Bruce Smeaton
Encyclopedia
Bruce Smeaton is an Australian composer, well known for a variety of Australian film and television scores in all genres - features, shorts, television, documentaries and advertisements. His scores include Picnic at Hanging Rock
, Seven Little Australians
, Roxanne
, Iceman, and Circle of Iron. He has won the Australian Film Institute
(AFI) 'Best Original Music Score' Award
for The Cars That Ate Paris
(1974), The Great McCarthy (1975), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
(1978) and Street Hero (1984, shared with Garth Porter
and others).
. His film score compositions include Picnic at Hanging Rock
, Seven Little Australians
, Roxanne
, Iceman, and Circle Of Iron. His music has been championed by the Southern Cross Records and 1M1 Records
labels.
In 1964 he spent time as a public school music teacher, at Fawkner Technical School (then an all-boys school) in the Moomba Park area of North Fawkner, a suburb of Melbourne. At the time he had a passionate interest in vintage cars which he would often bring to school.
He currently lives in Binalong, New South Wales
.
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1967 drama and mystery novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay. She wrote it over a four-week period at her home Mulberry Hill in Baxter, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. It was first published in 1967 in Australia by Cheshire Publishing and was released in...
, Seven Little Australians
Seven Little Australians
Seven Little Australians is a classic Australian children's novel by Ethel Turner. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father Captain Woolcot and flighty stepmother Esther.In 1994 the novel was the only book by an...
, Roxanne
Roxanne (film)
Roxanne is a 1987 comedy film directed by Fred Schepisi. It is a modern retelling of the 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac, written by French author Edmond Rostand, and stars Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.-Plot summary:...
, Iceman, and Circle of Iron. He has won the Australian Film Institute
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
(AFI) 'Best Original Music Score' Award
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
for The Cars That Ate Paris
The Cars that Ate Paris
The Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film. Directed by Peter Weir, it was his first feature film. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly,...
(1974), The Great McCarthy (1975), The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
(1978) and Street Hero (1984, shared with Garth Porter
Garth Porter
Garth Porter is an Australian musician, songwriter and record producer best known as a member of the 1970s pop group Sherbet, and for his key role as co-writer and producer for country music singer Lee Kernaghan....
and others).
Biography
Bruce Smeaton was born in Brighton, VictoriaBrighton, Victoria
Brighton is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 11 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Bayside. At the 2006 Census, Brighton had a population of 20,651...
. His film score compositions include Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1967 drama and mystery novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay. She wrote it over a four-week period at her home Mulberry Hill in Baxter, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. It was first published in 1967 in Australia by Cheshire Publishing and was released in...
, Seven Little Australians
Seven Little Australians
Seven Little Australians is a classic Australian children's novel by Ethel Turner. Set mainly in Sydney in the 1880s, it relates the adventures of the seven mischievous Woolcot children, their stern army father Captain Woolcot and flighty stepmother Esther.In 1994 the novel was the only book by an...
, Roxanne
Roxanne (film)
Roxanne is a 1987 comedy film directed by Fred Schepisi. It is a modern retelling of the 1897 verse play Cyrano de Bergerac, written by French author Edmond Rostand, and stars Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah.-Plot summary:...
, Iceman, and Circle Of Iron. His music has been championed by the Southern Cross Records and 1M1 Records
1M1 Records
1M1 Records is an Australian record label formed in 1988 as oneMone Records, to promote and archive Australian film soundtracks. It was the creation of Australian film music recording producers Philip Powers and James McCarthy, both of whom were previously Director of Music at the Australian...
labels.
In 1964 he spent time as a public school music teacher, at Fawkner Technical School (then an all-boys school) in the Moomba Park area of North Fawkner, a suburb of Melbourne. At the time he had a passionate interest in vintage cars which he would often bring to school.
He currently lives in Binalong, New South Wales
Binalong, New South Wales
Binalong is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, 37 km north-west of Yass in Yass Valley Shire. In 2006, the town had a population of about 269 people.- Overview :...
.
Documentaries
- Bush, Books and Breedens (1973)
- My Brother Wartovo (1973)
- Kangaroo Island (1974)
- Pozieres (2000)
Feature films
- Libido (1973)
- The Cars That Ate ParisThe Cars that Ate ParisThe Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film. Directed by Peter Weir, it was his first feature film. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly,...
(1974) - Picnic at Hanging RockPicnic at Hanging RockPicnic at Hanging Rock is a 1967 drama and mystery novel by Australian author Joan Lindsay. She wrote it over a four-week period at her home Mulberry Hill in Baxter, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula. It was first published in 1967 in Australia by Cheshire Publishing and was released in...
(1975) - The Great Macarthy (1975)
- The Devil's Playground (1976)
- The Trespassers (1976)
- Eliza FraserEliza FraserEliza Fraser was a Scottish woman whose ship was shipwrecked on the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 22 May 1836, and who was captured by Aborigines. Fraser Island is named after her....
a.k.a. The Adventures of Eliza Fraser (1976) - SummerfieldSummerfield (film)Summerfield is a 1977 Australian film, directed by Ken Hannam, written by Cliff Green and produced by Patricia Lovell . It stars Nick Tate, Elizabeth Alexander, John Waters, Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, Max Fairchild and Geraldine Turner...
(1977) - The Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithThe Chant of Jimmie BlacksmithThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor....
(1978) - Circle of Iron a.k.a. The Silent Flute (1978)
- The Last of the Knucklemen (1979)
- Grendel Grendel Grendel (1980)
- ...Maybe This Time (1980)
- Double Deal (1981)
- Monkey GripMonkey Grip (film)Monkey Grip is a 1982 Australian drama film directed by Ken Cameron. It is based on the novel, also titled Monkey Grip, by Helen Garner...
(1982) - Squizzy Taylor (1982)
- Barbarosa (1982)
- Undercover (1983)
- Iceman (1984)
- The Naked Country (1984)
- Departure (1985)
- Plenty (1985)
- EleniEleni (film)Eleni is the 1985 film adaptation of the memoir Eleni by Greek-American journalist Nicholas Gage. Directed by Peter Yates, the film stars John Malkovich, Kate Nelligan, Linda Hunt and Glenne Headly.- Synopsis :...
(1985) - Contagion (1987)
- Roxanne (1987)
- Evil Angels a.k.a. A Cry in the Dark (1988)
- Wendy Cracked a Walnut aka Almost (1989)
- The Missing (1999)
Television
- Seven Little Australians (1973, miniseries)
- Ben Hall (1975, TV series)
- Tandarra (1976, miniseries)
- Patrol Boat (1979, TV series)
- The Timeless Land (1980, miniseries)
- A Town Like Alice (1981, miniseries)
- 1915 (1982, miniseries)
- Five Mile Creek (1983, TV series)
- The Coral Island (1983, miniseries)
- Eureka Stockade (1984, miniseries)
- Boy in the Bush (1984, miniseries)
- A Thousand Skies (1986, miniseries)
- Jackson's Crew (1986, pilot)
- Tusitala (1986, miniseries)
- The Alien YearsThe Alien YearsThe Alien Years is a three-part miniseries that first aired on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on April 19 1988. It was directed by Donald Crombie and written by Peter Yeldham. It stars Victoria Longley, John Hargreaves and Academy Award-winner, Christoph Waltz...
(1988, movie) - Act of Betrayal (1988, movie)
- Naked Under Capricorn (1989, movie)
- The Private War of Lucinda Smith (1990, dramatised documentary)
- The Last of the Ryans (1997, movie)