2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the New Zealand Film Commission.

Established under an act of Parliament in 1978, the government agency was originally formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films.

During the past four decades it has helped directors like Taika Waititi, Jane Campion and Niki Caro realise their visions and brought Hollywood to our doorstep to shoot the likes The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and, most recently, Mission: Impossible – Fallout and The Meg.

However, to play our part in the big birthday celebrations, Stuff has decided to remind readers of 10 Kiwi classics that you may have missed, or haven't seen decades, that we think are worth revisiting.

READ MORE:

* How Well Do You Know Your Kiwi Movies?

* Twelve Kiwi-shot and set movies to see in 2018

* Mission: Impossible - Fallout: Behind-the-scenes of how New Zealand got Tom Cruise and THAT helicopter stunt

David Hemmings plays Inspector Bruce Hutton in Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT (1980)

The Scarecrow was the stuff nightmares were made of for impressionable eight-year-old Kiwis.

In the current era of Cold Case TV shows and the popularity of true-crime stories, there's never been a better time to revisit John Laing's take on what was then New Zealand's most controversial murder investigation.

Focusing on Arthur Allan Thomas' near decade-long fight to prove his innocence, it featured acclaimed Australian actor John Hargreaves and British veteran David Hemmings. Even legendary US movie critic Roger Ebert described it as a "remarkable film, [it] plays like fiction".

THE SCARECROW (1981)

Mel Gibson, left, and Liam Neeson, extreme right, were among the cast members of The Bounty.

"The same night our fowls were stolen, Daphne Moran had her throat cut." Like the entire movie, that opening narration still haunts me more than 35 years on.

Based on Ronald Hugh Morrieson's 1963 debut novel, Sam Pillsbury's blackly comic tale is a haunting coming-of-age story to rival Stand by Me or Let the Right One In.

THE BOUNTY (1984)

Geoff Murphy's The Quiet Earth has been described by some critics as one of the best sci-fi movies of the 1980s.

Yes, I know most of the movie was shot in Moorea, French Polynesia, but Roger Donaldson's British historical drama did shoot some scenes in and around Gisborne and a replica of the eponymous ship was built here.

And what other production can claim it brought Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Liam Neeson and Daniel Day Lewis to our shores?

THE QUIET EARTH (1985)

Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale brought Murray Ball's beloved cartoon characters to life and voice.

Not only is this a classic slice of Kiwi "cinema of unease", but also one of the best lo-fi, sci-fi films ever made. The late, great Bruno Lawrence is in top form as a man "condemned to live" after a government research project goes horribly wrong and wipes out most of the planet's population.

Geoff Murphy directed this brilliantly atmospheric chiller, a film that could have led to him directing Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator, if only he hadn't allegedly referred to him as "Conan the Librarian".

FOOTROT FLATS: THE DOG'S TALE (1986)

Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet teamed-up for Heavenly Creatures.

Known as much for its Herbs and Dave Dobbyn-infused soundtrack as for its other artistic merits, this big-screen version of Murray Ball's beloved cartoon is a celebration of 1980s rural Kiwi life.

A key to movie's success though has to be the spot-on vocal casting of Fred Dagg himself John Clarke as Wal Footrot.

HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994)

In Scarfies, a group of Otago University student are forced to go to extreme lengths to protect themselves and their stash of cash.

His Lord of the Rings trilogy might have taken home all the box office gold and award gongs, but it's Peter Jackson's recreation of the infamous 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case which best marries his imaginative flights of fancy to something dramatically grounded.

Weta's nascent effects are breathtaking, as are actresses Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey.

SCARFIES (1999)

Danielle Cormack in one of The Price of Milk's many visually stunning scenes.

Cashing on in the success of similarly themed British movies like Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, the Sarkies brothers' does a brilliant job of distilling life as a Dunedin student at the turn of the millennium.

A group of Otago University students (including a very young looking Taika Waititi) think they've stumbled into some fast money, only to discover there are some dangerous strings attached.

THE PRICE OF MILK (2000)

Sam Manu is the Tongan Ninja

Danielle Cormack and Karl Urban starred in Harry Sinclair's beautifully shot and scored drama about dairy farming couple so perfectly in love that they have nowhere to go but awry.

"Manages to be innocent, physically passionate, earnestly romantic and self- deprecatingly funny, all at once, " wrote the Washington Post's Desson Thomson.

TONGAN NINJA (2002)

Julian Dennison and Kevin Paulo star in Shopping.

Before becoming one-half of the Flight of the Conchords and teaming up with Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement co-wrote this hilarious action-comedy.

Borrowing the plot from 1972's Way of the Dragon, it is a perfectly pitched parody of English-dubbed martial arts movies. Look out for Raybon Kan, Dave Fane and Tana Umaga in key roles.

SHOPPING (2013)

The movie that gave the world Julian Dennison. With elements of Rain, Broken English, The Scarecrow and Heavenly Creatures, Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland's feature film debut is a charming and evocative tale about growing up in small- town New Zealand.

Set on the Kapiti Coast in those heady societal changing days of 1981, it's the tale of a mixed- race teen whose head is turned by a local crimelord.

What's your best New Zealand film? Which one have we left off the list? Tell us in the comments!