Taiwan Synopsis
“Mel Gibson blasting his way to hell and back”
Tim Burstall directs then-up-and-comers Mel Gibson and Sam Neill in this action-packed Cannes Film Festival selection about the grim realities of World War II, a gritty drama based on actual events. Sent to rescue survivors from the site of a plane crash in the South Pacific, Capt. P.G. Kelly (Gibson) and his elite squad of Australian commandos must keep tabs on a defecting Japanese official who could hold the secret to peace.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Attack Force Z. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
The 1981–1983 Taiwan Window
In the crowded 1981-1983 Taiwan release window, Attack Force Z sits at #9 of 12. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.
The 1980s Taiwan Landscape
Catalog density by release year across the 1980s in Taiwan, 20 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Attack Force Z premiered alongside 2 others.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 2 other Taiwan films in 1982.
The 11th Taiwan title from Taiwan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1972).
Our Taiwan catalog contains 174 titles in total (149 films).
Audience Engagement
46 audience reviews — more than 76% of Taiwan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 77th percentile among Taiwan films.
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Attack Force Z, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- mission · 4
- airplane crash · 3
- commando · 3
- pacific theater · 3
- submarine · 12
- world war ii · 55
- 1940s · 35
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #114 of 174 Taiwan films indexed here (34th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -0.3 points below the Taiwan average of 6.6/10.
Among Taiwan War productions specifically: #4 of 5 (top 80%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Taiwan |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | Australia, Taiwan |
| Original Language | En |
| Spoken Languages | Mandarin, English, Japanese |
| Production Companies | Fauna Productions, Central Motion Picture Corporation, Australian Film Commission, John McCallum Productions |
| Runtime | 1h 33m |
| Release Date | June 1, 1982 |
| IMDb | tt0083591 |