johnpelaro This is an absolutely superb war movie, on a par with the best. The flow of events is woven smoothly into the film, with scrupulous attention to historical accuracy. It does for World War One films what the series "Band of Brothers" did for WW2, raising the bar on the entire genre. There are flashbacks throughout the film, the dreariness and terror of trench warfare being contrasted with the lush beauty of eastern Australia. By avoiding huge battle scenes, accuracy is preserved and the intensity of individual experiences given greater strength. Why this film has not gained greater popularity in the US is a mystery to me.

thekarmicnomad This is a great, sturdy film relying on good acting and story telling.There is nothing to get too exciting about in the way of action or affects but the story is engaging and the characters feel very real and it is easy to empathise with them.The 'war is hell' motif is there but isn't forced down your throat.Production is high and the battlefield scenes look very real and the director made a great decision not to shot everything in pitch blackness.I don't know how accurate the film is but the events are definitely plausible.Not quite Friday night material but definitely worth a watch.

MrGoodMovie Here is a movie that recounts a quite mind-boggling true story about a plan that, whilst successful in itself, nevertheless confirmed the futility of the "Great War", and the lack of an overall strategy.There are, of course, many films that one could argue achieve the same end. In fact it would be hard, if not impossible, to make a film about the First World War that confirmed anything else.So I can't really say that there is anything different about "Beneath Hill 60", but I would recommend it to anyone looking to learn a little more about the history of this war, the decisions that must be taken in the heat of battle, and the incredible contribution made by Australia's "Diggers".Quite why the Generals became so obsessed about the significance of "Hill 60" is beyond me, and was probably beyond the soldiers who fought, and died, to take it. Obsessed though they were, to the point of burying enough explosives underneath it to dwarf Guy Fawkes' planned fireworks show three centuries earlier. This was to be the biggest explosion ever created by mankind.Whilst there are some "blood & guts" scenes reminiscent of "Hamburger Hill" or "Saving Private Ryan" the overall feel of this movie is of a group of Aussie mates just "getting on with the job", with a leader who prefers to bed down with his troops rather than hang out in the "officers quarters".This to me is the essence of the Aussie Digger, and indeed Australian society today. None of the airs and graces of the British officers, or the social divides rampant in Britain, just ordinary blokes doing a dirty job with consummate professionalism, and with a weather eye on their mates.And I guess that is the heart of the film. When called upon to make a life or death decision about executing the plan or saving a mate's life Woodward didn't flinch. The plan had to be executed with military precision, and that is exactly what he did. Earlier in the film we'd seen acts of great comradeship, with soldiers putting themselves in danger, and in some cases dying, to give their mates a better chance of survival. Yet when the chips were down Woodward had to make a decision about the hundreds of troops who may have died had he not stayed on plan, and the few Aussie Diggers who may die if he did. Perhaps if he had realised that his men were going to die for nothing (Hill 60, or the ground that remained after it was blown to smithereens, was retaken by the Germans a few days later) he might not have pushed the plunger. But of course he didn't know that, so he did what any professional soldier would have done in those circumstances, he stuck to the plan with its precision timing. As a military leader he did what he had to do.We can all look back and see the futility of this war, its horror and its appalling waste of young life.But there is one truth that must burn on down the ages.Those that died did so with honour.And we shall never forget them.

michael lord This is my first film review on this site as a student, so bear with me.Being a massive fan of several modern war films, i was rather impressed with the production values on show here. This movie never felt like set design; the mud, the blood, the dirt and the trenches all instantly transported the viewer to the western front World War I. To see how far Australian film has come along in the last decade has really impressed me, to be able to move away from schlocky World War I television mini series of past years to a film of this caliber is truly an amazing thing, and the whole production crew for this film should be very proud of the final product that they have produced.The picture and sound would easily make it comparable to any Hollywood releases of this era in film, and it is nice to see Australia able to technically compete with the rest of the world in that regard.I think the script and cast were criticized perhaps too harshly by some, i found that the script perfectly mixed both the central love story of the main protagonist's sweetheart back home and the mess that was the war. Many movies (Pearl Harbor and Saving Private Ryan for instance) often make the mistake of having sequences of reflection/discussion that last too long, often bringing out an unfortunate feeling of Hollywood plot cheesiness. The former film indeed swamped so much romance into the film it felt the war was lost in the final product. There is enough flashes to the protagonists home, to his sweetheart and happier times to help the audience not be "war wearied" by the continuous darkness of the trenches without detracting from the point that this is a movie about war. At no time did any individuals musings of home, tears for the lost or moments of weakness feel out of character or like it was just added into the story in an effort to reach audiences. At the same time there is not too much of these scenes to remove the viewer from the war front long enough for the tension of the situation to be removed. I think the director has masterfully combined the two in a way that many better known directors often don't succeed at doing.It was very interesting to see also the interactions between the Australian and British troops in this movie, and I think one of the testament scenes in this movie would be the passing of a bottle of wine to the moving Australians to the remaining British troops on the line in a sign of solidarity. There have been some opinions that this film brings into light the British rather unfavorably but I don't think this was the intention of the director. If anything this film is very much about mate ship, and how in the end its not the officers keeping you and your men alive through this war, but each other.I would encourage all Australians to see this movie and support its work, but I would also encourage foreigners to view this movie, it is a tense and exciting story well worth your time. In closing, to be honest i never really viewed this as an "Aussie Movie" the whole time i viewed it, but simply as a movie. And i think that is the biggest triumph of Australian film to be able to remove a nationality from a film and to make it universally enjoyable by all.