New Zealand Film
Welcome to the New Zealand Film archive. Most New Zealand films have been made by small independent film-makers, often on a low budget and sometimes with sponsorship from the private sector or the NZ Film Commission. Only recently have international film companies used the New Zealand film industry as a source of feature films. However, the independent tradition of filmmaking in New Zealand dates back to the end of the 19th century, when film was first shot in New Zealand. The first feature film made in Godzone was "Hinemoa". It premiered on August 1, 1914 at the Lyric Theatre, Auckland.
The documentary film Cinema of Unease, by Sam Neill, presents an accessible history of film in New Zealand.
Most films are able to be accessed below, however some Films have been seperated into sub-categories, ie "New Zealand Documentaries", "Short Films" and "Peter Jackson Directs". The mother-lode can be prospected below.
Right: An artists rendition of Geoff Murphy's "Goodbye Pork Pie".
The Silent One (1984)
7.1/10
Director: Yvonne Mackay
Starring: Pat Evison, Anzac Wallace, Rongo Tupatea Kahu, Telo Malese
Spectacular underwater photography highlights the story of Jonasi, 'the silent one', a uniquely gifted young man sent from the sea as a baby to grow u... Read more
Vigil / The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey / A State of Siege (1984)
Director: Vincent Ward
Starring: Bruce Lyons, Hamish McFarlane, Penelope Stewart, Frank Whitten, Bill Kerr, Fiona...
A Vincent Ward double feature. 'Vigil' (1984, 86 mins) Director Vincent Ward supplies a striking visual atmosphere in this rural melodrama about life... Read more
Vigil / A State of Siege / In Spring One Plants Alone (1984)
Director: Vincent Ward
Starring: Penelope Stewart, Frank Whitten, Fiona Kay
Director Vincent Ward supplies a striking visual atmosphere in this rural melodrama about life on the farm through the eyes of Toss, a young girl who... Read more
Utu Redux (1983)
Director: Geoff Murphy
Starring: Anzac Wallace, Bruno Lawrence, Wi Kuki Kaa, Kelly Johnson, Tim Elliott, Tania Br...
In 1870s New Zealand, Te Wheke (Anzac Wallace), a Maori scout for the colonial troops, finds his tribe massacred by the army he is working for. Anguis... Read more
The Lost Tribe (1983)
5.5/10
Director: John Laing
Starring: Darien Takle, Don Selwyn, Ian Watkin, John Bach, Martyn Sanderson
While searching for a legendary lost tribe in the dense New Zealand jungle, renowned anthropologist Maxwell Scarry (John Bach) disappears without a tr... Read more
Death Warmed Up (1983)
Director: David Blyth
Starring: Bruno Lawrence, David Letch, Margaret Umbers, Michael Hurst
Michael Tucker is programmed into killing his parents by genetic surgeon Dr Archer Howell and is incarcerated in a psychiatric institution for the cri... Read more
Constance (1983)
3.6/10
Director: Bruce Morrison
Starring: Donogh Rees, Judie Douglass, Martin Vaughan, Shane Briant
About a young Auckland primary school teacher whose life is influenced by the movies which are her great passion. She gives up her job and embarks on... Read more
Savage Islands (1983)
6.3/10
Director: Ferdinand Fairfax
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Michael O'Keefe, Max Phipps, Jenny Seagrove, Grant Tilly, Peter...
AKA 'Nate and Hayes'. This US/NZ co-production stars Tommy Lee Jones as the legendary buccaneer Bully Hayes. Aided by his mercenary crew he sets out t... Read more
Utu (1983)
7.1/10
Director: Geoff Murphy
Starring: Anzac Wallace, Bruno Lawrence, Tim Elliott
Visually beautiful film set in 1870's New Zealand. After the family and village of a Maori tribesman is wiped out in a senseless raid, the tribesman,... Read more
Battletruck / Deathsport (1982)
Director: Allan Arkush, Harley Cokliss, Henry Suso
Starring: Annie McEnroe, Claudia Jennings, David Carradine, Michael Beck, David McLean, Ja...
A Double Feature of Future Mayhem! 'Battletruck' (aka 'Warlords of the 21st Century') (1982, 91 mins) - After the Oil Wars, gasoline has become a prec... Read more