! It's not a bad educational film either. I knew the diggers did us proud but i didn't realize how much of an impact we made in WW1 until i did some research on the net. The allies might have still won the war without the Aussies but definitely not by 11-11-1918. Also there was some documentary a little while back about how some schools in France have a kangaroo emblem in their classroom and how they play and sing Waltzing Matilda(Aussie unofficial National Anthem) every day. The reporter asked, 'why do the french have such an overwhelming regard for Australia'?. 'Because they came from more than half a world away to fight and die for us!', was the reply.

SAChoover I thought it was quite a good series. I can't imagine how this could be reduced to a 2hr? tele-movie without losing just about everything good about it. I'm Australian, and this was produced for Aussies, no apologies for that. It's about time, rather than the usual good and bad Hollywood and to a lesser extent Brit efforts. If you don't know a Zac from a Brass Razoo, well we've had to put up with your slang and slight cultural differences for long enough. But I digress, this showed a part of history which has been long ignored, both here and overseas. In Australia we know full well the tale of Gallipoli, however the further efforts on the Western Front have largely been ignored. It's also good to see mention of the Home Front politics regarding conscription which severely divided the nation at the time and the Diggers response, which left it the only Allied fully volunteer Army in WW1. All in all I throughly enjoyed it, a good mix of believable characters, action, behind the lines antics and the Home Front drama, well worth seeing if you can get the original 5 part series.For reviewersSome of the previous commentators have said they wouldn't mind getting a copy of this. The only place I know that sells it is the Australian War Memorial. As you don't want URL's I won't include one however I'll leave it to you to phrase this part if you want to include it. Stuart Coates

mooncity This is an interesting chronicle of the ANZACs, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps.One reason my fellow reviewer here might not have enjoyed this film is that it was created for an entirely different culture (Australia). To brand it as "bad" simply because it isn't American is patently unfair.This made-for-TV production is really aimed squarely at the Australian audience, who still revere the memory of the ANZACs, the troops who suffered horrendous losses at Gallipoli in WWI. The heroism of the ANZACs, who fought so bravely and with such determination, was such that the Turkish enemy erected a monument to them.While it is true that the film (culled from a five-part mini-series), is not riveting entertainment compared to something like "Centennial" or "War and Rememberance", it does outline the feelings, views, and politics of the day faced by the ANZAC forces.The Australian and New Zealand viewpoints of the Great War are rarely on display, and here we have all of the various sentiments played out before us. The overall feeling (still is tangible today), is that the incompetence and arrogance of British officers (under whom the ANZAC force operated), were directly responsible for the waste of lives in pointless charges against the heavily entrenched Turkish forces.The mini-series is positively anti-colonial in regards to the portrayal of the British as uncaring, and more interested in saving British lives than that of the Aussies or New Zealanders.Paul Hogan will most likely be the only familliar face for American viewers. I would recommend the Mel Gibson film "Gallipoli" for those looking for a familliar cast and a relatively big budget look. That film also has more weight to it, and is more stylized.While "ANZACs" does come off as a bit like "light drama", or perhaps almost a glorified soap opera, if someone is interested in the topic of WWI, and the Australian and New Zealand participation in particular, the mini-series is worth a viewing. For scholars studying the events in this theater of the war, is a must see to examine both the attitudes of the day, and at the time the mini-series was made.

redstone-3 A sometimes-humorous, sometimes-serious look at Australian soldiers during the Great War, from enlistment, through training, to several campaigns, culminating in the huge battles in France, to the end of the war and back home. The miniseries contains all the elements of an entertaining show: pathos, humour, and accuracy of detail and period. Paul Hogan plays Pat Cleary, a whimsical parody of the knockabout characters of the turn of the century with the irrepressible and uniquely Australian sense of humour. Watch particularly for the character "Flanagan", played by Jon Blake, who gives a stunning portrayal of the epitome of the returned soldier. A brilliant performance and excellent character development.