Can anyone recommend some good Australian directors? Australian directors seem to make really interesting and good movies.

The only two I know so far are:

Baz Lurhman (Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge)

Scott Hicks (Snow Falling on Cedars, Shine, Hearts In Atlantis)

That's all I can think of and I'm interested in knowing more Australian directors. Thanks.

George Miller is good. Do you remember Mad Max?

What about

Peter Weir Gallipolli, Witness, Dead Poet's Society etc

Phillip Noyce The Bone Collector,Clear and Present Danger etc

Craig Monahan The Interview

to name a few others

Although it's debateable to call him Australian, Mel Gibson does have a best director Oscar

Stephan Elliott
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The (1994)

Ray Lawrence
Lantana (2001)
Bliss (1985)

Paul Cox
Innocence (2000)
Lonely Hearts (1982)
Man of Flowers (1983)
Cactus (1986)

Andrew Dominik
Chopper (2000)

Rob Sitch
Dish, The (2000)

Bruce Beresford (acutally New Zealand)
Don's Party (1976)
'Breaker' Morant (1980)
Tender Mercies (1983)
Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Black Robe (1991)

John Duigan
Lawn Dogs (1997)
Flirting (1991)
Romero (1989)
Year My Voice Broke, The (1987)

David Caesar
Idiot Box (1996)

Craig Monahan
Interview, The (1998)

Pip Karmel
Me Myself I (1999)

Gillian Armstrong
My Brilliant Career (1979)
Little Women (1994)

Jane Campion
Angel at My Table, An (1990)
Piano, The (1993)
Portrait of a Lady, The (1996)
Two Friends (1986)

Jocelyn Moorhouse
Proof (1991)
How to Make an American Quilt (1995)

Scott Hicks
Shine (1996)
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)
Hearts in Atlantis (2001)

How dare you list Rob Sitch without mentioning "The Castle"! I liked "The Dish", but "The Castle" is a gem of a film that almost no one has heard of. Give it a try, folks! A very sweet, funny movie (and only 82 minutes).

Peter Jackson (you know his filmography) lives in New Zealand.

Agreed. Rob is well known in Australia for his comedic talents appearing in low budget sketch comedy/parody TV shows in the past (similar to "Kids in the Hall"). He and his "Working Dog" colleagues made an absolute winner with "The Castle". While "The Dish" was enjoyable it doesn't hold a candle to "The Castle".

P.S. Did you know that Rob is a graduate of Medical School but has never practised?

Jane Campion is a New Zealander

While I highly recommend Ray Lawrence's Lantana from last year (the dvd just came out).....

definitely DO NOT MISS Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock available on dvd from Criterion. This film is definitely his masterpiece. When I think "Australian filmmaker", Peter Weir is usually the first to come to mind....and when I think "Peter Weir"....I definitely first think of Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Also check out his other earlier films he made while still in Australia. The Last Wave is also available on dvd from Criterion, Gallipoli from Paramount, and The Year of Living Dangerously from WB.

Witness was his first US film, so anything before that is his Australian period. He basically made Mel Gibson a star.

http://us.imdb.com/Name?Weir,+Peter

Nicholas Roeg: Walkabout (one of the greatest films ever made, IMO)

Peter Weir: Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, Witness, Dead Poet's Society, The Year of Living Dangerously.

Roeg is English

Nicolas is a Brit, not an Aussie (but yes, especially the director's cut)

"Roeg is English"

Ooops! Nevermind then...but do see Walkabout.

Phillip Noyce seems to be on the way up again.

with The Quiet American and Rabbit Proof Fence.

Two "crime" movies shot in Oz

Kiss or Kill - Bill Bennett - 1997
Two Hands - Gregor Jordan - 1999

Fred Schepisi, who directed "The Russia House", "Six Degrees of Separation", "Mr. Baseball", and a few others, including 1988's movie "A Cry in the Dark" with Meryl Streep.

This movie, based off of a true story about a woman charged with murder, but who claimed that the child had been taken by dingos, featured the quote "The dingo's got my baby!.....", which was later used in a Seinfeld episode by Elaine.