Midnight Oil Drop 'The Hardest Line' Doco Trailer & Cinema Release Date

Midnight Oil have shared the trailer for their highly anticipated new documentary, The Hardest Line, and revealed its cinema release date.

In the trailer, snippets of Beds Are Burning burst to life as the trailer showcases news reports of Australia’s defining moments: from Sorry Day protests to the Nuclear Disarmament Rally to the Tampa affair, in which viewers can hear former Prime Minister John Howard say, “We will decide who comes into this country”. Text then appears on the screen and reads, “The time has come for the story of Midnight Oil”.

Cue Rob Hirst playing the cowbell to Read About It and the band expressing the importance of using your voice to say something rather than stay silent. Hints of the band’s music videos, including Power And The Passion and The Dead Heart, are present as Midnight Oil discuss their journey of denying mainstream success and expectations.

On Facebook, Midnight Oil said about the trailer: “Contrary. Passionate. Outspoken. Over 45 years Midnight Oil helped shape modern Australia. Check out the trailer for the band's trailblazing story.”

You can watch the trailer below. The Hardest Line lands in cinemas on Thursday, 4 July.

However, Sydneysiders can watch the movie a month earlier. Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival’s Opening Night Gala on Wednesday, 5 June, at the State Theatre. 

The Hardest Line will track The Oils’ outspoken, contrarian, passionate 45-year career by featuring never-before-heard interviews with each band member, archive studio and concert footage.

The film will also feature some of their proudest moments, including their iconic “Sorry” performance at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, touring with the Warumpi Band, and their famous Exxon protest concert in New York City.

Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line was developed in partnership with Blink TV and Beyond Entertainment, funded by Screen Australia and ABC in association with Screen NSW, and financed with support from Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Music Publishing.

The documentary was written, directed, and executive produced by Paul Clarke, producer Carolina Sorensen and executive producers Mikael Borglund and Martin Fabinyi.

“There is no other rock band in the world like Midnight Oil,” Clarke said. “For half a century, they were fearless, contrary, and totally original. When Australia was creaking under the weight of its own myths, they told us the truth.”

Clarke complimented the band’s songs for pinpointing “the fault lines in our culture” as they raged against “the strange and dangerous times we’ve lived through” but still offered hope. 

“After following them for seven years, we thank ‘The Oils’, and we feel we have an important film to share.”