What makes Peter Weir’s 1975 masterpiece Picnic at Hanging Rock such a haunting film after all these years? Well, no one really knows. What we do know is that it’s a film that remains an enigmatic experience, one that requires repeat viewings to try to understand what’s really going on in it.
Buy Picnic at Hanging Rock (The Criterion Collection) 4K UHDThe story of a small group of young students from an all-girls school, who along with one their teachers, disappear during their annual picnic amidst Hanging Rock, has been discussed, talked about, and acclaimed for decades.
Is it a horror film? A film about repressed sexuality? A film about authoritarianism? Or is it one big fever dream? Again, no one knows. It’s an ethereal film that allows the viewer to come up with their own theories of what it’s about.
Whatever one thinks, it remains a sight to behold. One of the greatest Australian films ever made, and a benchmark in Weir’s renowned career.
Making its 4K UHD debut from Criterion, I bet its many secrets look greater than ever before. The supplements aren’t anything new, but they are still enjoyable nonetheless. They include an interview with Weir; program on the making of the film, featuring interviews with executive producer Patricia Lovell, producers Hal McElroy and Jim McElroy, and cast members; Introduction by film scholar David Thomson, author of The New Biographical Dictionary of Film; On-set documentary hosted by Lovell and featuring interviews with Weir, actor Rachel Roberts, and source-novel author Joan Lindsay; Homesdale (1971), a black comedy by Weir; and trailer.
There is also the great essay by author Megan Abbott and an excerpt from film scholar Marek Haltof’s 1996 book Peter Weir: When Cultures Collide (found on the previous Blu-ray release).
If you don’t already own this classic film, then this 4K UHD is definitely worthy for your collection.
Other releases:
Monster (Well Go USA): A recent Hirokazu Kore-eda outing where a mother seeks the truth from her son’s teacher after witnessing his sudden strange behavior.
Lisa Frankenstein (Universal): The delightful Kathryn Newton stars as an unpopular high school student in 1989, who accidentally re-animates a handsome corpse (Cole Sprouse) during a lightning storm and starts to rebuild him into her dream man by using the broken tanning bed in her garage.
Fallen Leaves (MUBI): The latest triumph from acclaimed filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki about Ansa, a supermarket shelf-stocker, who tries to kindle a relationship with Holappa, an ex-alcoholic sandblaster, on the harsher side of the welfare state.
