A restoration of ted kotcheffs 1971 film firmly establishes its place within the aussie film renaissance. Alex dimitriades, 43, has revealed that he was anything but nervous about starring in the upcoming 2017 production of wake in fright, despite the 1971 films legendary status. In an effort to change that, its editor, anthony buckley, started searching for a pristine copy of the movie in 1994, and ten. May 12, 2014 alongside mad max and walkabout, wake in fright is widely acknowledged as one of the seminal films in the development of modern australian cinema. Wake in fright is a film made in australia in 1971 and almost lost forever. The segment relates directly to wake in fright, which was in production at the time. But one night stretches to several and with the aid of alcohol he plunges headlong toward his own destruction. Flickchart user rac ranks wake in fright as his 5th favorite movie. Aweinspiring, brutal and stunning, wake in fright is the story of john grant, a bonded. Wake in fright is a classic from the early days of the 1970s australian film renaissance. The community he has been sent to is populated almost exclusively by amoral, primitive toughs, more interested in slaughtering kangaroos and sexual carousing than in such niceties as education or propriety. Wake in fright is a deeply and i mean deeply unsettling and disturbing movie. Wake in fright has been painstakingly restored by australias national film and sound.
Wake in fright classic australian film restored by the nfsa nfsa. Top 20 have an average rating of 630 81% on my chart, putting him up in the top 5 of this months group. Wake in fright is a 1971 australiaamerican thriller directed by ted kotcheff. Gary bond played john grant in the 1971 classic movie wake in fright. Nov, 2019 in the completed film, of the three it is only bond who is obviously, immediately englishand this is something that tends to be more jarring now than it would have been at the time of wake in frights production, when a particular sector of the australian education system was still priding itself on teaching its students to speak with a.
Flickchart user rac ranks wake in fright as his 5th favorite movie of alltime, making it the highest ranking movie on his chart which i hadnt seen. It comes billed as a horror film and contains a great deal of horror, but all of the horror is human and brutally realistic. Alex dimitriades, 43, has revealed that he was anything but nervous about starring in the upcoming 2017 production of wake in fright, despite the 1971 film s legendary status. After competing for the palm dor at cannes in 1971, wake in frights. Oct 27, 2016 wake in fright 1971 extended trailer duration. The world premiere of wake in fright as outback occurred on opening night of the 1971 cannes film festival on may. Wake in fright also known as outback is a 1971 film about a schoolteacher from sydney who descends into moral degradation after becoming stranded in an. Just a onenight stopover in the yabba in the australian outback for peter otoole lookalike gary bond, between the literally twohouse town where hes stuck teaching and the flight to sydney and his girlfriend. Well, fortunately, you dont have to take my word for it. Wake in fright 1971 donald pleasence trailer drama. It is the christmas holidays and john is traveling to sydney to. Outback is unlike any other film ever made and quite impossible to categorize. Gary bond plays a naive young australian teacher who is tragically unprepared for his new position in the outback.
In the completed film, of the three it is only bond who is obviously, immediately englishand this is something that tends to be more jarring now than it would have been at the time of wake in fright s production, when a particular sector of the australian education system was still priding itself on teaching its students to speak with a. The film chronicles one mans hellish experience in a fictional town in the australian outback. Imdb link the magnificent lost 1971 movie wake in fright, directed by canadian director ted kotcheff, must rank as one of the best films ever made in australia, a motion picture that ignited the australian new wave movement of film making later in the decade. Aweinspiring, brutal and stunning, wake in fright is the story of john grant, a bonded teacher who arrives in the rough outback mining town of bundanyabba, planning to stay overnight before. After a bad gambling bet, a schoolteacher is marooned in a town full of crazy, drunk, violent men who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent. Ironically, when the completed film was shown at cannes, it was competing with the bogarde vehicle death in venice 1971 for the grand prix. Jun 11, 2017 le film wake in fright 1971 vostfr admin 20170611t21.
The digtial restoration was completed in january 2009 and had its world premiere at the cannes film festival in may 2009 and australian premiere at the sydney film festival in june 2009. Outback was based on kenneth cooks novel wake in fright. Alex dimitriades discusses remaking wake in fright daily. Wake in fright is a deeplyand i mean deeplyunsettling and disturbing movie, said director martin scorsese i saw it when it premiered at cannes in 1971, and it left me speechless.
At the 2009 cannes classic screening of wake in fright, 12 people walked out during the kangaroo hunt for decades, 1971s wake in fright released as outback in its native australia was considered a lost film. By the end of the 70s cook estimated wake in fright had sold upwards of 20,000 copies in its penguin, australia, edition with a still from the film, of its star, gary bond, squinting into the. The film opens in a sunbleached schoolhouse in the australian. West would later sell the rights the following year to nlt productions. Nov 17, 2016 the 1971 film wake in fright, directed by canadian ted kotcheff, made an indelible print on australian culture, exploring themes around drinking, gambling and the usandthem divide between city. Wake in fright 1971 r 114 min drama, thriller 21 july 1971 france john grant, a bonded teacher, arrives in a rough outback mining town planning to stay overnight before starting his holiday. Australian classic film wake in fright to be remade for.
Based on kenneth cook s 1961 novel of the same name, the film follows a young english. Oct 05, 2012 a restoration of ted kotcheffs 1971 film firmly establishes its place within the aussie film renaissance. Im referring to the unearthing of ted kotcheffs 1971 film wake in fright, an australianamerican coproduction that is surely among the bleakest films ive ever seen. Alongside mad max and walkabout, wake in fright is widely acknowledged as one of the seminal films in the development of modern australian cinema. Watch wake in fright online vimeo on demand on vimeo. Ted kotcheff was nominated for a golden palm award.
On his way to the sydney beaches for a holiday he stops at a pub in the rough mining town of bundanyabba, loses his money in a twoup game and finds himself stranded. The digtial restoration was completed in january 2009 and had its world premiere at the cannes film festival in may 2009 and. Oct 04, 2012 the scene is from wake in fright, a film directed by ted kotcheff, and released in 1971. Based on kenneth cooks 1961 novel of the same name, the film follows a young schoolteacher who descends into personal moral degradation. The film was directed by ted kotcheff, from a script by evan jones, and featured gary bond, donald pleasence and chips rafferty in the lead roles. In may this year, the restored print of wake in fright had its world premiere at cannes in the retrospective program titled, cannes classics. It is routinely and very justifiably described as disturbing.
Set in the endless australian outback, wake in fright 1971 is one of the most upsetting aussie films ever made. Channel ten drops wake in fright series first trailer. Although these words were intended to soften the outrageous scenes of slaughter included in ted kotcheffs rediscovered 1971 classic, wake in fright, the reality of the savage kangaroo hunt is actually the most unsettling aspect of the film. Wake in fright 1971 donald pleasence feature drama, thriller. Wake in fright is a 1971 psychological thriller film directed by canadian filmmaker ted kotcheff. Channel ten drops the first trailer for anticipated miniseries wake in fright based on the iconic 1971 australian film by stephen bisset for daily mail australia. Warm vellum bookshop listed the novel as having one of the best opening lines in literature. The novel was reissued by text publishing as a part of their text classics series in 2012.
Directed by kriv stenders and written by stephen m. Ironically, when the completed film was shown at cannes, it was competing with the bogarde vehicle death in venice 1971 for the grand prix du festival, and lost to loseys the gobetween 1971. Wake in fright ted kotcheff film analysis senses of cinema. With donald pleasence, gary bond, chips rafferty, sylvia kay. John grant is an english teacher in an outback school.
Wake in fright 1971 donald pleasence feature drama. Wake in fright found australian psychological thriller. The film made its world premiere at the 1971 cannes film festival where it. The scene is from wake in fright, a film directed by ted kotcheff, and released in 1971. Wake in fright 40th anniversary trailer 2012 youtube. Believed to be lost for decades and virtually unseen in america until now, wake in fright returns fullyrestored in stunning hd in what the new york observer says may be the greatest australian film ever made. Supplied ten is yet to announce any of the cast for its wake in fright remake which will screen in 2017. As the title suggests it covers the renaissance of wake in. Channel ten drops wake in fright series first trailer daily. In 1971 wake in fright was nominated for the palme dor at cannes and in a twist of irony, nearly forty years later the film would again return to the cannes film festival.
Dec 10, 2009 the split between the critics and the public was further exemplified by the national film board of australias refusal to endorse wake in fright as an entry at the 1971 cannes film festival. Wake in fright is the story of john grant gary bond, a bonded. It is also one of only two films to ever be selected for the cannes film festival twice in 1971, for the. While watching the start of wake in fright you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching a sergio leone film. Wake in fright is a rediscovered gem that premiered at the 1971 cannes film festival alongside walkabout. Le film wake in fright 1971 vostfr admin 20170611t21. Wake in fright is the story of john grant, a bonded teacher who arrives in the rough outback mining town of bundanyabba planning to stay overnight before catching the plane to sydney, but as one. It is powerful, genuinely shocking and rather amazing.
The making of wake in fright part one movie news sbs movies. Jun 26, 2015 wake in fright 1971 r 114 min drama, thriller 21 july 1971 france john grant, a bonded teacher, arrives in a rough outback mining town planning to stay overnight before starting his holiday. Trailer for wake in fright 1971 wake in fright 1971 stills gallery beware. In the completed film, of the three it is only bond who is obviously, immediately englishand this is something that tends to be more jarring now than it would have been at the time of wake in frights production, when a particular sector of the australian education system was still priding itself on teaching its students to speak with a. The split between the critics and the public was further exemplified by the national film board of australias refusal to endorse wake in fright as an entry at the 1971 cannes film festival.
Beginning december 7, landmark midtown art cinema offers a rare chance for you to witness one of the groundbreaking films that sparked that boom. The full story behind the making of the australian film classic wake in fright 1971 from conception to production and the subsequent disappearance of the negative, discovery, restoration and rerelease. Wake in fright initially released as outback outside australia is a 1971 australianamerican psychological thriller film directed by ted kotcheff, written by evan jones, and starring gary bond, donald pleasence, chips rafferty, sylvia kay and jack thompson. Halloween movie 1978 donald pleasence, jamie lee curtis, nancy kyes. The restored print, completed in 2009, will screen this week at new yorks film forum.
Wake in fright, also known as outback, is a 1971 australian psychological thrillerpsychological horror film based on the 1961 novel of the same name by kenneth cook john grant gary bond is a middleclass school teacher from sydney who is forced to teach in a remote australian outback outpost to pay off tertiary education. Wake in fright 1971 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Wake in fright initially released as outback outside australia is a 1971 psychological thriller film directed by canadian filmmaker ted kotcheff, written by evan jones, and starring gary bond, donald pleasence, chips rafferty, sylvia kay and jack thompson. Wake in fright has the power to disturb, a rare thing in any novel. A deliveranceflavored australian horror tale whose outofhisdepth protagonist doesnt. Based on kenneth cooks 1961 novel of the same name, and the film was initially received favorably by many. Wake in fright is an australian miniseries based on kenneth cooks 1961 novel of the same name, which first aired on network ten in october 2017.
Forget the hangover, this hardcore 1971 offering from the australian new wave shows the. Wake in fright 1971 r 114 min drama, thriller 21 july 1971 france john. Irwin, the series features an ensemble cast that includes sean keenan, alex dimitriades, caren pistorius, david wenham, anna samson, gary sweet and robyn malcolm. The success of wake in frightand walkabout at the same time, along with the support of the gorton government for backing the new film push, started the ball rolling for oz films renaissance. Wake in fright is an appropriate name for this film because just like those bad dreams you get where you cant seem to escape or get anywhere in them then this is the sutuation presenting an english schoolteacher teaching in the middle of nowhere who is only to happy to get back to civillization and the city without wanting to spoil any bit of. For reasons that remain unknown, the movie nearly faded into oblivion as of the early 90s, only two prints existed, both in unsatisfactory condition, and the. True story of the movie wake in fright succeeding 40 years later by ted kotcheff. Look for an interview with a very young phillip adams.
1067 122 1449 1013 853 460 75 1211 1279 317 930 137 1136 1254 363 125 490 1255 209 1171 688 438 794 930 613 110 807 1354 1176 852 827 527 183 1542 276 1534 1289 1263 587 107 136 855 1031 368 163 1404 476 373 586