Following a string of short films and documentaries, Armstrong achieved her first directorial recognition through her first full-length film
The Singer and the Dancer, shot on
16 mm film, which won the best narrative film award at the 1976
Sydney Film Festival. During the time of the development of Australian Cinema Armstrong recalls in a
Washington Post interview that tremendous tax breaks led to a frightful overproduction. Everybody was interested in doing deals and even stockbrokers were becoming directors. However, very few of them had the commitment to cinema that Armstrong and others had, and the films would be shown for a week or two, or not released at all. Following the success of
My Brilliant Career, which was nominated for an Academy Award in Best Costume Design, Armstrong directed the Australian rock-musical
Starstruck which proved her ability to tackle more contemporary and experimental subject matter and styles. She has directed a number of rock music videos in the early 1980s, including 1984's "
Bop Girl" by
Pat Wilson, which featured
Nicole Kidman. Since then, Armstrong has specialised in period drama. She was the first foreign woman to be approached by the American film company
MGM to finance her direction of a big-budget feature, which became
Mrs. Soffel (1984) starring
Mel Gibson and
Diane Keaton. This film tells the true story of an affair between a prisoner and a prison warden's wife, and was relatively well received by audiences and critics. On returning to Australia, Armstrong continued to make both documentaries and feature films. She earned great recognition for
High Tide (1987) and
The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992), for which she was nominated for Best Director at the 1987 and 1992 Australian Film Institute Awards (AFIs).
The Last Days of Chez Nous also earned her a nomination at the
Berlin Film Festival. Despite this, both films were largely unrecognised internationally This adaptation of
Louisa May Alcott's novel was one of the most popular films of the year, and emphasises Armstrong's focus on portraying the intimate lives of strong female characters and their relationships with one another. She followed this success three years later with the film
Oscar and Lucinda (1997), starring
Ralph Fiennes and a relatively unknown
Cate Blanchett. This film, based on the novel by Australian writer
Peter Carey, tells the story of a mismatched love affair in 19th-century Australia. It received mixed reviews both locally and internationally, despite its high production value and strong performances by the film main actors. In the 2000s, Armstrong went on to direct the feature films
Charlotte Gray (2001), starring Cate Blanchett, and
Death Defying Acts (2008), starring
Catherine Zeta-Jones and
Guy Pearce. Based on the novel by
Sebastian Faulks,
Charlotte Gray is another of Armstrong's films that centres around a strong female protagonist. Removed from Armstrong's usual subject matter,
Death Defying Acts portrays a moment in the life of 1920s escape artist Harry Houdini in the style of a supernatural, romantic thriller. It received a modest earning at the box office, and was part of a special screening at the 2007
Toronto International Film Festival Despite the success of these more commercial films, it was Armstrong's lesser-known documentary
Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst (2006), which earned her the most critical recognition during this time, and a nomination for the
Grand Jury Prize at the
Sundance Film Festival. == Film themes and style ==