Wake in Fright

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Poe P Feb 9, 2019 I found it to be a highly shocking film which explored the depths of hyper masculinity. While it doesn't offer much in the way of character development, what it does instead is detail an outsider's horrific descent into it once he begins to spend time amongst various people who represent this in several shocking scenes. This leads up to the haunting climax where his actions begin to take an emotional toll on him which is both conveyed and edited real well. The kangaroo scene was hard to watch, but it's part of the film's visceral power. I feel like that sequence pushes the intensity of the film to a much more shocking level. In addition to strong acting and some great cinematography which brings out how drab the setting is, this film is pretty fantastic. See more

Han G Jan 5, 2019 Oddball 'lost' Australian feature about the long dark night of a middle-class teacher (Gary Bond) who falls in with a group of beer-swilling thugs and - through a combination of peer pressure and alcohol - ends up slaughtering kangaroo and trying to take his own life. Echoes of Lord of the Flies and the same year's other Outback drama, Walkabout. See more

Rey S Dec 26, 2018 FUN FACT: The movie had been out of circulation for decades because the negative went missing, sparking an international search. After a ten-year quest veteran Australian producer Anthony Buckley finally tracked it down in mid-2004 in a Pittsburgh warehouse, inside a shipping container marked "For Destruction". I'm always amazed at stories such as these, and wonder how a print of a Australian movie ends up in a Pittsburgh warehouse. FUN FACT #2: Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider. See more

Han S Nov 25, 2018 Incredibly bleak, stomach-churning, and thought provoking. Wake in fright is visually stunning, which is the only thing that kept me from turning away from sheer unease. The social commentary concerning how the impoverished deal with near unliveable conditions is shocking, and (I would say) still relevant. Apart from 2 different lines in the film, which felt out of place, the film maintains its atmosphere and suspense throughout. I would, also, warn about the strong theme of hunting throughout. If you are uncomfortable with extended (not overly graphic) hunting sequences, I would not recommend. See more

George G Nov 14, 2018 The first of the 2 part TV special was just awesome. Then it lost its way a bit in the second half. Still a very good movie overall. Aussies really know how to make great movies! The acting was really good, the set was amazing (giving that Outback small town vibe). Not a horror, its a thriller. See more

Harry S Jan 4, 2018 Of all the movies I've seen, there's none quite like 'Wake in Fright'. Ted Kotcheff intended to create a movie that'll make the viewer "sweat while watching it", and that's about the impression that his long lost masterpiece leaves. I recall it as "long lost" because, and that's part of its one-of-a-kind legend, it has been forgotten for over three decades, existing only in low quality versions, before this 1971 movie got found, in rereleased in 2009. That's why you won't hear of it before long even if well acquainted with moviemaking. For 'Wake in Fright' belongs to no era, it has no logical place on the cinematic timeline. It belongs to no genre either - since its overall look is that of a western -though it is set in the Outback-, and its existential depth resembles to the works of Antonioni ('The Passenger', 'L'Avventura') or Wenders ('Paris, Texas'), and its sun-burnt brutality has the same kind of horror than the cheap gore of Meyer ('Faster, Pussycat, Kill, Kill') and Hooper ('The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'). It's a high class film and a B kind curiosity, it's a primitive and an elaborated movie, it's a matter of circumstances perhaps- but it is, in its own right, one of the most fascinating things that I ever got to see on a movie screen. See more

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Wake in Fright

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