Desmond Kelly Movies

One of the most expensive miniseres ever assembled for Australian television, Changi covered a time-span of nearly 60 years. The story was told in flashback as a group of six former POWs, arranging a reunion, recalled their experiences in a Singapore prison camp. Though all six suffered mightily at the hands of their Japanese captors, all managed to survive the ordeal and remain friends even after cessation of hostilities. Still, each man had retained a deleterious "side effect" from his imprisonment, which threatened to cast a tragic pall on their reunion. Running an exhaustive gamut from comedy to horror, Changi sustained its believability by having each of the main characters played by two actors -- one young for the WWII scenes, one old for the postwar scenes. Though critics and the general public were impressed when the series first aired on Australia's ABC network from October 14 to November 12, 2001, there were a number of real-life prison camp survivors who condemned the project as unrealistic and offensive (and never mind that at least one of the lead actors on the show had himself weathered six years in a Japanese stockade). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor) is kidnapped and spirited away to the mystical realm of Dreamscape. In her efforts to rescue Gabrielle, Xena (Lucy Lawless) must perform a series of grueling tasks, made all the more difficult by the spectre summoned from her own dark past. Meanwhile, the Dream God Morphius eagerly awaits the outcome of Xena's ordeal, hoping to ultimately claim her for his bride. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Three Chinese miners head to New Zealand during the late 19th-century at the end of the island's gold rush in this drama. The trio is determined to find their wealth and eventually they do strike it rich. They believe their problems are finally over, but with their newfound riches come a whole new set of problems. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This imported period drama from New Zealand plays like a Down Under version of Paper Moon (1973). During the Great Depression, Kate (Greer Robson) is a 13-year-old girl living on New Zealand's South Island. When her mother dies and her father is offered a job in Wellington on North Island, Kate is sent to live with an aunt. The girl runs away to find her father, hopping onto a boxcar and befriending a fellow fugitive, Patrick (Peter Phelps), an emotionally battle-scarred WWI veteran fleeing the authorities after injuring a repo man. Pretending to be father and daughter, Patrick and Kate use each other for cover as they make their way across New Zealand, sleeping under the stars (hence the film's title) and championing the rights of destitute farmers and homeless squatters whose fortunes have been wiped out by economic hardship. Starlight Hotel (1987) was the second directorial effort of New Zealand native Sam Pillsbury and his follow-up to the offbeat horror film The Scarecrow (1982). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

Although the ride is bumpy in places, there's an exciting journey offered by John Laing's fast-paced thriller. Three orphans have been best friends since their they were children; now they have decided to end their poverty-stricken existence by murdering an American drug courier in Auckland and then flying to Geneva to withdraw $5 million from his Swiss bank account. Richer but on very dangerous ground, the trio of thieves find themselves on the lead drug dealer's most wanted list. To make matters a bit more complex, one of the grown-up orphans falls in love with the ex-wife of the drug ring's head honcho. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This gothic hillbilly horror thriller was produced in New Zealand and centers around a small rural town, circa 1953, where unusual events lead a teenager to cross paths with a serial killer. Ned (Jonathan Smith) and his pal Les (Daniel McLaren) are a pair of teens in trouble with local bullies after they steal some prize chickens. Their troubles are compounded by the arrival of a carnival, employing the sinister Salter (John Carradine), an evil magician and sideshow hypnotist. The presence of Salter seems to bring out the worst in the local citizenry, inspiring nascent lust and perversion to surface in disturbing ways, much of which is centered on Ned's nubile sister Prudence (Tracy Mann). When a girl is slain in the woods, the trial leads to Salter, who is not only guilty of the crime, but of many more. The Scarecrow (1982), based on the novel of the same name by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was the feature debut of co-writer and director Sam Pillsbury, who went on to direct numerous television movies and series episodes in the U.S. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide

This historic film footage, presents the history of the Sadler Wells Royal Ballet, including a clip of the 16-year-old Fonteyn. ~ All Movie Guide