Newsreels - Cinesound Movietone

The Cinesound Movietone Australian Newsreel Collection held at the NFSA comprises 4,000 newsreels from 1929 to 1975.

It includes two competing cinema newsreels, Cinesound Review (1931–1970, 2,031 editions) and Fox Movietone News (1929–1970, 2,300 editions), as well as the Australian Movie Magazine (1970–1975, 1,386 editions).

The newsreels are generally between one and five segments each, with some extended 'special editions’ that are up to 10 minutes in length. They cover significant events in Australian social, cultural and political history.

Operation Newsreel: Saving Australia's early filmed news

A news story from 1989, when the NFSA launched Operation Newsreel to preserve, restore, catalogue and copy the Cinesound Movietone Australian Newsreel Collection (1929 to 1975).

A wounded Soldier with his arm in a sling

Kokoda Front Line!

This iconic and Academy Award-winning newsreel shot by Damien Parer contains some of the most recognised images of Australian troops in the Second World War.

Five Cinesound cameras appear around the edges of the frame and the head of the Cinesound kangaroo is superimposed in the centre

Cinesound Review: Title

This clip shows the opening title sequence from the Cinesound Review newsreel.

A man dances in the street to celebrate the end of the Second World War

Movietone Special: Peace: Australia Celebrates

This Movietone News special edition newsreel marks the nationwide celebrations at the end of the Second World War.

That Mersey Sound: Beatles at the Stadium

This newsreel special of the 1964 Beatles tour captures footage of the band in Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand, concert excerpts and the attendant 'Beatlemania’.

A protesting woman is escorted away by police

Australian Movie Magazine: 1971 Year in Review

This 'year in review’ edition is not a typical example of the newsreel’s format. It presents some of the significant events of 1971 and includes a range of story types.

Fox Movietone cameraman

A Fox Movietone cameraman stands on top of a car, filming a fighter aircraft as it flies overhead.

Movietone News crew

Bill Trerise with a camera on a tripod and one other man on top of Movietone Sound camera car 56, with three other men on the ground.

A man dressed as batman dances in a 1960s nightclub

Batman Goes Au Go-Go

Nightclub owner Tony Murphy recruits Batman and Robin to launch his new club. The Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder arrive, not in the Batmobile, but in a Mini Moke!