Leslie Massey
Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film 'Australia' has been reimagined as a six-part miniseries for Hulu, titled 'Faraway Downs'. The series is a director's cut, featuring 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage, a new ending, and soundtrack. The transition from film to miniseries works well due to the episodic nature of melodrama, allowing for a richer telling of the story. The series expands on the storyline about Australia's Stolen Generations, addressing the racism of the country's official government policies regarding Aboriginal communities.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Director | Baz Luhrmann |
| Original film release date | 2008 |
| Original film length | 165 minutes |
| Series name | Faraway Downs |
| Series length | 6 episodes |
| Series release date | 26 November 2023 |
| Series streaming platform | Hulu |
| Series streaming platform outside the US | Disney Plus |
| Series format | Miniseries |
| Series new content | Ending, soundtrack, 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage |
| Series new content format | Audio |
Explore related products
What You'll Learn
- 'Australia' was Baz Luhrmann's least commercially successful film
- Luhrmann had time to revisit 'Australia' during the 'Elvis' production shutdown
- 'Australia' is inherently episodic, making it suitable for a miniseries
- Luhrmann wanted to expand the storyline about Australia's 'Stolen Generations'
- Luhrmann changed the ending of 'Australia' for the series
'Australia' was Baz Luhrmann's least commercially successful film
Baz Luhrmann is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor. He is regarded as the most commercially successful Australian director, with four of his films in the top ten highest-grossing Australian films of all time. However, despite its star-studded cast, including Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, and David Gulpilil, "Australia" was Luhrmann's least commercially successful film in America.
"Australia" is an epic adventure drama film directed and co-written by Luhrmann. It is set between 1939 and 1942 against the backdrop of World War II and centers on three main characters. The film depicts a mythologized Australia and explores the country's relationship with England and its indigenous population. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $211 million worldwide, with a disappointing gross in the United States.
The film faced numerous challenges during its production, including the set-trained horses contracting a rare equine flu and unexpected rainfall in the outback. These obstacles delayed production and tested the cast and crew's resilience. Despite its commercial performance, "Australia" has its fans, including Roger Ebert, who gave the film three out of four stars, and David Ansen of Newsweek, who praised Kidman's performance and the erotic charge between her and Jackman.
Due to the challenges faced during the film's production and its mixed commercial and critical reception, Luhrmann revisited the material 15 years later, turning "Australia" into a six-part limited series for Hulu titled Faraway Downs. The series includes 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage, with new audio recorded by Kidman and Jackman for the unused scenes. By expanding the storyline, Luhrmann was able to explore different ways of telling the story and provide a new ending that revisits the very personal nature of the story.
Crafting Whiskey at Home: An Australian Guide
You may want to see also
Explore related products
![Regular Show (Complete Season 7) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81s7OF9w8LL._AC_UY218_.jpg)
Luhrmann had time to revisit 'Australia' during the 'Elvis' production shutdown
The production of the Elvis biopic, directed by Baz Luhrmann, was shut down in March 2020 when Tom Hanks, who plays Colonel Tom Parker, and his wife Rita Wilson, contracted COVID-19. During this unexpected break, Luhrmann revisited his 2008 film, Australia, which had faced a series of production challenges and had not been a commercial success in America.
Luhrmann reviewed the 2.5 million feet of film he had shot for Australia and decided to recut and reimagine it as a six-part miniseries, Faraway Downs. The transition to a miniseries format worked well due to the episodic nature of melodrama, a genre that lends itself to tragedy and cliffhangers, which are essential to compelling TV storytelling.
Luhrmann added 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage to Faraway Downs, including deleted and trimmed scenes, enhancing the story without padding. The series expands the storyline about Australia's "Stolen Generations," addressing the removal of Aboriginal children from their families by the government and church in the early 20th century.
Luhrmann's decision to revisit Australia during the Elvis production shutdown allowed him to explore different ways of telling the story and showcase valuable sequences and scenes that were initially cut to fit the runtime of a single film.
Planes to Australia: Why Not Fly the Other Way?
You may want to see also
Explore related products
'Australia' is inherently episodic, making it suitable for a miniseries
Hulu's 'Faraway Downs' is a miniseries based on Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film 'Australia'. The series is a six-part miniseries that expands on the storyline of the film, including the story of Australia's "Stolen Generations", where children were cruelly removed from Aboriginal families by the government and church in the first half of the twentieth century.
Luhrmann has stated that the transition from film to miniseries works well because of the episodic nature of melodrama. The film 'Australia' is inherently broken into parts, often bookended by a tragedy or cliffhanger, which makes for great TV storytelling. Compressing the footage into a single film meant losing valuable moments, and the miniseries format allows for a "richer telling" of the story.
The series centres on English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), who travels to Australia to confront her wayward husband and sell a million-acre cattle ranch called 'Faraway Downs'. After her husband passes away, Lady Sarah teams up with a cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) to protect her ranch from a ruthless Australian cattle baron, King Carney (Bryan Brown).
The series also stars Brandon Walters as Nullah, a mixed-race Aboriginal boy who turns up at the cattle station, and Ben Mendelsohn. Luhrmann used existing footage from the film but added a new ending and soundtrack, as well as 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage.
Authentic Australian Meat Pie: A Step-by-Step Recipe Guide
You may want to see also
Explore related products
Luhrmann wanted to expand the storyline about Australia's 'Stolen Generations'
Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film "Australia" has been reimagined as a six-part miniseries called "Faraway Downs," streaming on Hulu. The series expands on the storyline of Australia's "Stolen Generations," referring to Aboriginal children of mixed race who were forcibly removed from their families and trained to serve in white society. This program, now known as the "Stolen Generations," continued until 1973.
Luhrmann wanted to "go deeper" and find new perspectives within his original film, which was an epic adventure drama set during World War II. The series centres on Nullah, a young Indigenous Australian boy with an Aboriginal mother and a white father, whose story serves as an acknowledgment of Australia's tragic history of Aboriginal children being taken from their families and assimilated into white culture.
Luhrmann emphasised that "Faraway Downs" is not just "Australia-plus" or a director's cut, but a variation that allowed him to explore the film's themes in a stronger way. In an interview, he stated that he wanted to lean into Nullah's telling of the story more, and that this was probably the main reason he created the series.
The series includes 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage, adding to the existing 165 minutes of the original film. Luhrmann noted that the transition to a miniseries worked well due to the episodic nature of melodrama, allowing him to include valuable scenes that were initially cut from the film.
"Faraway Downs" premiered on Hulu on November 26, 2023, and offers a richer and more immersive experience that reflects the perspectives of the Indigenous communities that Luhrmann wanted to highlight.
Kmart Australia: Shipping to NZ?
You may want to see also
Luhrmann changed the ending of 'Australia' for the series
In 2022, during the COVID lockdown, Baz Luhrmann revisited his 2008 film "Australia", which was his least commercially successful film in America. He decided to recut and reimagine the film into a six-part limited series called "Faraway Downs", streaming on Hulu.
Luhrmann added nearly 40 minutes of previously unreleased footage to the series, which was made possible by the episodic nature of melodrama. He also created a new ending for the series, deploying an alternate ending where Drover is killed after the Japanese attack on Darwin, leaving Lady Ashley to face her next chapter alone.
Luhrmann shot two different conclusions to the film during production, and “Faraway Downs” features the one he feels is most true to the theme at the story’s center. He felt that the new ending speaks more directly to the primary theme of the movie.
Luhrmann also took the opportunity to take another look at the music, creating a new score for the series. He also expanded the storyline about Australia's "Stolen Generations", the program where children were cruelly removed from Aboriginal families by the government and church in the first half of the twentieth century.
Jojo Bows: Where to Find Them in Australia
You may want to see also
Frequently asked questions
Hulu's 'Faraway Downs' is a reworking of Baz Luhrmann's 2008 film 'Australia' and not a new creation.
Luhrmann has described the series as an "experiment", and a way to tell the story in a "richer" way. The series format allowed him to include 40 minutes of previously unused footage.
'Faraway Downs' centres on English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who travels to Australia to sell her late husband's cattle ranch. She teams up with a cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) to protect her ranch from a ruthless cattle baron. The series also expands the storyline about Australia's "Stolen Generations", the Aboriginal children cruelly removed from their families by the government and church in the first half of the twentieth century.
The original film was released in 2008.
