 BIOGRAPHY
A family man
Quotes
The others
Important dates
ACTOR
Filmography
Gallipoli
The year of...
The river
Max and Riggs
Hamlet
Smith and Rocky
The Patriot
What Women want
We were soldiers
Signs
Soon weīll
PRODUCER
Icon Productions
DIRECTOR
The debut
The Passion
Apocalypto
AWARDS
Oscars and...
MEGAFANS
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In 1980 Peter Weir- the director of Picnic at Hanging Rock- had the right role for Gibson: that of soldier Frank Dunne in the battlefield drama "Gallipoli".
The film was set during the World War I battle at Gallipoli, near Istambul. A strip of coastline in the Dardanelles that served as the Alliesīembattled front line of defense against the Turks, in constant need of reinforcements to stern the enemy tide, the area became a cemetery where 7,594 Australians were killed, and 26,000 were wounded.
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"Gallipoli" portrays the story through the eyes of Frank and Archie, two country boys who think they are off to save the world. Their experiences soon disillusion them, though the grim reality of their situation is partly offset by the comradeship that develops between them.
On signing up for "Gallipoli" , Mel plunged into weeks of research, reading books by historian C.E.W. Bean, diaries and letters written by soldiers. Mel developed a deep respect for the spirit of those men who so bravely marched into action.
The part of the other soldier, Archie, was played by Mark Lee.
The film was shot under some difficult conditions. The first location was near the outback settlement of Beltana (South Australia), where temperatures were above 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The crew were relegated to a nearby wool shed. Their next location, Lake Torrens, was bitterly cold. Conditions improved, though, when filming moved into the town of Port Lincoln, where a reconstruction of Anzac Cove had been built on the coast. The final shook took place in Egypt.
At the end of November, while Mel was in filming Cairo his first child, Hannah, was born.
"Itīs not our bloody war. Itīs an English war", Frank counsels Archie.
Critics loved the film and they lavished praise on Gibsonīs solid performance. "Gallipoli" was awarded nine Australian Film Institute Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Weir, and Best Actor for Gibson (his second such AFI award).
"The acting is quite superb. Mel Gibson is charming and ultimately touching as the swaggering Frank," said FILMS IN REVIEW (10/81).
The film also did well at the box office considering its $2 million budget. In the US it grossed $4 million, at that time the best figure for any Australian film.
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