Mad Max: Fury Road, the 2015 feminist reincarnation of the Australian classic film that catapulted a young Mel Gibson to fame, has been named the greatest Australian film of the 21st century so far.

Fifty-one working Australian film critics voted to find the top 25 films of this century in a poll conducted by the film website Flicks.com.au. They included the beloved industry stalwarts Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton, Guardian Australia’s Luke Buckmaster, News Corp’s Leigh Paatsch, Vicky Roach and Stephen Romei, and the Saturday Paper’s Rebecca Harkins-Cross, along with reviewers from Channel Seven, the ABC and others.

The poll – which the publisher said was the largest of its kind conducted in Australia – was conceived as a local version of the BBC’s 2016 project to name the 100 greatest films of all time, in which critics surveyed 177 film critics from 36 countries.

The top films also included 2010’s Animal Kingdom, Warwick Thornton’s moving 2009 portrait of two troubled Indigenous teenagers, Samson and Delilah, and 2000’s Chopper, Eric Bana’s portrayal of the “celebrity criminal” Mark Read.

“We wanted to celebrate the extraordinary achievements of Australian film-makers,” said the Flicks publisher, Paul Scantlebury.



Feature-length films of any genre made in Australia after 2000 were eligible for inclusion. The gender split of voting critics was almost 50/50, with the pool comprising 26 men and 25 women from across a range of print, digital and broadcast media.

The top 25 films

1. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

2. Animal Kingdom (2010)

3. Samson and Delilah (2009)

4. Chopper (2000)

5. Lantana (2001)

6. The Babadook (2014)

7. The Proposition (2005)

8. Sweet Country (2017)

9. Snowtown (2011)

10. Mystery Road (2011)

11. Moulin Rouge! (2001)



12. Ten Canoes (2006)

13. Look Both Ways (2005)



14. Hail (2011)

15. The Dressmaker (2015)

16. The Dish (2000)

17. Lion (2016)

18. The Tracker (2002)

19. Noise (2007)

20. Kenny (2006)

21. Sherpa (2015)

22. Mary and Max (2009)



23. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)



24. Wolf Creek (2005)

25. Predestination (2014)