Walkabout (1971) Limited Edition Blu-Ray Review
Nicolas Roeg’s seminal ‘WALKABOUT’ gets a highly anticipated Limited Edition Blu-ray release on 27 July 2020. The hugely anticipated release is set to arrive this summer and features a host of brand-new special features, including a new audio commentary with child star, Luc Roeg, now an established producer on projects like We Need to Talk about Kevin, and writer and film critic David Thomson. Also included are new interviews with Luc Roeg, Jenny Agutter and producer Si Litvinoff (CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH).
An exciting new interview with renowned director Danny Boyle (TRAINSPOTTING, 28 DAYS LATER) recounts his love of Nicolas Roeg and his films, while the late Roeg himself speaks in an archive introduction, and a 2011 BFI Q&A alongside his son and Agutter. The set arrives on 27 July 2020 complete with new artwork, designed by Michael Boland, the source novel by James Vance Marshall, a soft cover first draft script book and a soft cover book with new essays by Sophie Monks Kaufman, Simon Abrams and Daniel Bird.
Following the suicide of their father, Mary (Jenny Agutter) and her younger brother Peter (Luc Roeg) are left stranded in the blistering heat of the vast Australian outback. Facing exhaustion and starvation, their salvation comes when they cross paths with an Aboriginal boy (David Gulpilil – THE LEFTOVERS, CARGO) on ‘walkabout’, a ritual in which he must leave his home and learn to survive off the land. He teaches them how to survive in the wilderness, but a clash of cultures leads to terrible and tragic consequences.
Seminal classic and one of the first Australian New Wave films, WALKABOUT, from legendary director Nicolas Roeg (THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH, DON’T LOOK NOW) is a coming-of-age story of survival and transcending cultural differences starring lauded actor Jenny Agutter (CALL THE MIDWIFE, THE RAILWAY CHILDREN) and the director’s son Luc Roeg.
Although it received mixed reviews on its Cannes premiere in 1971, the film has gone on to become an internationally renowned, cult favourite loved by audiences and critics alike, and now Second Sight Films is giving WALKABOUT the Limited Edition Blu-ray box set treatment. Loosely based on the 1959 novel by James Vance Marshall and adapted for the screen by Edward Bond, director Nicolas Roeg’s movie actually says more with its visuals than it does with dialogue (largely improvised) or a strong narrative, and fortunately on a visual level this film is absolutely stunning.
Aside from Roeg’s exquisite cinematography and John Barry’s customary excellence with the scoring, WALKABOUT is definitely an acquired taste. It relies heavily on metaphor, as do all of Roeg’s signature works, meaning that the viewer is left to their own devices to come up with their own interpretation as to what the film could be about. More art-house in flavour than mainstream it’s not difficult to see why this film failed to capture the hearts of audiences and critics first time around.
WALKABOUT works on many levels; you could see it as a straight-forward tale about two children lost in the Australian Outback, or perhaps a cautionary tale about how humanity has lost its way when bricked up within the soulless confines of towns and cities and away from natural surroundings. The film could also be interpreted as a religious parable as biblical imagery is prevalent throughout, with definite nods to the Garden of Eden and crucifixion. For those that prefer not to ponder the intricate layers of WALKABOUT there’s arguably very little to grab an audience with those amongst us that prefer to have everything spoon-fed to them within their film diet – WALKABOUT is definitely for an acquired taste.
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Brand new 4K scan and restoration
- A new audio commentary with Luc Roeg and David Thomson
- Producing Walkabout: A new interview with Producer Si Litvinoff
- Luc’s Walkabout: A new interview with Luc Roeg
- Jenny in the Outback: A new interview with Jenny Agutter
- Remembering Roeg: a new interview with Danny Boyle
- 2011 BFI Q&A with Nicolas Roeg, Jenny Agutter and Luc Roeg
- Archive Introduction by Nicolas Roeg
- English SDH subtitles for the hearing impaired
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS
- Limited Edition Box Set of only 3,000
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Michael Boland
- The source novel ‘Walkabout’ with cover artwork exclusive to this release
- Soft cover book featuring facsimile copy of the original 65-page First Draft Script with preface by Daniel Bird
- Soft cover book with new essays by Sophie Monks Kaufman, Simon Abrams and Daniel Bird plus stills and lobby card images
See the brand new Second Sight trailer for the film here:
