Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford i(A23825 works by)
Born: Established: 1940 Paddington, Kings Cross area, Inner Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, ;
Gender: Male
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Works By

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1 David the Goliath Bruce Beresford , 2023 single work column
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30-31 December 2023; (p. 28)
1 A One-sided War Bruce Beresford , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 31 October 2020; (p. 14)

— Review of Breaker Morant Peter FitzSimons , 2020 single work biography

'Peter FitzSimons’s new book on Breaker Morant is full of surprises, writes Bruce Beresford As a teenager in the 1950s, I remember reading a number of books by Ion Idriess, who, along with Frank Clune, was one of the two writers that concentrated on Australian characters and Australian history. Nonfiction books such as The Cattle King, The Drums of Mer and Lasseter’s Last Ride were exciting tales about my own country and made me realise that films could be made — one day — that told Australian stories.' (Introduction)

1 9 form y separately published work icon Ladies in Black Bruce Beresford , Sue Milliken , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) Australia : Lumila Films , 2018 10891394 2018 single work film/TV

'Set in the summer of 1959, when the impact of European migration and the rise of women’s liberation is about to change Australia forever, a shy schoolgirl (Lisa) takes a summer job at the prestigious Sydney department store, Goode’s. There she meets the 'ladies in black', who will change her life forever. Beguiled and influenced by Magda, the vivacious manager of the high-fashion floor, and befriended by fellow sales ladies Patty and Fay, Lisa is awakened to a world of possibilities. As Lisa grows from a bookish schoolgirl to a glamorous and positive young woman, she herself becomes a catalyst for a cultural change in everyone’s lives.'

Source: Screen Australia.

1 Post-puberty, Men Still Behaving Badly Bruce Beresford , 2017 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 30 December 2017; (p. 14)

— Review of After the Blues Kathy Lette , 2017 single work novel

'Kathy Lette was famous, or at least notorious, in Australia when she was only 16, following the 1979 publication of Puberty Blues, which she wrote with Gabrielle Carey. The novel was a startling, even frightening, account of the surfie culture around Cronulla in the 1970s.' (Introduction)

1 2 y separately published work icon The Best Film I Never Made : And Other Stories about a Life in the Arts Bruce Beresford , Melbourne : Text Publishing , 2017 12258848 2017 selected work autobiography essay

'This entertaining collection of pieces from the acclaimed director of Breaker Morant, Driving Miss Daisy and Mao’s Last Dancer features memoirs, brief lives and revealing accounts of the film world.

'Alongside unsung heroes from behind the camera and producers of dubious repute are Madeleine St John and Clive James, Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart, as well as a particularly seductive 1963 EH Holden - and Bruce Beresford’s father, whose strange and startling decline in old age is charted in a brilliant, poignant essay.

'Opinionated, wry and engaging, The Best Film I Never Made will provoke and delight in equal measure. It is the ideal gift not only for cinema buffs but for anyone interested in music, art or literature. '  (Publication Summary)

1 3 y separately published work icon There's a Fax from Bruce : Edited Correspondence between Bruce Beresford & Sue Milliken 1989-1996 Bruce Beresford , Sue Milliken , Strawberry Hills : Currency Press , 2016 9635652 2016 selected work correspondence

'In the 1980s, director Bruce Beresford and producer Sue Milliken were mid-career in a world that welcomed film makers. They worked together on a number of projects, some of which never made it to the first day of filming, and stayed in touch by fax machine. As well as taking care of professional business, the faxes are chock full of industry gossip and news, ruminations on books they had read or films that they had seen. It’s a fun, fascinating, informative and ultimately charming read.' (Publication summary)

1 Credit Where It's Due Bruce Beresford , 2012 single work correspondence
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 11-12 August 2012; (p. 2)
1 The Getting of Wisdom : Lessons Learnt from Life : Bruce Beresford Bruce Beresford , 2011 single work column
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 16 July 2011; (p. 30)
1 Madeleine and Me Bruce Beresford , 2009 single work biography
— Appears in: The Women in Black 2009; The Women in Black 2012;
1 In Memory of a Friendship Bruce Beresford , 2009 single work biography
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 28 March 2009; (p. 8-9)
1 39 form y separately published work icon Mao's Last Dancer Jan Sardi , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) Australia : Early Mark Films , 2009 Z1433556 2009 single work film/TV A drama based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin, who at age 11 was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he fell in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.
1 The Director on Some of His Films Bruce Beresford , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 27 - 28 September 2008; (p. 15)
1 Bruce Beresford on Australian Films Bruce Beresford , 2008 single work essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian Magazine , 20-21 September 2008; (p. 35)
1 2 of Us : Barry Humphries and Bruce Beresford Barry Humphries , Bruce Beresford , 2008 single work column
— Appears in: Good Weekend , 30 August 2008; (p. 16)
1 10 y separately published work icon Josh Hartnett Definitely Wants to Do This ... : True Stories from a Life in the Screen Trade Bruce Beresford , London Pymble : Fourth Estate , 2007 Z1408791 2007 selected work diary 'Award-winning film-maker Bruce Beresford takes us through the highs and lows of the screen trade - from high-powered dinner tables to obscure backlots, from the centres of power to far-flung locations - with a cast of characters that includes Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Jeffrey Archer, Steven Seagal, and many others. Delightfully literate and sharply observed, this is a highly entertaining insider's account of a rarely glimpsed world. (Publisher's blurb)
1 Careful, They Might not Hear You Bruce Beresford , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , July vol. 2 no. 6 2007; (p. 25)
'Turning the great works of Australian literature into films is easier said than done.' (Editor's abstract)
1 Pass the Passport Bruce Beresford , 2005 single work column
— Appears in: Quadrant , September vol. 49 no. 9 2005; (p. 51-53)
1 2 y separately published work icon Drylands Peter Yeldham , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) 2004 Z1137960 2004 single work screenplay
1 Family Tree Bruce Beresford , 1997 single work short story humour
— Appears in: Great Australian Bites 1997; (p. 54-67) Rough with the Smooth : Stories of Australian Men 2000; (p. 7-23)
2 4 form y separately published work icon Paradise Road David Giles , Martin Meader , Bruce Beresford , New York (City) : St. Martin's Press , 1997 Z1232465 1997 single work film/TV

Paradise Road is based on the true stories of hundreds of English, Australian, and American women imprisoned in Sumatra by the Japanese as the latter swept through South-east Asia in 1942.

The narrative begins with Japanese fighter planes sinking the ship on which the women are attempting to flee Singapore. The captured prisoners face extreme cruelty and hardship, and are forced to seek any means for survival. Two of the women, Adrienne Partier and Margaret Drummond, conceive the idea of forming a choir. Both are both trained musicians, and Margaret has memorised many scores. She writes them down in children's notebooks, and dozens of women, in constant danger of extreme punishment or even execution, conspire to practice surreptitiously. When the choir performs its first number, 'Largo' from Dvorak's New World Symphony, the voices transform the dense tropical air with sweet, haunting strains and the guards, who have come to break up the illegal gathering, sit and listen with awe.

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