Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Review
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray Review
On Saturday, 14 February 1900, a party of schoolgirls from Appleyard College took a trip to Hanging Rock near Mt. Macedon in Victoria. During that idyllic sun-drenched afternoon some of the girls left the rest of the group to go exploring. The higher they climbed the more exhausted they became, finally they stopped to rest and fell asleep…When they awoke, as though still in a dream the girls silently ventured further through a passage in the imposing rock face. Some of them were never seen again.
The internationally acclaimed Australian cinema classic PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK established the now legendary, Peter Weir (THE TRUMAN SHOW, DEAD POETS SOCIETY) as a major filmmaker and with BAFTA-winning photography and a memorably haunting score, it remains one of the most chillingly atmospheric and beautifully enigmatic films ever made. Now this seminal piece of cinema is set to receive a stunning new Limited Edition 4K UHD/Blu-ray release alongside Standard Editions on 4K UHD and Blu-ray courtesy of Second Sight Films on 1 May 2023.
The film is presented in an impressive new Second Sight Films 4K scan and restoration from the original camera negative, which was supervised and approved by Peter Weir and director of photography Russell Boyd. It comes in a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Thinh Dinh as a four-disc set featuring two UHDs and two Blu-rays, including restorations of the Director’s Cut and original Theatrical Cut.
Considered a masterpiece of Australian cinema and voted the Best Australian Film of All Time by the members of the Australian Film Institute, director Peter Weir’s PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK makes for a haunting, mysterious, and sometimes unsettling watch. It offers no conclusive answers about the girls’ disappearance – which irritated American audiences upon its Seventies release – but instead presents us with layers of ambiguity, enough to get the old grey matter ticking over.
Based on Joan Leslie’s 1967 novel of the same name – presented as fiction by the author who also hinted that it might indeed be based on fact – this was both a commercial and critical success and one that helped put Australian New Wave cinema on the world map. With visuals inspired by the work of British photographer and film director David Hamilton this is a film that will linger on in your memory long after viewing with its mix of horror, mystery and perhaps even science-fiction.
Special Features:
A new Second Sight Films 4K scan and restoration from the original camera negative supervised and approved by director Peter Weir and director of photography Russell Boyd
Dual format 4-disc set featuring 2 UHDs and 2 Blu-rays
UHDs presented in HDR
Includes restorations of the Director’s Cut and original Theatrical Cut
Audio commentary by film academics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
A Lovely Day for a Picnic: a new interview with actor Karen Robson
Finding the Light: a new interview with director of photography Russell Boyd
Crashing Through Boundaries: a new interview with camera operator John Seale
Something Beyond Explanation: Thomas Caldwell on Picnic at Hanging Rock
A Dream Within a Dream feature length documentary
An interview with Joan Lindsay
Recollection: Hanging Rock 1900
Outtakes
Original long trailer
Limited Edition Contents
Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Thinh Dinh
Soft cover book with new essays by Daniel Bird, Kat Ellinger and Justine Smith, archive essay by Rebecca Harkins-Cross, Costume Gallery, feature on the original marketing of the film and the new restoration
The original novel with exclusive cover by Thinh Dinh
Six collectors’ art cards
