Australia

“Sprawling epic” is a phrase much overused by film reviewers, but if any 2008 film qualifies for that designation, it's Baz Luhrmann's Australia, an overlong, bifurcated period piece set Down Under before and during World War II. The story gets underway in 1939, as aristocratic British widow Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) takes over the management of her late husband's cattle ranch in northern Australia—a spread coveted by ruthless cattle baron King Carney (Bryan Brown). In order to protect her interests, Lady Sarah hires “Drover” (Hugh Jackman)—an irrepressible, independent cowboy—to bring her herd to market, a drive conducted with the help of Aboriginal ranch hands, whose unofficial mascot is Nullah (Brandon Walters), a young native liked by both Sarah and Drover. This first half, visualized in bold colors with sweeping location cinematography, would have made a perfectly satisfying movie in its own right, but Australia expands the story's scope in the second half by chronicling how the Japanese bombing of Australia (shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor) first paralyzed and then galvanized the local resistance. A persistent subplot, running through both halves, deals with Australia's racism of the period, as Nullah struggles to stay one step ahead of authorities charged with gathering up and institutionalizing the continent's indigenous children. At 165 minutes, Australia is at least a half-hour too long, but it's also consistently engaging and contains a surprising number of intimate, almost magical moments. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (3 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are several behind-the-scenes featurettes on “Photography” (5 min.), “Production Design” (6 min.), “Costume Design” (7 min.), “Locations” (7 min.), “Cinematography” (7 min.), “Sound” (11 min.), “Editing” (11 min.), “Music” (11 min.), and “Visual Effects” (9 min.), as well as a featurette on “Australia: The People, the History, the Location” (7 min.). Bottom line: although the DVD release is pretty barebones, the Blu-ray version of this epic offers a solid extras package.] (E. Hulse)