PremiumFaraway Downs out on OTT: Where to watch Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman-starring Baz Luhrmann's retelling of Australia
The film has been retold as a six-episode miniseries, 15 years after its release.
Last Updated: 07.56 PM, Nov 26, 2023
Faraway Downs, the series featuring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, is now out on Disney+ Hostar. Interestingly, the English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) and the rough-hewn cattle drover (Hugh Jackman), who join forces to safeguard the million-acre cattle ranch of her late husband's, are at the core of Faraway Downs, a six-part retelling of the film Australia. Yes, the 2008 film, which was directed by Baz Luhrmann.
Australia's box office struggle
The filmmaker's unique vision has been at the centre of lavish hits like Elvis, The Great Gatsby, and Moulin Rouge! over the past three decades. But in 2008, the Australian director made a rare blunder with the film, which had a $130 million budget but only made $50 million in the United States. This historical melodrama received mixed reviews too.
The miniseries adaptation
Faraway Downs, a six-part, four-hour Hulu miniseries, is the adaptation of Luhrmann's Australia, currently streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. The show deepens the audience's understanding of the two romantic characters and Nullah (Brandon Walters), a little boy at risk of authorities taking him away due to his mixed race, by utilising 2.5 million feet of archived footage.
Baz Luhrmann's reflection and the evolution to TV
During a recent interaction with the USA today, the director revealed that when Tom Hanks famously contracted COVID while filming Elvis, they halted production, leaving Luhrmann uncertain about the movie's future reopening. For a while there, he worried that it had ended for good, and then he thought, "Well, what can I do?"
While filming in Australia, the filmmaker pondered the ideas explored in the film and contemplated their potential for further development. And when he began to look at the footage, he saw how well the format of television episodes would lend itself to telling this story. Even though the film was bombed in the US, it remains his most successful film in Europe. Thus, for Luhrmann, it's only fair for those who felt a personal connection to the film to acknowledge that connection, so I figured he would do a variation on it and make a new work.