Editing Peter Weir (section)

=== 1980s ===
Weir scored a major Australian hit and further international praise with his next film, the historical adventure-drama ''[[Gallipoli (1981 film)|Gallipoli]]'' (1981). Scripted by the Australian playwright [[David Williamson]], it is regarded as classic [[Cinema of Australia|Australian cinema]]. ''Gallipoli'' was instrumental in making [[Mel Gibson]] (''[[Mad Max]]'') into a major star, although his co-star [[Mark Lee (Australian actor)|Mark Lee]], who also received high praise for his role, has made relatively few screen appearances since.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The climax of Weir's early career was the $6&nbsp;million multi-national production ''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]'' (1982), again starring Gibson, playing opposite top Hollywood female lead [[Sigourney Weaver]] in a story about journalistic loyalty, idealism, love and ambition in the turmoil of [[Sukarno]]'s [[Indonesia]] of 1965. It was an adaptation of the novel by [[Christopher Koch]], which was based in part on the experiences of Koch's journalist brother Philip, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]'s Jakarta correspondent and one of the few western journalists in the city during the 1965 attempted coup. The film also won [[Linda Hunt]] (who played a man in the film) an Oscar for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]. The film was again produced by [[Hal and Jim McElroy]], who had also produced Weir's first three films, ''The Cars That Ate Paris'', ''Picnic at Hanging Rock'' and ''The Last Wave''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

[[File:Peter Weir on the set of Witness (1984).jpg|thumb|Weir on the set of ''Witness'' in 1984]]

Weir's first [[Cinema of the United States|American film]] was the successful thriller ''[[Witness (1985 film)|Witness]]'' (1985), the first of two films he made with [[Harrison Ford]], about a boy who sees the murder of an undercover police officer by corrupt coworkers and has to be hidden in his [[Amish]] community to protect him. Weir directed Ford in his only performance to receive an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] nomination, while child star [[Lukas Haas]] also received wide praise for his debut film performance. ''Witness'' also earned Weir his first Academy Award nomination as [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]], and was his first of several films to be nominated for an [[Academy Award for Best Picture]]—it later won two for [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]] and [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Jeremy|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/871359/it-took-a-total-re-write-to-make-witness-an-oscar-winner/|title=It Took A Total Re-Write To Make Witness An Oscar Winner|website=[[/Film]]|date=May 23, 2022|access-date=November 5, 2023}}</ref>

It was followed by the darker, less commercial ''[[The Mosquito Coast (film)|The Mosquito Coast]]'' (1986), [[Paul Schrader]]'s adaptation of [[Paul Theroux]]'s novel. Ford played a man obsessively pursuing his dream to start a new life in the Central American jungle with his family. These dramatic parts provided Harrison Ford with important opportunities to break the typecasting of his career-making roles in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' and ''[[Indiana Jones]]'' series. Both films showed off his ability to play more subtle and substantial characters and he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his work in ''Witness'', the only Academy Awards recognition in his career.<ref>{{cite web|last=Potter|first=Jordan|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/harrison-ford-worst-movie-unfairly-treated/|title=Harrison Ford explains why his worst-performing movie was 'unfairly treated'|website=Far Out Magazine|date=March 8, 2023|access-date=January 20, 2025}}</ref> ''The Mosquito Coast'' is also notable for a performance by the young [[River Phoenix]].

Weir's next film, ''[[Dead Poets Society]]'', was a major international success, with Weir again receiving credit for expanding the acting range of its Hollywood star. [[Robin Williams]] was mainly known for his anarchic stand-up comedy and his popular TV role as the wisecracking alien in ''[[Mork & Mindy]]''; in this film he played an inspirational teacher in a dramatic story about conformity and rebellion at an exclusive New England [[University-preparatory school|prep school]] in the 1950s. The film was nominated for four Oscars, including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] and [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for Weir. It won [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] and launched the acting careers of young actors [[Ethan Hawke]] and [[Robert Sean Leonard]]. It became a major box-office hit and is one of Weir's best-known films to mainstream audiences.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}}