Gallipoli (1981)

The Battle of Gallipoli doesn't happen until the last 30 minutes of the film, but when it does, it's devastating,  because we've grown to love buddies Archy (Mark Lee) and Frank (a young and swooningly handsome Mel Gibson, on the verge of superstardom.) The movie put Australian Cinema on the map and Hollywood soon poached director Peter Weir as well as Gibson.