See also: my presentation on road movies.
See also: car films.
1% (Stephen MacCallum, 2017) wr. Matt Nable; bikies; WA; not a quest, but bikies by definition must be on roads
Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, The (Stephan Elliot, 1994) Priscilla (a bus) journeys from Sydney to Alice Springs
As Time Goes By (Barry Peak, 1988) time travel, among other trips
Back of Beyond, The (John Heyer, 1954) classic doco of journey from Maree to Birdsville
Backlash (Bill Bennett, 1987) cops have to bring woman back to town from back of Bourke
Backroads (Phillip Noyce, 1977) of New South Wales
Beneath Clouds (Ivan Sen, 2002) journey from remoter NSW to Sinny
Blackfellas (James Ricketson, 1993) not sure about this
BMX Bandits (Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1983) kids on bikes pursued by bad guys
Bran Nue Dae (Rachel Perkins, 2009) journey back to Broome
Breaking Loose (Rod Hay, 1988) from Sinny up NSW coast
Broken Highway (Laurie McInnes, 1993) you tell me
(it has 'highway' in the title)Burke and Wills (Graeme Clifford, 1985) you know where they go (better than they did)
Cactus (Jasmine Yuen Carrucan, 2008) 'choose the wrong road and you're ...'
Call Me Mum (Margot Nash, 2006) returns to Torres Strait to meet his birth mother
Cars That Ate Paris, The (Peter Weir, 1974) there are a lot of car accidents in Paris
Chain Reaction, The (Ian Barry, 1980) aka Nuclear Run, The Man at the Edge of the Freeway; chase
Dead-End Drive In (Brian Trenchard-Smith, 1986) not really on the road, but about cars, and there is a car stunt
Doing Time For Patsy Cline (Chris Kennedy, 1997) protagonist on his way from country Oz to Nashville
Driving Force (Andrew Prowse, 1989) aka Roadwars
FJ Holden, The (Michael Thornhill, 1977) driving around Bankstown
Fortress (Arch Nicholson, 1986) kidnapped teacher, children travel home
Freedom (Scott Hicks, 1982) freedom is a Porsche
Furiosa (George Miller, 2024) wr. George Miller, Nick Lathouris; Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke ['Mad Max 5']
Goddess Of 1967, The (Clara Law, 2000) Japanese man comes to Australia to buy car, travels with girl
Goodbye Pork Pie (Geoff Murphy, 1980) NZ; BMC mini
Hang On a Minute, Mate (Alan Lindsay, 1982) prod. Alan Lindsay; Alan Jervis, Kelly Johnson; NZ comedy, road movie; 71 min.
Heaven's Burning (Craig Lahiff, 1997) various pursuits
High Rolling (Igor Auzins, 1977) Judy Davis is the hitchhiker
High Tide (Gillian Armstrong, 1987) Judy Davis drives the Valiant
In Search of Anna (Esben Storm, 1979) 'search for elusive happiness'
Japanese Story (Sue Brooks, 2003) they get bogged on a journey by 'road' (track)
Jedda (Charles Chauvel, 1955) Marbuk takes Jedda away to live with him
Journey (Ivan Sen, 1997) a boy on the road; short, 20 min.
Kiss or Kill (Bill Bennett, 1997) on the run from both the cops and the bad guy
Last Cab to Darwin (Jeremy Sims, 2015) taxi driver drives from Broken Hill to Darwin for euthanasia
Last Ride (Glendyn Ivin, 2009) Hugo Weaving and son travel on foot across Australia
Last Train to Freo (Jeremy Sims, 2006) literally that: from Midland to Fremantle
Love in Limbo (David Elfick, 1993) the boys drive to Kalgoorlie to lose their virginity
Lucky Miles (Michael James Rowland, 2007) boat ppl travel from NW coast to Perth
Mad Max ([Dr] George Miller, 1979) you've seen it
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior ([Dr] George Miller, 1981) more of the same
Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome ([Dr] George Miller & George Ogilvie, 1985) and even more
Mad Max: Fury Road (Dr George Miller, 2013) and he's not done yet (see Furiosa)
Manganinnie (John Honey, 1980) she journeys across mountains towards the coast with Joanna, a white girl
Mother Fish (Khoa Do, 2010) refugee drama — travel over water; haven't seen it
Mystery Road (Ivan Sen, 2013) not a road movie; it's a place
Overlanders The (Harry Watt, 1946) cattle drive from the Territory to Brisbane
Pa Boys, The (Himiona Grace, 2014) road movie; NZ
Paperback Hero (Anthony J. Bowman, 1999) hero drives a truck
Penny Black (Joe Hitchcock, 1015) road movie; NZ
Pork Pie (Matt Murphy, 2017) remake of Goodbye Pork Pie; road movie; NZ
Prime Mover (David Caesar, 2009) main character played by Mendo is a trucker
Pure Shit (Bert Deling, 1976) driving around Melbourne trying to find good smack
Rabbit-Proof Fence (Phillip Noyce, 2001) Aboriginal children escape custody, walk hundreds of miles home
Road, The (John Hillcoat, 2009) not an Australian film—but directed by an Australian; and makes the point that road movies do not have to take place on actual roads, nor in cars
Road to Alice (Stavros Andonis Efthymiou, 1992) short, wr. Stavros Andonis Efthymiou; Hugo Weaving, Noah Taylor, Loene Carmen, short, 29 min.
Roadgames (Richard Franklin, 1981) (American!?) truckie dealing with bad guys while crossing country to Perth
Running on Empty (John Clark, 1982) street racing
Samson and Delilah (Warwick Thornton, 2009) young Aboriginal couple leave the settlement together
Shaker Run (Bruce Morrison, 1985) NZ; road race
Shame (Steve Jodrell, 1988) biker chick pauses in country town long enough to deal with sexist culture
Slate, Wyn and Me (Don McLennan, 1987) MC chick abducted by yobs
Sleeping Dogs (Roger Donaldson, 1977) NZ; on the run in political situation
Spider and Rose (Bill Bennett, 1994) ambo and old chick have weird relationship on the road
Starlight Hotel (Sam Pillsbury, 1987) wr. Grant Hinden-Miller, prod. Larry Parr, Finola Dwyer, Mirage Films, Challenge Film Corp, dp Warrick Attewell; Peter Phelps, Greer Robson, Marshall Napier, Bruce Phillips, The Wizard; Depression era NZ school-kid Kate missing her father badly; temptation to seek him out leads her into diverse and intense encounters with fate; NZ
Stone (Sandy Harbutt, 1974) bikie flick
Stone Bros. (Richard Frankland, 2009) journey from Perth to Kalgoorlie, unlike the films below
Sundowners, The (Fred Zinnemann, 1960) droving
Survival of Kindness, The (Rolf de Heer, 2022) aka The Mountain; prod. Julie Byrne, dp Maxx Corkindale; Mwajemi Hussein, Darsan Sharma, Deepthi Sharma; BlackWoman travels on foot on quest for kindness?
Tears (Ivan Sen, 1998) dp Allan Collins, music Ivan Sen & Alister Spence; two young people (called Vaughn and Lena, as in Beneath Clouds - tho with different actors) leave the mish [mission] and head for the bus-stop, possibly to leave town; Luke Carroll (Vaughn), Jamilla Frail (Lena), Alan Campbell, Trevor Hunt, Anita Fernando, Theresa Shields; shot at Come by Chance, Walgett; short, 15 min.
Thunderstruck (Darren Ashton, 2003) journey to Perth to Bon Scott's marker in Freo cemetery
Tracker (Ian Sharp, 2010) NZ; Ray Winstone, Temuera Morrison; lawman brings in perp
Tracker, The (Rolf de Heer, 2002) as the title suggests
Tracks (John Curran, 2013) prod. Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, wr. Marion Nelson, John Curran, dp Mandy Walker; Mia Wasikowska, Adam Driver, Emma Booth; Robyn Davidson crosses the Australian continent with camels
Trouble with E, The (Louise Wadley, pre-production 2013) shooting Sydney and NSW; road movie romance thriller
True Love and Chaos (Stavros Andonis Efthymiou, 1996) across the Nullabor to Perth
Until the End of the World (Bis ans Ende der Welt) (Wim Wenders, 1992) across the world to the outback
Wake in Fright (Ted Kotcheff, 1971) attempted journey from the bush to the city (Sinny)
Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971) young Aboriginal on 'walkabout' meets English kids lost in bush
Wind (Ivan Sen, 1999) wr. Ivan Sen, prod. Graeme Isaac, dp Allan Collins; tracker theme; in 1857 a young black tracker and his elderly sergeant follow the trail of a killer; Crossing Tracks 'compilation'; short, 35 min.
Wrong Side of the Road (Ned Lander, 1981) doco about two bands on the road
Yolngu Boy (Stephen Johnson, 2001) three boys travel to Darwin to find the father of one
Against the Grain: More Meat Than Wheat (Tim Burns, 1980) I think the opening scenes are at the Cenotaph in Sydney, but the characters are soon in Perth
Drift (Ben Nott, Morgan O'Neill, 2012) in the opening flashback sequence, characters leave Sinny for WA
Japanese Story (Sue Brooks, 2003) the last scene is at Perth airport, if I remember correctly?
Lucky Miles (Michael James Rowland, 2007)
Kiss or Kill (Bill Bennett, 1997) they end up in Margaret River or near there?
Roadgames (Richard Franklin, 1981)
True Love and Chaos (Stavros Andonis Efthymiou, 1996) across the Nullabor to Perth
Thunderstruck (Darren Ashton, 2003) from Sydney to Fremantle
and the TV series Upright: across the Nullabor to Perth
Nette, Andrew 2017, 'Ten great dystopian Australian road movies', www.bfi.org.uk, British Film Institute, 7 April.
Khoo, Olivia, Belinda Smaill, Audrey Yue 2013, 'The global back of beyond: ethics and the Australian road movie', Transnational Australian Cinema: Ethics in the Asian Diasporas, Lexington Books; 93-106.
Garry Gillard | New: 11 November, 2007 | Now: 25 December, 2023