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South Australia on the Silver Screen

South Australia on the
Silver Screen

The Water Diviner Source: makeagif.com The stunning landscapes around South Australia were the perfect sets for some of these Hollywood classics. Words: Penny Hsieh Every legitimate movie buff has the uncanny ability to describe entire scenes in technicolour detail, recite lines like a schizophrenic role-playing genius, or belt out sticky soundtracks, with or without words. Some go as far as crossing land and sea just to transport themselves to locations from their favourite movies, or dare we say, Korean drama series. If you nodded even slightly to any of those symptoms, tickets to South Australia may be in order with some rather iconic motion pictures set in the vast landscapes around Adelaide. Who knows, you might even catch a star or two. Jaws (1975)

Source: imdb.com Nearly all the terrifying scenes from this iconic movie, including the opening sequence which features the scariest two note melody known to man, were filmed in a reef system called Dangerous Reef (duh). The site is east of Port Lincoln in South Australia and was where Steven Spielberg spent the most time filming with live sharks. Today, different operators will give you the chance to swim with the Great White sharks in submerged cages, just like in the movie, and if you’re nice they won’t make you swim back up yourself.

Source: giphy.com Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome (1985)

Source: imdb.com The Moon Plains of Coober Pedy or ‘White Man’s Burrow’, sets the backdrop for the third in this cult series. Its bizarre landscape was formed by years of mining for opal– many of the homes and even the church have been dug out of the ground. Jedediah’s (pilot and obsessive hoarder from Mad Max) house remains to be one of the most elaborate dugouts in the area. It belonged to the town’s most infamous characters Crocodile Harry, who although isn’t with us any more, has left his ‘underground nest’ available for people to visit for a small fee.

Source: giphy.com Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994)

Source: imdb.com On the way to Alice Springs, everyone’s favourite band of professional drag queens get stuck, this time in the outer regions of Coober Pedy where they run into an unaccepting, rough crowd. Don’t worry, they’re just actors (we mean the rough crowd of course). Today, you can still visit the underground bar they filmed in OR join the Queen of the Desert Festival in August 2016! You and your friends dress up, load up your camping gear and roll out in a 4WD with UHF radio in hand because there will be no mobile phone coverage for large sections of the trail. It lasts for four days, starts at the Marree Hotel and ends at the Opal Festival in Coober Pedy. Paaardeeee!

Source: giphy.com Shine (1996)

Source: imdb.com This award-winning movie about pianist David Helfgott features some of the most picturesque locations in Adelaide. The movie takes us from the coastal suburb of Henley Beach, to landmarks like the Botanic Gardens and Town Hall. The house at Unley Park where Geoffrey Rush jumps into a pool surrounded by music scores is still there, but the most heart-stopping visit would have to be the haunted tour of the historical Glenside Hospital grounds. Beware the Z ward for the criminally insane.

Source: makeagif.com The Water Diviner (2014)

Source: russelcroweonline.com Marking Russel Crowe’s directorial debut, this movie looks at the aftermath of the ANZAC’s (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) infamous Gallipoli campaign. Crowe returns to Australia from Turkey in search of his three missing sons. Even the poster is heartbreaking, but very scenic nonetheless. Instead of filming everything in Turkey, Crowe takes to several locations in South Australia like Port Augusta, Burra and Maslin Beach which coincidently was the first legal nudist beach in Australia. Random fact, but we thought we should just put it out there.

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