Baz Luhrmann was quoted as saying he didn’t make films for critics, he made them for audiences. (So if a film was good, word-of-mouth would eventually get people in to see it – regardless of what was published in the press.)
More than 3 million Australians, out of a population of just 21.2 million, have been to see the film ‘Australia’ to date. This is despite the plethora of whining critics and bleats from the urban ‘smart’ set, who prefer to tell the general public what they should like, rather provide objective information and leave the public to make their own minds up.
How reassuring it is to see that the Australian public have sufficient brains to make their own minds up, and that the grapevine is more effective than the ‘middle men’ would like.
In 8 weeks ‘Australia’ reeled in $32.87m at the Australian box office, climbing past ‘Happy Feet’ to sit at the 3rd rung on the ladder – with Crocodile Dundee and Babe being the highest grossing Australian films ever. I think ‘Australia’ is an unusual film in that second and third viewings are even more enjoyable and just as interesting as the first viewing, and dvd sales will surely take it to the top of the list.
What has happened with the ‘Australia’ film is a great reminder that it is unwise to take reviewer’s opinions as factual or objective. And bravo to Baz Luhrmann for making a film for the public, rather than something specifically to suit a handful of jaded whingers.