Gallipoli
Short description
Gallipoli follows two young Australian runners, Archy Hamilton and Frank Dunne, who meet around the time the First World War breaks out and enlist together. After training in Egypt, they are sent to the Gallipoli peninsula, where British and allied forces are fighting the Ottoman Empire. The friendship between the two men, and the distance between their expectations of war and what they find, form the centre of the story.
Peter Weir directed the film, working from a screenplay by David Williamson, with Robert Stigwood and Patricia Lovell producing. It was Weir's fourth feature in a directing career that would span thirteen films, coming between The Plumber and The Year of Living Dangerously. Mel Gibson plays Frank and Mark Lee plays Archy, with Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins, Charles Lathalu Yunipingu and Heath Harris in supporting roles across a credited cast of forty-four. Made for about 3 million dollars, it took roughly 17 million dollars worldwide.
On IMDb it holds 7.4 out of 10 from more than 41,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.1 out of 10 from several hundred votes, while a critics' rating stands at 8 out of 10 from 46 reviews, placing critical appraisal above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming took place primarily in South Australia (including the Gallipoli scenes filmed on the coast), as well as in Egypt (scenes at the pyramids and in the bazaar).
- The filmmakers placed an advertisement seeking 400 men confident in the saddle to participate in the filming. They only managed to recruit 200 such men. The remaining 200 riders were women disguised in men's clothing.
- Director Peter Weir was inspired to create this film by visiting the site where the Battle of Gallipoli took place during World War I. Initially, he and screenwriter David Williamson intended to tell the story of the campaign from all sides, but eventually decided to focus on a small group of characters and convey the tragedy of what happened through them.
- It took the filmmakers three years to find funding. Active searching for funding sources began after the Australian government refused to sponsor the filming, stating that the film was “not commercial”.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
