Chunuk Bair

Feature film Chunuk Bair dramatises an ill-fated Kiwi offensive during World War l. On 8 August 1915, the Wellington Battalion seized Chunuk Bair, a pivotal peak in the Gallipoli Peninsula. Nominated for NZ Film Awards for Best Film and the work of first-time director Dale Bradley, Chunuk Bair is an intimate portrait of a group of Kiwi soldiers on the ground, while their inept British commanders are largely off-screen. The excerpt features Colonel Connolly (Kevin J Wilson) motivating his troops, after learning there's no back-up on the way. The script is adapted from Maurice Shadbolt's 1982 play Once on Chunuk Bair.

And it doesn’t fudge on attributing blame — to the incompetence of British generals – for the blundering that saw 700 New Zealand lives lost … funfortunately it’s boosted by two very strong lead performances, from Kevin J Wilson and Robert Powell.

– Reviewer Mark Knowles in The Dominion Sunday Times, 5 April 1992

Key Cast & Crew

Maurice Shadbolt

Original Author

Robert Powell

As: Frank

Kevin J Wilson

As: Colonel Connolly

Waka Attewell

Cinematographer

Dale Bradley

Director

Grant Hindin Miller

Writer