The best movies filmed in Melbourne’s outer west Mad Max, The Dressmaker, Picnic at Hanging Rock
Melbourne’s western suburbs have long been used by movie makers, featuring in local classics to Hollywood blockbusters. See the list below.
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Mad Max (1979)
From what started as an unknown flick about a revenge seeking cop in a dystopian Australia, quickly exploded into a multi-film franchise Hollywood just could not get enough of.
Mad Max, which launched Mel Gibson and director George Miller into stardom, is the blockbuster most associated with suburbs and towns in Melbourne’s outer west.
Roads in Laverton and Little River feature prominently in the film as the backdrop to many of the thrilling car chase scenes, including Max’s triumph over four bikies who are driven into the creek under Kirk Bridge Rd.
Scenes were also filmed along Old Melbourne Rd, Kororoit Rd and Cherry Lane.
The old Little River Hotel (now the Little River bed and breakfast) is another noticeable landmark in the film, which appears as a hangout for Toecutter’s cronies.
While the franchise’s three sequels have not returned to Melbourne’s outer west, these suburbs will forever be remembered as the birthplace of an Aussie icon.
Ned Kelly (2003)
Before his Oscar winning performance as the Joker, Heath Ledger helped bring Victoria’s greatest outlaw to the big screen in his portrayal as Ned Kelly.
While some scenes were filmed in Ballarat and Clunes, most of the movie starring Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts and Geoffrey Rush, was shot in Little River and nearby Mount Rothwell.
The set built at the Little River Earth Sanctuary remained on the site until 2016, while the Mount Rothwell homestead which featured in the film recently sold for more than $3.3m.
The Dressmaker (2015)
Boasting A-listers Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth, The Dressmakeris one of the latest high-profile films to utilise Melbourne’s west.
Little River was again front and centre, with nearby Mount Rothwell used as the setting to bring the fictional town ‘Dungatar’ to life.
Queen of the damned (2002)
This freaky tale adapted from the Vampire Chronicles novel series was filmed in the heart of Melbourne’s west.
An old chocolate factory in St Albans was used as the main studio and production office, while the Wyndham Quarry in Werribee was used as a substitute for Death Valley, for the film’s goth-rock concert which included about 2000 local extras.
In a real-life tragedy, the film’s lead actress Aaliyah, who portrayed the vampire Queen Akasha, died in a plane crash before it was released in 2002.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018)
The second film adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s novel takes sweeping shots of one of Wyndham’s most prized landmarks.
Despite being a fair way away from Hanging Rock, filmmakers made the most of what Werribee had to offer — using Werribee Park and its mansion to great effect.
The mansion was one of six buildings used to bring Appleyard College to the big screen, with the film using the mansion’s exterior to capture the school’s grandness.
Nitram (2022)
The most recent entry on this list, Point Cook substituted Port Arthur for Justin Kurzel’s award-winning flick Nitram.
The story, mostly filmed in Geelong during lockdowns, explores the events leading up to the Port Arthur massacre and the mentally disturbed protagonist ‘Nitram’, portrayed by Caleb Landry Jones, who won Best Actor at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival for this role.
The Pirate Movie (1982)
Despite being canned by critics, this Aussie musical rom-com loosely based on The Pirates of Penzancehas since gained a cult following.
The film centres on Mabel (Kristy McNichol) who wakes up in a fantasy world where pirates reign supreme and sets out on a journey to find the buried treasure alongside love-interest Frederic (Christopher Atkins) before the evil Pirate King.
Werribee Park hosted most of the film’s production, with the mansion used as the home of the major general and the site for the duel scene.
With the help of some movie magic, the mansion was made to look as though it was overlooking the sea and the beach which Mabel washes onto after her boat crash.
Gallipoli (2015 - mini series)
The horrors of World War I came to Melbourne’s western suburbs in 2015, with spots in Point Cook and Werribee used to film the Channel 9 miniseries Gallipoli.
Point Cook Coastal Park was transformed into Suvla Bay and Imbros Island for the series, while the nearby Point Cook homestead was used for several scenes due to the similarity it shared with many grand English homes of the time.
Gallipoli’s trenches were recreated at the Werribee International Shooting Complex, where location manager Nicci Dillon said the crew was able to make the most of special effects and gunfire “without bothering anyone”.
The Devil’s Playground (1976)
Australian director Fred Schepisi’s debut feature The Devil’s Playgrounddives into the life and development of a young boy inside an intense religious school.
The Werribee mansion served as a fitting location to for the film, given the mansion had been used as a seminary for Corpus Christi Catholic College for 50 years until the state government purchased the property in the early 1970s.
The film cleaned up at the Australian Film Institute Awards, winning six awards including best film, best direction and best lead actor.
Spotswood (1991)
As the title of the film suggests, locations in the inner-west suburb were used in the film about its namesake (though in the US the film is called The Efficiency Expert).
The film features Anthony Hopkins, Ben Mendelsohn as well as fresh faced Russell Crowe and Toni Collette in the story about a business consultant attempting to increase productivity at a Spotswood factory, despite inadvertently contributing to the sacking of most of the staff.
Various spots around the suburb as well as Williamstown can be identified in the film, as well as the Westgate Bridge.
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