World War I · Film · 1981
Gallipoli
Two young sprinters from Western Australia, one idealistic and one cynical, race each other to enlist and follow the adventure from the outback to Egypt and on to the cliffs of Gallipoli.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 4 places.
Stop 1: Perth, Western Australia
After a race meeting and a trek across a dry lake bed, Archy and Frank reach Perth, where Archy joins the Light Horse and Frank the infantry.
Stop 2: Mena Camp by the Pyramids
The friends meet again while training in the desert beside the Pyramids and spend their leave in the bars and bazaars of Cairo.
Stop 3: Anzac Cove
Landing at night under fire, the Light Horsemen settle into trenches on the cliffs and swim in the cove between shellings.
Stop 4: The Nek
Key location
Frank becomes a runner as the Light Horse waits to charge across a strip of ground swept by Turkish machine guns.
What really happened
The Allied landings on the Gallipoli peninsula began on 25 April 1915, in a bid to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war and open the Dardanelles. Australian and New Zealand troops came ashore at what became Anzac Cove and spent eight months clinging to steep ridges; about 8,700 Australians died before the evacuation of December 1915.
The film's climax is the charge at the Nek on 7 August 1915, launched by dismounted men of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to support the August offensive. Of about 600 Australians who attacked in four waves across a narrow ridge, 234 were killed. The film suggests British officers ordered the final waves; in fact the decision to keep attacking was made by Australian brigade officers.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- Gallipoli
- Directed by
- Peter Weir
- Countries
- Australia
- Languages
- English
- Released
- 1981
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Mediterranean & Africa
- Themes
- Combat
