johnpelaro This is an absolutely superb war movie, on a par with the best. The flow of events is woven smoothly into the film, with scrupulous attention to historical accuracy. It does for World War One films what the series "Band of Brothers" did for WW2, raising the bar on the entire genre. There are flashbacks throughout the film, the dreariness and terror of trench warfare being contrasted with the lush beauty of eastern Australia. By avoiding huge battle scenes, accuracy is preserved and the intensity of individual experiences given greater strength. Why this film has not gained greater popularity in the US is a mystery to me.

James Nason I'd not heard of this film until my Dad produced a copy of it on DVD he'd bought for a few £ in a supermarket. I watched it this evening.A superb film! I've seen a few films made by Australia about their military history and this is by far the best.The cast is great, some of the scenes underground are as claustrophobic as a good submarine film.The realism, as I would assume having not been at the front during the Great War, was spectacular. Everyone must have been caked in mud for the making of this film. The scenes with characters coming under fire were as good as some of those in 'Saving Private Ryan' as was the tension as they dodged the bullets (or not).My only criticism is the change in volume, I was constantly turning the volume up as they whispered and turning it down to protect my hearing. This is not reason enough to not recommend this film.

danspan101 First of all, I'd like to address the large number of reviews that mention Americans haven't seen/wouldn't't be interested in this film. There seems to be an assumption that Americans aren't interested in war films that don't feature Americans. Not sure where this is coming from, but I've never found that to be the case. Americans who like war movies, like war movies. Almost everyone I know has seen 'Gallipoli', 'The Odd Angry Shot', 'Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence', 'Mad Max' (OK, not a real 'war' movie, but just sayin'), in addition to many of the great British and German-made films. The issue isn't with interest, it's with distribution. If studios and theater owners don't think they'll make a zillion dollars by showing a movie, we don't get to see it unless it turns up on cable or Netflix. OK, I'll step off my tree-stump now and review this fine movie.WW1 certainly does not get the film-making attention it should, so to find one that's this excellent makes up for this a little bit. I was drawn in and kept there by the fine acting, attention to detail, and fluidity of story telling. In any war flick, I'm always waiting for that cheesy moment that breaks the rhythm and steals the credibility of the scene. Usually a 'why we fight' type of speech that you know never would have happened; soldiers fight to keep themselves and their buddies alive, and don't need any other reason. That type of dialog is obvious, useless, and clearly just there for the audience, and not for the benefit of the characters or story. None of that puffiness or foolishness here. Also, it wasn't one of those war films that was made just so someone could put it one their resume', or show off their special-effects prowess. It is first and foremost a great story about real characters and events. I got the feeling that everyone involved in making this film truly cared for what these men went through and brought their best effort as a way to honor that. As much as I like movies about the well-know people, places and events that took place in war, movies that give this much attention to the lesser-known stories can be a much more fulfilling experience. If done right, these types of movies can make the events much more personal and bring you uncomfortably close to the realities of war, which is what war movies should be doing. 'Beneath Hill 60' does this in spades, and this American appreciated every minute of it.

milbankj A fine movie. Not a masterpiece, because such movies are non-existent; consequently, I don't go looking for such a thing. My test is that if a movie reaches or exceeds my expectations, it succeeds. In my book, this beats "The Hurt Locker" hands down-- which may not mean anything to those who disliked that Oscar winner. Perhaps foolishly, because of the Oscar hype, I had expectations of THL which were not met. So it failed. "Beneath Hill 60" does not. It's more realistic, more accurate, more tension-filled, and not at all pretentious. No need for me to repeat the plot outlines that others have mentioned. But I will declare that the above-ground battlefield and underground scenes-- the wet, the mud, the cold, the misery-- are amazing for their reality. And they were shot mostly in tropical north Queensland.