Stars: Patricia Gozzi, Dean Stockwell, Melvyn Douglas, Gunnel Lindblom, Leslie Sands, Murray Evans, Sylvia Kay, Peter Sallis, Ellen Pollock | Written by Stanley Mann | Directed by John Guillermin
John Guillermin, the London-born director of the classic disaster film The Towering Inferno directed this moving drama set in France called Rapture in 1965. I am familiar with some of Guillermin’s catalogue, from the aforementioned Towering Inferno to his ’76 version of King Kong to his 60’s war film The Blue Max. I hadn’t seen this though, so it was a treat to see that Masters of Cinema, Eureka’s brilliant line of classic titles, was putting a new version of the film out.
The first thing that struck me upon watching the film was the cinematography. It is just beautiful, and with the new transfer it looks even better than I can imagine it did when it was released those many years ago.
John Guillermin, the London-born director of the classic disaster film The Towering Inferno directed this moving drama set in France called Rapture in 1965. I am familiar with some of Guillermin’s catalogue, from the aforementioned Towering Inferno to his ’76 version of King Kong to his 60’s war film The Blue Max. I hadn’t seen this though, so it was a treat to see that Masters of Cinema, Eureka’s brilliant line of classic titles, was putting a new version of the film out.
The first thing that struck me upon watching the film was the cinematography. It is just beautiful, and with the new transfer it looks even better than I can imagine it did when it was released those many years ago.
- 8/4/2014
- by Chris Cummings
- Nerdly
Stars: Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay, Jack Thompson, Peter Whittle, Al Thomas, John Meillon, John Armstrong | Written by Evan Jones | Directed by Ted Kotcheff
John Grant (Gary Bond) is a bonded school teacher who finds himself teaching in the outback. When travelling back to Sydney he stays overnight in the mining town of Bundanyabba where the lure of gambling and alcohol soon traps him in a nightmare. Seemingly trapped in his own hell Grant clings to the hopes of Sydney while his life spirals to a point so low that the only escape may be the one bullet he has left in his rifle.
At the start of Wake in Fright John Grant is an educated man who looks at his current situation as a form of slavery to the system, being a bonded teacher means that he has to work wherever he is put, and the...
John Grant (Gary Bond) is a bonded school teacher who finds himself teaching in the outback. When travelling back to Sydney he stays overnight in the mining town of Bundanyabba where the lure of gambling and alcohol soon traps him in a nightmare. Seemingly trapped in his own hell Grant clings to the hopes of Sydney while his life spirals to a point so low that the only escape may be the one bullet he has left in his rifle.
At the start of Wake in Fright John Grant is an educated man who looks at his current situation as a form of slavery to the system, being a bonded teacher means that he has to work wherever he is put, and the...
- 3/26/2014
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
From the press release:
Are you ready for a spine-chilling global avalanche of Indian zombies, Israeli oldboys, vengeance-crazed Vikings, Swedish mesmerists, Irish telekinesis, Argentine undead, Aussie bone-crushers, murderous Mormons and Chilean assassins?
Film4 FrightFest 2013, returning for its 4teenth year, has unveiled its biggest line-up in history. From Thurs 22 August to Monday 26 August, the UK’s leading event for genre fans will be at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square to present 51 films on three screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in Empires 2 & 4. The new FrightFest Xtra strand, also in Screen 2, will allow fans to catch up with sold-out performances of the most popular attractions.
This year there are eleven countries representing five continents with a record-breaking thirty-three UK or European premieres and ten world premieres.
The world premieres include our opening night attraction The Dead 2: India from the Ford Brothers,...
Are you ready for a spine-chilling global avalanche of Indian zombies, Israeli oldboys, vengeance-crazed Vikings, Swedish mesmerists, Irish telekinesis, Argentine undead, Aussie bone-crushers, murderous Mormons and Chilean assassins?
Film4 FrightFest 2013, returning for its 4teenth year, has unveiled its biggest line-up in history. From Thurs 22 August to Monday 26 August, the UK’s leading event for genre fans will be at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square to present 51 films on three screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in Empires 2 & 4. The new FrightFest Xtra strand, also in Screen 2, will allow fans to catch up with sold-out performances of the most popular attractions.
This year there are eleven countries representing five continents with a record-breaking thirty-three UK or European premieres and ten world premieres.
The world premieres include our opening night attraction The Dead 2: India from the Ford Brothers,...
- 6/30/2013
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
By Lee Pfeiffer
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, which present contemporary and classic films at their unique restaurant/theaters, have delved into the DVD business- and retro movie lovers can thank their lucky stars. One of the most prominent of the Drafthouse releases is Wake in Fright, a 1971 Australian film classic by Ted Kotcheff, a Canadian born director who had never previously set foot Down Under prior to making this movie. Based on the novel by Kenneth Cook, Wake in Fright is unknown to many film scholars who pride themselves on being acquainted with worthwhile, little-seen films. (I must shamefully admit that I fall into this category myself, having never even heard of the film prior to reviewing the Blu-ray release). Based on the title, I assumed this was a suspense thriller or a horror film. It is neither. In fact, it is virtually impossible to pigeon-hole this movie into a specific genre.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, which present contemporary and classic films at their unique restaurant/theaters, have delved into the DVD business- and retro movie lovers can thank their lucky stars. One of the most prominent of the Drafthouse releases is Wake in Fright, a 1971 Australian film classic by Ted Kotcheff, a Canadian born director who had never previously set foot Down Under prior to making this movie. Based on the novel by Kenneth Cook, Wake in Fright is unknown to many film scholars who pride themselves on being acquainted with worthwhile, little-seen films. (I must shamefully admit that I fall into this category myself, having never even heard of the film prior to reviewing the Blu-ray release). Based on the title, I assumed this was a suspense thriller or a horror film. It is neither. In fact, it is virtually impossible to pigeon-hole this movie into a specific genre.
- 1/24/2013
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Watch 3 new clips from the Wake in Fright thriller brought to the screen again by Drafthouse FIlms. The Australian landmark thriller helmed by Ted Kotcheff (known for his work on the classic Sylvester Stallone starrer Rambo: First Blood), opens in theaters on November 5th (New York), Los Angeles on October 19th and nationally from October to November. The film made its debut at Cannes in 1971 and is widely acknowledged as one of the seminal films in the development of modern Australian cinema. Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay and Jack Thompson star in the film tells the story of a British schoolteacher’s descent into personal demoralization at the hands of drunken, deranged derelicts while stranded in a small town in outback Australia. Virtually unseen in the United States and renowned in its home country after years of neglect, Wake in Fright is ripe for rediscovery and returns to cinemas,...
- 10/3/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Watch 3 new clips from the Wake in Fright thriller brought to the screen again by Drafthouse FIlms. The Australian landmark thriller helmed by Ted Kotcheff (known for his work on the classic Sylvester Stallone starrer Rambo: First Blood), opens in theaters on November 5th (New York), Los Angeles on October 19th and nationally from October to November. The film made its debut at Cannes in 1971 and is widely acknowledged as one of the seminal films in the development of modern Australian cinema. Donald Pleasence, Gary Bond, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay and Jack Thompson star in the film tells the story of a British schoolteacher’s descent into personal demoralization at the hands of drunken, deranged derelicts while stranded in a small town in outback Australia. Virtually unseen in the United States and renowned in its home country after years of neglect, Wake in Fright is ripe for rediscovery and returns to cinemas,...
- 10/3/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Down & Outback: Lost Australian Classic a Moody Nightmare
Long considered a lost classic, spurring a decade long search for the film’s negative (which ended finally in 2004 when it was found in a box marked for destruction in Pittsburgh), Ted Kotcheff’s Wake In Fright is getting a much deserved re-release after enjoying a recent spat of revitalized festival circuit glory. While the film’s been listed among a selection of titles referred to as Ozploitation, thanks to the 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood, Kotcheff’s film is more Ozploration than it is an exploitative mechanism. That’s not to say it isn’t without some sensational, notorious sequences, but clearly this is cinema that is more on par with contemporary auteurs that explored the Outback to more celebratory effect like Weir, Schepisi, and fellow Brit, Nicolas Roeg.
A bonded school teacher, John Grant (Gary Bond), stationed in Tiboondi, the...
Long considered a lost classic, spurring a decade long search for the film’s negative (which ended finally in 2004 when it was found in a box marked for destruction in Pittsburgh), Ted Kotcheff’s Wake In Fright is getting a much deserved re-release after enjoying a recent spat of revitalized festival circuit glory. While the film’s been listed among a selection of titles referred to as Ozploitation, thanks to the 2008 documentary Not Quite Hollywood, Kotcheff’s film is more Ozploration than it is an exploitative mechanism. That’s not to say it isn’t without some sensational, notorious sequences, but clearly this is cinema that is more on par with contemporary auteurs that explored the Outback to more celebratory effect like Weir, Schepisi, and fellow Brit, Nicolas Roeg.
A bonded school teacher, John Grant (Gary Bond), stationed in Tiboondi, the...
- 10/2/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
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