Responses to:
Gallipoli

This page contains reader responses to my anti-review web page for the movie Gallipoli. These responses are dated 1997 and later

Click here to see responses to the original Usenet posting in 1985.

From: "Craft, Dave" <Dave.Craft@actew.com.au>
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 16:25:02 +1000

fuck off tool...gallipoli was great, you are weak, dont ruin their
memories by trying to be funny

Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 11:51:01 +0000
From: Simon Morris <smorris@student.pulteney.sa.edu.au>
Organization: Pulteney Grammar School
Subject: Gallipoli, from Simon Morris

Hi,
I'm a year 7 student from (what you would call) 'down under'.

My class watched this movie a personally I think it was great!

Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 08:03:13 +1000
From: webrat <webrat@netspace.net.au>
Subject: Regarding the movie "Galliploi"

HI,
     We are studying the great war at school.  Do you think the movie
was an accurate repesentation of the events? It was nothing like it. In
reality there were 4 lines of men, not 3. And the ground was steep and
full of shrubbery.  However the movie portrays it as flat.

Some of the comments on your page say it was not an adventure story.  It
wasn't suppose to be.  It was meant to glorify Australians and show what
happened. In addition they portray the massacre at the battle of the nek
as the English's fault. However it was the New Zealanders who stopped to
have a drink, not the British who were also dealing with there own
troubles at Suvla bay.

I agree with some points of the movie and disagree with others. However,
for someone who doesn't know anything about Gallipoli and the August
Offensive the movie is an accurate (in events and occurances) about what
happened.
                                                        CYA,
Travis.

Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 17:09:55 +1000
From: Jeff Martin <"jwm-spc@"@users.mcmedia.com.au>
Organization: SPC Ltd
Subject: Gallipoli;  Kelvin Thompson

Kelvin Thompson's response to the film Gallipoli is single minded and
uneducated.  Weir's film was not about 'action' or 'adventure', it's
purpose (obviously overlooked by Thompson), was to portray the fragile
ANZAC myth  of young, confidant, care-free, self-reliant, physically fit
men who fought for not only the Empire but also Australian identity and
world recognition.   Yes, the film has many faults, though it
successfully marketed an already manipulated legend that most
Australians relate to readily.
Perhaps Thompson should stick to action videos and stay away from the
history section.

Yours Sincerely
Rebecca Martin

Date: Thu, 30 Oct 1997 19:58:18 +1300
From: Kevin Hayden 
Subject: My opinion on 'Gallipoli'

I think that's what Gallipoli was supposed to represent - in Kelvin
Thompsons words "...a monumental waste of human effort".  Does it actually
show what it was really like ie that the folk of that period were ignorant
and uneducated about the war? Obviously it is very likely that that was the
way, (like in 'Gallipoli'),  people reacted to the war as it was the first
of it's kind and it was made out to be glamorous and anyone would be classed
as heroic and brave who joined.  My impression was the producer/director
wanted to get the point across of the attitudes towards issues of that time
compared to more modern views on war and fighting.  If it was supposed to
create a tear in your eye in the last scene it worked.  I do admit, I did
think it was finally starting to get somewhere and then it soon after ended
but the whole build up was the main affect of the end.  No other characters
that died, (maybe apart from Major Barton and  the 'total' number of
deaths), had any affect on the viewers whatsoever as we were not involved
much with anyone else.

It appears that, as the movie only contained about 5 or less minutes of
actual fighting,  that the "WAR" was not the total focus but the life of
Archie mainly with his talents and what seemed like such a waste of life.
The movie included you as the audience in to Archie's life throughout the
whole movie in order to create the impact at the end and leave you shocked
or sympathetic, maybe even slightly sad, but also to make you grateful of
education and every other aspect that is not associated with war.

I did not enjoy the end, as it made me sad but it left an impact.  It may
not have been totally realistic but the main theme was there and I think it
was presented very well.

I now have to write a 1000 word essay on the film for a school assignment.

Katie Hayden   17
Takapna Grammar School
New Zealand

From: "David Yon" <rider@sprint.ca>
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 1997 13:59:47 -0800

" Gallipoli (1985 moive) " manages to portray war both as a collective
endeavor and a personal endeavor: it shows war to be a patriotic social
phenomenon as well as a personal experience. How does it manage to do both?

From: "Terry Shaw" <tshaw@powerup.com.au>
Subject: Gallipoli
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 1998 07:59:21 +1000

HI. I'm in grade 11 in Australia and we just watched the movie in class. I
personally think that this movie was very moving and exciting. Especially
the end. The circumstances in which Archie dies is just so tragic. I give
it a 6 out of 5.

From: "Peter Goffin" <sparksnz@ihug.co.nz>
Subject: Response to review on Gallipoli
Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 15:47:03 +1200

Kelvin Thompson

You have the film all wrong. It was Archy (Lee)  who won the race, and
Frank (Gibson) that thought he had it all sewn up (if you recall it was he
who made the bet in the first place).
The film is about friendship and how pointless war really is. The last
image is a symbol for all the young men, who went in search of glory and
died too young, before they had the chance to make something wonderful of
their lives, become somebody.
It shows how wasteful war really is.

Rebecca Goffin
Auckland City
New Zealand

From: "Christopher Hughes" <picquic@netlink.com.au>
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 1998 10:48:47 +1000

     Hi  Im in year 9 and our history class has just finished watching  it.
I thought it was pretty good especialy the end. seeya Lizzie

From: Cory Carter <Cory.Carter@mdc.wa.edu.au>
Subject: Info
Date: Thu, 17 Sep 1998 10:02:35 +0800

Could you please give me a little info about the spirit of the anzacs.
grately appretiated.
my address is cdt_carter@mailcity.com

Date: Tue, 20 Oct 1998 01:20:18 +1000
From: Faramarz Keshawarz-Rahber <faramarz@hotlinks.net.au>
Subject: more technical information please

Hi my name is faramarz. I am studing film and I would like to get more
information about the narrative point of view of the Gallipoli film. It
is ergent for one of my assignment. Thank you
faramarz

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(Updated November 8, 1998.)