Anzacs (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion (Australia) of the First Australian Imperial Force in 1914, fighting first at Gallipoli in 1915, and then on the Western Front for the remainder of the war.
It follows in the wake of Australian New Wave war films such as Breaker Morant (1980), Gallipoli (1981), and precedes The Lighthorsemen (1987). Recurring themes of these films include the Australian identity, such as mateship and larrikinism, the loss of innocence in war, and also the continued coming of age of the Australian nation and its soldiers (the Anzac spirit).
Production
The series was the idea of John Dixon who originally wanted to make a documentary. In 1979 he approached Geoff Burrowes and they decided to make a drama of 16 one hour episodes. Patsy Adams Smith was brought in as consultant. It was decided to pull back to 13 hours, and then Burrowes hired James Mitchell and John Clark to work on scripts with Dixon. By 1983 they had 13 scripts but Burrowes was dissatisfied and decided to make it into five two-hour scripts.
Episodes
Cast
Main
Andrew Clarke as Martin Barrington
Jon Blake as Robert Flanagan
Paul Hogan as Pat Cleary
Christopher Cummins as Roly Collins
Jonathan Sweet as Bill Harris
Megan Williams as Kate Baker
Shane Briant as "Kaiser" Schmidt
Alec Wilson as "Pudden" Parsons
Peter Finlay as "Bluey" Bill Kerr as General Monash
Supporting
Tony Bonner as Harold Armstrong
David Lynch as Max Earnshaw
Ilona Rodgers as Lady Thea Barrington
Elaine Lee as Madame
Robert Coleby as Reverend Lonsdale
Peter Browne as Carter
Additional
David Bradshaw as Keith Murdoch
Mark Hembrow as Dick Baker
Jim Holt as Dinny "Dingo" Gordon
Patrick Ward as Tom McArthur
Edmund Pegge as Captain Young
Wayne Jarratt as Private Upton
Karl Hansen as Erik Johansen
Tony Cornwill as Karl Johansen
Terry Brittingham as Private Morrissey
James Wright as 'Edward Kelly'
Vincent Ball as Rupert Barrington
Sheila Kennelly as Mrs Baker
Howard Bell as Cyril Earnshaw
Diana Greentree as Mrs Collins
Leah Steventon as Marie
Vivean Gray as Matron
Mark Mitchell as a dying German soldier
Bruce Kerr as Lancashire Colonel
Gareth Wilding-Forbes as Buffs Officer
Chris Gregory as German Sergeant
Noel Trevarthen as Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig
Michael Adams as General Kiggell
Rhys McConnochie as Lloyd George
Malcolm Robertson as General Bridges
Sean Myers as Lt General Walker
Reg Evans as General Birdwood
Chris Waters as General White
Francis Bell as Major-General Elliott
Geoff Parry as General Blamey
Terry Gill as Colonel
Production
The series was produced by Geoff Burrowes for Nine Network, Australia. The episodes were directed by Pino Amenta, John Dixon, or George Miller (of The Man from Snowy River fame). The story consultant was Patsy Adam-Smith and the filming took place over 20 weeks.
The actors playing British officers and politicians were almost all New Zealanders. Many of the extras playing the roles of Allied, American, and German soldiers were serving members of the Australian Army. This was done to keep costs down so that actors did not have to learn how to act as soldiers or to have to teach them how to use the weapons. Many of the actors would also appear on the US TV series Mission Impossible which was filmed mostly in Australia.
In one episode, an Australian soldier remarks how much the French countryside reminds him of Daylesford back home in Victoria, Australia. This was an in-joke as some scenes were filmed near Daylesford, including the German counter-attack scene in episode 4.
Music
Australian composer Bruce Rowland composed the original music for the series which also popularised many old marching songs of the period. The classic Australian song 'Waltzing Matilda' is heard at several points as is 'It's a Long Way to Tipperary'. Several songs from the satirical musical 'Oh, What a Lovely War!' were also used, including the title song, 'I wore a tunic', 'The bells of Hell' and other period numbers, like 'If you were the only girl' and 'keep the home fires burning' – which were performed by various actors.