Australia

Baz Luhrmann directs like a man weaned on classic Hollywood musicals and epics. With "Australia," a sweeping, bigger-than-life romantic adventure set against a spectacular landscape, he sets out to make a modern version of a classic Hollywood epic with a little modern flash, a lot of old-style melodrama, and the star power of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It's two and a half hours and essentially two and a half movies: a massive cattle drive adventure, a war movie rescue, and, somewhere in between, a romantic drama between high-born society lady Kidman and rough-and-ready, working-class Jackman. Oh, and don't forget the Aboriginal orphan (Brandon Walters) who becomes a pawn in the evil plans of the dastardly villain (David Wenham). Luhrmann's innocent love of kitsch comes through every overworked image and operatic turn of the overwrought script, but he's so in thrall to his yesteryear inspirations that it comes off more as a fumbling tribute than a full-blooded story in its own right. He creates wondrous images but little drama. It's kind of surprising for a film this big to have such a small offering on DVD: a mere two deleted scenes!