“I wanted to make a film in the epic style of Gone With the Wind and then turn everything upside down,” Luhrmann revealed (via Deadline) of his film, which once received mixed reviews from critics. “Australia” is about the English aristocrat Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), who inherits a cattle ranch in Australia after the death of her husband: Faraway Down. When Australian cattle barons plot to take over their lands, she reluctantly partners with drover Drover (Hugh Jackman) to defend herself. The love story between the two is told through the eyes of Nullah (Brandon Walters), an Australian resident who is the son of a white man and an Aboriginal woman. His grandfather is suspected of having murdered Ashley’s late husband.
Over a period of four years, the film was to be both a love story, a fable about dealing with the Australian Aborigines and the beginning of the Second World War. For the series, Baz Luhrmann wants to make all these aspects clearer. The six-part series will consist entirely of the footage originally shot, but will feature scenes not seen in the film version. Luhrmann promises, among other things, a new ending to the story and an updated soundtrack (composed at the time by David Hirschfelder). The series is scheduled to premiere exclusively on Hulu this winter. In the rest of the world, she can then be seen in the Star section of Disney+.
Incidentally, the film “Australia” is also available on Disney+ in this country.