Movies are filmed everywhere. You think that you know where a certain movie was probably filmed, but sometimes you’d be surprised. Here are some well-known movies that were filmed in Australia.
Note: The star rating system used is from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Stars are awarded on a scale from 1–10, with 10 being the highest.
Mad Max
Released in 1979. (6.9 stars)
Directed by George Miller, starring Mel Gibson and Joanne Samuel.
“Mad Max” was filmed entirely in Victoria, Australia.
The Man from Snowy River
Released in 1982. (7.0 stars)
Directed by George Wallace, starring Michael Douglas and Tom Burlinson.
This film was also shot entirely in Victoria.
Crocodile Dundee
Released in 1986. (6.5 stars)
Directed by Peter Fainman, starring Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski.
No surprise here! Ah, but there is. You would think that a film about an Australian crocodile hunter who lives in the Australian Outback would be filmed in Australia. Nope. A very small part of the film was set in McKinlay, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The rest of the movie was filmed in New York City at various locations in Manhattan.
Crocodile Dundee II
Released in 1988. (5.2 stars)
Directed by John Cornell, starring Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski.
This sequel to “Crocodile Dundee” was filmed almost entirely in the Northern Territory of Australia. Some small parts were filmed in – you guessed it – New York, New York.
Babe: Pig in the City
Released in 1999. (6.0 stars).
Directed by George Miller, starring Magda Szubanski and George Cromwell.
“Babe” was filmed entirely in Robertson, New South Wales, Australia.
The Matrix
Released in 1999. (8.7 stars)
Directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburn.
“The Matrix” was filmed almost entirely in Australia at studios in Sydney and Broken Bay, New South Wales. Parts that were not filmed in Australia were shot in the United States in Nashville and San Francisco.
Mission Impossible II
Released in 2000. (5.8 stars)
Directed by John Woo, starring Tom Cruise and Dougray Scott.
“Mission Impossible II” was filmed mainly in Sydney. The other two locations where the film was shot are Los Angeles, California and Moab, Utah.
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles
Released in 2001. (4.8 stars)
Directed by Simon Wincer, starring Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski.
Sounds like this one should be filmed all in L.A., right? Well, it wasn’t. Half of the movie was shot in Los Angeles, and the other half was shot at various locations in Queensland and Victoria.
Moulin Rouge
Released in 2001. (7.1 stars)
Directed by Baz Luhrman, starring Nicle Kidman and Ewan McGregor.
This is not one that you would normally associate with Australia, except that Nicole Kidman is in it and Baz Luhrman directed it. However, “Moulin Rouge” was filmed at Fox Studios at Moore Park in Sydney. Some reshoots had to be done in Madrid, Spain.
The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions
Released in 2003. (7.1 stars and 6.5 stars, respectively)
Directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburn.
Except for the car chase scene in “The Matrix Reloaded,” both movies were shot at the same time in Sydney.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Released in 2005. (7.7 stars)
Directed by George Lucas, starring Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman.
It’s been rumored that “Star Wars Episodes I–III” were all filmed in Australia; this is false. Only “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” had small parts of it filmed at Fox Studios at Moore Park in Sydney. The rest of “Star Wars Episode III” was filmed in the following locations: Tunisia, England, Switzerland, China, Italy and Thailand.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Released in 2009. (6.7 stars)
Directed by Gavin Hood, starring Hugh Jackman and Live Schreiber.
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” was filmed almost entirely in New South Wales, Australia. Some parts of the movie were filmed in Queenstown, New Zealand; British Columbia, Canada; and Shreveport, Louisiana.
The Great Gatsby
To be released December 25, 2012. (Not yet rated)
Directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring Leonardo DeCaprio and Carey Mulligan.
This film was shot in 3D at numerous locations throughout Sydney.
Did you know that all of these movies were filmed in Australia? Check the credits the next time you watch a popular flick, and see if the setting that you thought was a futuristic American city, the snowy Swiss Alps or even somewhere in outer space was actually part of the diverse landscape of Australia.
This guest post article was written and provided by Erica Gustafson who is an avid Australia traveler, freelance writer and digital media consultant for Expedia. When traveling to Australia she enjoys staying at the Park Hyatt Melbourne hotel. Image by torres21