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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
Beginning in Australia in the late 1940s, when movie theatres were the only source of audiovisual news coverage, the narrative follows the exploits of Len Maguire and his young sidekick Chris as they cover the big news stories for the Cinetone newsreel company. Len is a doggedly dependable and ever-cautious senior cameraman, trapped in a world of changing values. Len always knows the right thing to do, but becomes troubled as his marriage falters, his job becomes threatened by the arrival of television, and Cinetone is taken over and its work marginalised. Len's loyalties to the Catholic Church, the Labor Party, and his family are juxtaposed against both his brother/rival cameraman Frank--who sells out his values, abandons his responsibilities, and heads off to success in the USA--and his cocky young assistant, Chris.
The first feature film for Phillip Noyce, Newsfront also depicts the increasing changes to the Australian cultural and political landscape, tracing social shifts from the first waves of European post-war immigration through to the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
Notes
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The original film did not include Bob Ellis's name in the credits. Ellis had demanded that his name be removed prior to the film's release, due to disagreements over cuts to the original screenplay. The film's production was apparently made difficult as a result of the arguments between Ellis, writer/director Phillip Noyce, and producer David Elfick. In the restored DVD release, which includes commentary from all three, Ellis now recognises the screenplay as among the best work he has been associated with.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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Phillip Noyce : Man of Action
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 28 November 2017; -
Great Australian Directorial Debuts
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 14 March 2016; -
Newsfront Revisited
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Inside Story , December 2015;
— Review of Newsfront 1978 single work film/TV 'Philip Noyce’s 1978 feature was an antidote to the tasteful costume dramas of the reviving Australian film industry, writes Sylvia Lawson' -
On the Home Front : Newsfront (Phillip Noyce, 1978)
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , no. 52 2009;
— Review of Newsfront 1978 single work film/TV -
The Critical List
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6-7 December 2008; (p. 4-5) Evan Williams surveys the possibilities and then selects his five favourite Australian films.
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On the Home Front : Newsfront (Phillip Noyce, 1978)
2009
single work
review
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , no. 52 2009;
— Review of Newsfront 1978 single work film/TV -
Newsfront Revisited
2015
single work
review
— Appears in: Inside Story , December 2015;
— Review of Newsfront 1978 single work film/TV 'Philip Noyce’s 1978 feature was an antidote to the tasteful costume dramas of the reviving Australian film industry, writes Sylvia Lawson' -
The Critical List
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 6-7 December 2008; (p. 4-5) Evan Williams surveys the possibilities and then selects his five favourite Australian films. -
Phillip Noyce
2006
single work
biography
— Appears in: Senses of Cinema , January - March no. 38 2006; -
Great Australian Directorial Debuts
2016
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 14 March 2016; -
Conflict and Conspiracy : Public and Personal Memory in Australian Film
2005
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Post Script , Winter-Summer vol. 24 no. 2-3 2005; (p. 82-93) -
Phillip Noyce : Man of Action
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: FilmInk , 28 November 2017;
Awards
- 1978 Winner Australian Film Institute Awards — Best Screenplay, Original Awarded to Bob Ellis, Anne Brooksbank, and Phillip Noyce.