The Legend of Damien Parer
Clip 2: Into battle
1 min 50 sec
Taken from the TV program The Legend of Damien Parer (1964)
Original title classification PG – this clip chosen to be PG
Availability of the complete title
Curator’s clip description
Damien Parer’s first taste of battle was with the British infantry in the Middle East. He quickly learned that if he wanted to get the shots that best showed men in action, then he needed to be up there on the front-line with the troops.
Curator’s notes
Damien Parer learnt his moving camera craft on the battlefield because he’d had so little experience using the movie camera in Australia before the war, where the film industry was moribund. Before the war, Parer had turned to still photography to keep his skills alive, working for the great Max Dupain, who recalls Parer’s work habits and devotion to his camera.
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Parer became a junior cameraman with the Commonwealth Film Unit and it’s from here that he was able to travel to the various war zones with the troops. He transferred from the British back to his beloved Australian forces. His camera documented their bravery on sea, land and in the air, until his frustration at the limitations imposed on him by the administration caused him to throw in his lot with the US forces, with whom he was filming when he was killed in action.
It’s important to recall that the photographic technology of those days offered nothing like the lightweight cameras of today. As he slogged through the inhospitable New Guinea terrain with the Australian troops, he was carrying a heavy tripod and camera equipment ill suited to combat conditions. His truly remarkable footage was captured with only a wind-up camera. He won Australia’s first ever Oscar in 1944 for his documentary Kokoda Front Line!, which he filmed, directed and narrated.
Janet Bell, curator
