AustLit logo
Jan Sardi Jan Sardi i(A5141 works by) (a.k.a. Jan Vittorio Sardi)
Born: Established: 1953 Melbourne, Victoria, ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Australian ; Italian
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Works By

Preview all
1 1 form y separately published work icon Halifax : Retribution Roger Simpson , Mac Gudgeon , Jan Sardi , Australia : Beyond Lonehand , 2020 15409837 2020 series - publisher film/TV crime

'An eight-part series from Beyond Lonehand for the Nine Network that will star Rebecca Gibney as she reprises her role of forensic psychiatrist Jane Halifax. When Jane Halifax receives a letter threatening a terrible retribution against her family, she finds herself back in a world she thought she had left behind – profiling a diabolical killer.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 14/01/2019)

1 16 form y separately published work icon The Secret River Mac Gudgeon , Jan Sardi , ( dir. Fred Schepisi ) 2015 Australia : Ruby Entertainment Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 2015 7504796 2015 series - publisher film/TV historical fiction

'In 1810, emancipated English convict William Thornhill stakes a claim on 100 acres of land on the remote Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, only to find that a clan of Aboriginal people also lay claim to the land, as they have done since time immemorial.' (Production summary)

1 39 form y separately published work icon Mao's Last Dancer Jan Sardi , ( dir. Bruce Beresford ) Australia : Early Mark Films , 2009 Z1433556 2009 single work film/TV A drama based on the autobiography by Li Cunxin, who at age 11 was plucked from a poor Chinese village by Madame Mao's cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. In 1979, during a cultural exchange to Texas, he fell in love with an American woman. Two years later, he managed to defect and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet and as a principal artist with the Australian Ballet.
1 Growing Up Italian and Making Movies Jan Sardi , 2007 single work criticism
— Appears in: Literary and Social Diasporas : An Italian Australian Perspective 2007; (p. 59-64)
1 3 form y separately published work icon Love's Brother Jan Sardi , ( dir. Jan Sardi ) Melbourne : Great Scott Productions Sarah Radclyffe Productions Arclight Films , 2004 Z1111903 2004 single work film/TV

A matchmaker finds Angelo a promising prospect for a wife in Southern Italy. Angelo sends her his handsomer, younger brother Gino's photograph. The marriage ceremony is performed with the bride (Rosetta) and Angelo still on separate continents. When the beautiful Rosetta arrives confusion reigns while she, Angelo, Gino, and Gino's fiance try to unravel who loves who.

1 form y separately published work icon The Notebook Jan Sardi , ( dir. Nick Cassavetes ) United States of America (USA) : Gran Via , 2004 7236638 2004 single work film/TV

An adaptation of American novelist Nicholas Sparks's novel.

2 38 form y separately published work icon Shine Jan Sardi , ( dir. Scott Hicks ) 1996 Australia : Momentum Films , 1996 Z128198 1996 single work film/TV (taught in 3 units)

Shine is the true story of David Helfgott, a brilliant pianist whose musical gift is nearly compromised by the emotional strain of his personal life. A child prodigy whose interpretive genius promised a brilliant career as a concert pianist, David grew up under the tyrannical parenting of his father. Their turbulent relationship almost destroys David's promise and threatens his fragile mental balance. When an unlikely romance with a remarkable woman brings stability to David's chaotic world, he returns to concert performance in triumph. Freed from the difficult legacy of his father's influence, his musical talent prevails.

(Source: Libraries Australia)

1 form y separately published work icon Lies of the Mind Jan Sardi , ( dir. Michael Offer ) Australia : Beyond Simpson Le Mesurier , 1995 Z1916447 1995 single work film/TV crime

'When Sharon Sinclair brutally murders her parents her psychiatrist informs the police he has been treating Sharon for multiple personality disorder. Forensic psychiatrist, Jane Halifax, is called in by the court to give a psychiatric assessment of Sharon.'

Source: Screen Australia

1 form y separately published work icon The Bob Morrison Show Pino Amenta , Philip Dalkin , Alan Hardy , Jon Stephens , Stig Wemyss , Jan Sardi , Kate Langbroek , Anthony Morris , Philip Dalkin , Galia Hardy , Alan Hardy , ( dir. Mark DeFriest et. al. )agent Australia : Telltale Films Nine Network , 1994 Z1886929 1994 series - publisher film/TV humour fantasy

'Life in the suburbs as seen through the eyes of the family dog.'

Source: Screen Australia

1 1 form y separately published work icon Sky Trackers Ray Boseley , Nicola Woolmington , Cameron Clarke , Deb Cox , Jutta Goetze , Robert Greenberg , Mac Gudgeon , Peter Hepworth , Sue Hore , Susan MacGillicuddy , Christine Madafferi , Rick Maier , Stephen Measday , Steve J. Spears , Jeff Peck , Jan Sardi , Tony Morphett , Jeff Peck , ( dir. Mario Andreacchio et. al. )agent Melbourne : Australian Children's Television Foundation , 1994 Z1854458 1994 series - publisher film/TV children's young adult adventure science fiction

Science fiction in a stricter (and less speculative) sense, Sky Trackers followed the adventures of a group of scientists' children living in a remote space-tracking station in the Australian outback. The program had the romantic component common to young-adult programming (with blossoming romance between thirteen-year-old Nikki and fourteen-year-old Mike), but also focused on such topics as ambition, future careers, and scholastic achievement.

1 form y separately published work icon The Feds : Suspect Jan Sardi , ( dir. Michael Pattinson ) Melbourne : Crawford Productions Nine Network , 1994 6058098 1994 single work film/TV crime detective

'Dave Griffin has a one-night stand with a beautiful young woman who is later found brutally murdered. Homicide detectives believe Superintendent Griffin is the prime suspect and he is suspended from duty despite protesting his innocence. He faces a race against time to find the real killer, not only to clear his name but to save the lives of others on the killer's hit list.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 17/6/2013)

1 5 form y separately published work icon Banjo Paterson's 'The Man from Snowy River' Snowy River: The McGregor Saga Nine Network (publisher), Peter Schreck , Peter A. Kinloch , Ted Roberts , Everett de Roche , David Phillips , Leon Saunders , Tony Morphett , Judith Colquhoun , Russell Hagg , Shane Brennan , Denny Lawrence , Patrick Edgeworth , Jan Sardi , Neil Luxmoore , Denise Morgan , Peter Gawler , Stuart Wood , Jutta Goetze , Jock Blair , Anthony Ellis , David Allen , ( dir. Tim Burstall et. al. )agent 1993 Australia : Nine Network , 1993-1996 Z400448 1993 series - publisher film/TV

Inspired by A. B. Paterson's classic poem and set in a fictional Snowy Mountains township called Paterson's Ridge, this turn-of-the-nineteenth-century adventure concerns wealthy cattle-station owner and widower Matt McGregor and his three children, Colin (the town preacher), Rob (played by Guy Pearce), and Danni (the tomboyish youngest daughter). Unresolved sexual tension comes in the shape of Matt's independent, free-spirited childhood friend, the recently widowed Kathleen O'Neil, who returns to Paterson's Ridge with her son after having spent many years in England.

1 form y separately published work icon The Feds : Obsession Stalking; Every Move She Makes Jan Sardi , ( dir. Donald Crombie ) Melbourne : Crawford Productions Nine Network , 1993 6057590 1993 single work film/TV crime detective

'When a Family Court Judge's wife becomes the victim of a crazed bomber, The Feds swing into action. But the culprit is much closer than The Feds realise and one of their own is the madman's final target.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 17/6/2013)

1 form y separately published work icon Under Siege Jan Sardi , ( dir. Kate Woods ) Melbourne : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1993 6041243 1993 single work film/TV

'The Majors' raid on the flat of a prime suspect for the aggravated burglaries goes terribly wrong when a terrified woman jumps from a second-story window resulting in serious injuries and their suspect slips through their fingers.

'The new Chief Superintendent of Crime, Jock Brennan, arrives with the Internal Investigations Department to look into the bungled raid, which has once again put the squad's actions under scrutiny.

'The Major Crime Squad desperately searches for their missing suspect as IID launches an investigation of the squads' action during the raid, with particular attention on Peter Faithful.

'Forensic evidence found at the flat after the raid yields evidence linking the suspect to the aggravated burglaries.

Peter Faithful is taken hostage by their suspect.'

Source: Australian Television Information Archive. (Sighted: 11/6/2013)

1 form y separately published work icon Law of the Land Glenda Hambly , Peter Gawler , Bill Garner , Galia Hardy , Shane Brennan , Ro Hume , John Coulter , Jan Sardi , Emma J. Steele , ( dir. Michael Offer et. al. )agent 1993 Australia : Roadshow Coote and Carroll Nine Network , 1993-1995 6019480 1993 series - publisher film/TV crime

Produced by the same television production company responsible for the successful medical drama G.P., Law of the Land moved away from the inner-city urbanity of G.P. Set in the fictional small town of Merringanee, series one involves the arrival in town of young magistrate Peter Lawrence, who (thanks to a stolen car and a long-buried body) learns that the locals have their own way of enforcing the law.

Series two involved a different character, Kate Chalmers, unravelling the truth behind Peter Lawrence's death.

The program ran to a total of four thirteen-episode series, yet it is obscure enough today that little information about it is readily available.

Cinematographer Brendan Lavelle did, however, contribute an article to Metro Magazine ('A Day in the Life: The Work of a Cinematographer', issue 99) while he was working on the series.

1 form y separately published work icon Phoenix Alison Nisselle , Tony McDonald , Alison Nisselle , Graham Hartley , Annie Beach , John Reeves , Cassandra Carter , Denise Morgan , Cliff Green , Phillip Roberts , Jan Sardi , Deborah Parsons , Michael Harvey , ( dir. Michael Carson et. al. )agent Melbourne : Australian Broadcasting Corporation , 1992-1993 Z1937404 1992-1993 series - publisher film/TV crime

'A hard-edged, gritty drama about the tense and claustrophobic world of a Major Crime Task Force set up to solve an urban terrorist bombing, a Task Force which brings together a crew of idiosyncratic, competitive characters over a knife edged maximum stressed two months. PHOENIX is no traditional cop shop or crime story. Its characters are not clean, super hero cops, just real police whose attitudes can be shocking and whose humour is grim and black.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 3/5/2013)

1 form y separately published work icon Lift Off Chris Anastassiades , Josephine Barcelon , Garth Boomer , Ray Boseley , Shane Brennan , Anne Brooksbank , Tony Cavanaugh , Cameron Clarke , Elizabeth Coleman , Bruce Currie , Terry Denton , Roger Dunn , Bob Ellis , Sue Giles , Barbara Gliddon , Jutta Goetze , Robert Greenberg , Mac Gudgeon , Glenda Hambly , Mandy Hampson , Jennifer Hill , Sue Hore , Graham Hartley , John Hepworth , P. J. Hogan , Sally Irwin , Paul Jennings , Anthony Lucas , Neil Luxmoore , Christine Madafferi , Rick Maier , Maureen McCarthy , Narelle McRobbie , Stephen Measday , John Misto , Jocelyn Moorhouse , Paul Nichola , Jeff Peck , Rod Quantock , Ian Pidd , Penny Robenstone Harris , Pamela Rushby , Jan Sardi , Leon Saunders , Moya Sayer-Jones , Steve J. Spears , Peter Viska , Judy Zavos , Jo Wilkie , Julian Wigley , Tony Watts , Mark Trounce , Jeremy Parker , Ross Noble , Anne Joliffe , John Harding , Maurice Giacomini , Sue Edgar , Mark A. Eady , Nancy Black , ( dir. Mario Andreacchio et. al. )agent Melbourne : Australian Children's Television Foundation , 1992-1996 Z1855640 1992-1996 series - publisher film/TV children's fantasy science fiction

A mixture of live-action, puppetry, animation, and documentary, Lift Off centred on a group of children who lived in the same neighbourhood and whose imaginations made their environment a world of fun and excitement. However, the program also explored issues such as pain, loneliness, jealousy, and anger. The program was aimed at three-year-old to eight-year-old viewers (as defined by Harvard University developmental psychologist Howard Gardner), and was linked to school curricula through the Curriculum Corporation of Australia.

1 form y separately published work icon Secrets Jan Sardi , ( dir. Michael Pattinson ) Australia New Zealand : Avalon Studios Victorian International Pictures , 1992 7235816 1992 single work film/TV

'June 1964. Madness! Music! Emotion! Five teenagers trapped in the giant basement of the hotel where the Beatles are staying during their Australian tour. As the night unfolds they slowly start to reveal their deepest secrets, their hopes, their dreams. SECRETS features some of the most famous music ever written.'

Source: Screen Australia. (Sighted: 10/4/2014)

1 form y separately published work icon Bony Howard Griffiths , Jan Sardi , Greg Haddrick , Ray Harding , Denis Whitburn , David Worthington , Shane Brennan , Alister Webb , ( dir. Paul Moloney et. al. )agent Australia Germany : Reg Grundy Enterprises ZDF Seven Network , 1992 6384258 1992 series - publisher film/TV crime detective

A television series ostensibly based on Arthur Upfield's series of detective novels, and stemming from a telemovie aired two years earlier.

After protests from Indigenous groups about the casting of a white actor as a descendant of Detective Napoleon Bonaparte, the production was altered to make the character a white man who had once lived with Indigenous Australians. As such, it bears little real connection to Upfield's novels.

The series was not a success, and was cancelled after the first thirteen episodes.

1 form y separately published work icon All Together Now Shane Brennan , Anthony Morris , Elizabeth Coleman , Kate Langbroek , Stig Wemyss , Alan Hardy , Galia Hardy , Jan Sardi , Clare Madsen , Steve J. Spears , Kevin Harrington , Michael Pope , Tony Hood , Megan Rees , Pino Amenta , Tony McNamara , Philip Dalkin , Rob Cox , Greg Haddrick , Paul Leadon , Werner Molinsky , John Herouvim , ( dir. Pino Amenta et. al. )agent Melbourne : Nine Network Telltale Films , 1991-1993 Z1883692 1991-1993 series - publisher film/TV humour

A rocker whose glory days were twenty years earlier in the 1970s unexpectedly finds that he has twin children when their mother dies in a plane crash and they and their carer move in with him.

X