Frog Dreaming (Blu-ray) (1985)

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General		Extras
Category	Adventure	Reversible Cover Audio Commentary-Director, editor, costume designer and Mark Hartley Interviews-Cast & Crew-(32:08) Writer, director, Henry Thomas Interviews-Cast & Crew-The Depths of a Legend (28:12) Interviews-Cast-The Go Kids (28:12) Theatrical Trailer Gallery
Rating
Year Of Production	1985
Running Time	93:00
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Brian Trenchard-Smith
Studio Distributor	Umbrella Entertainment	Starring	Henry Thomas Tony Barry Rachel Friend Tamsin West John Ewart Dennis Miller Katy Manning
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	?	Music	Brian May

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English DTS HD Master Audio 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Fourteen year old Cody (Henry Thomas) has an enquiring mind, a taste for experimentation and an adventurous spirit. After the death of his parents Cody lives in a tiny Australian bush town with his guardian Gaza (Tony Barry) where his experiments cause concern to local police sergeant Ricketts (John Ewart) and to Mr and Mrs Cannon (Dennis Miller, Katy Manning) whose two daughters Wendy (Rachel Friend) and Jane (Tamsin West) are Cody’s closest friends.

     One day while exploring in the bush Cody, Wendy and Jane come across a pond that is not marked on any map. They make a scary and gruesome discovery but afterwards Cody learns that the pond is an area of “frog dreaming”, a haunted place according to the local indigenous people. Nevertheless, Cody has seen something break the surface of the pond and is determined to discover what is in the water, even if he was to construct a rudimentary diving bell; but is this “frog dreaming” site only an old Aboriginal myth or is there something more substantial and sinister in the water?

     Frog Dreaming was written by Everett DeRoche who had recently penned Razorback (1884), an Australian horror classic. Frog Dreaming retains aspects of horror and mystery, as the pond and the surrounding cliffs are spooky at times, but the film is a children’s adventure with director Brian Trenchard-Smith bringing the light touch and sense of fun and adventure that he had brought a couple of years previously to BMX Bandits (1983). Frog Dreaming received US financing and was aimed at the American market so Henry Thomas, fresh off starring in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, was brought in to take the lead role. And, indeed, his Cody dominates Frog Dreaming as Thomas brings a sense of wide eyed wonder, adventurous spirit and resolve to the part. Rachel Friend is also good and the cast is filled out with familiar Australian faces including John Ewart (AFI winner of Best Supporting Actor for The Picture Show Man (1977)), Tony Barry and Dennis Miller.

     Frog Dreaming is in a similar genre to films such as a The Goonies which came out the same year; a story featuring young teens that is a mystery, a suspense and a coming of age story with horror / spooky elements, but not too many. The mystery of what is in the pond is resolved at the end, but then a final scene implies that maybe there was, indeed, more to the legend.

     Frog Dreaming was nominated for four AFI awards and won for best editing, but missed out on awards for the score, sound design and production design. As the title Frog Dreaming did not make sense to non-Australian audiences the film has also been called The Quest, The Go Kids and The Spirit Chaser in various regions. By whatever title, however, Frog Dreaming is an unusual, but fun, adventure film.

Video

     Frog Dreaming is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     Detail is good in both interiors and the expanses of the Australian landscape. Colours are bright and natural, such as the vibrant blue skies, the olive and green leaves of the bush and forest trees, the brown of the rock cliffs and the murky brown of the water in the pond. In one sequence where Cody tries to find an Aboriginal spirit man, the blues are stunning. Skin tones are natural. Shadow detail and blacks are fine. Brightness and contrast is consistent.

     Pleasant grain is present and other than some minor motion blur and some small marks I did not notice any artefacts.

     English subtitles are available in a smallish white font.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The audio is English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo, surround encoded. The film was released in theatres with stereo sound.

     Dialogue is clear. Effects, especially the bubbles and swirl in the pool, are loud and effective. Music, voices during the dance, wind and the bubbles occur in the rears. The score by Brian May, who won an AFI award for Mad Max (1979), was light-hearted, whimsical and sometimes eerie, suiting the film.

     There are no lip synchronisation issues, except the singer during the dance sequence.

Audio Ratings Summary

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Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Reversible Cover

     The cover can be reversed showing the alternative US title The Quest.

Audio Commentary

     Recorded for this Blu-ray Not Quite Hollywood director Mark Hartley moderates this commentary with director Brian Trenchard-Smith, editor Brian Kavanagh and costume designer Aphrodite Kondos, although Trenchard-Smith dominates the conversation. This is not a technical commentary but they chat about how the director got involved, 2nd unit coverage, stunts and accidents, identify the cast and their other film roles, the writer, locations, filming frogs and lizards, working with the cast of kids, relations with the Aboriginal community, the score, reactions to the film, problems with the distribution and the changes to the name of the film overseas.

Cast and Crew Interviews (32:08)

     These extended interviews were conducted by Mark Hartley for his documentary Not Quite Hollywood which was released in 2008. The interviews play one after the other, without a menu and each lasts around 10 minutes.

     * Writer / co-producer Everett De Roche speaks on what the film is about, its genre, Henry Thomas, replacing the original director a third of the way through the shoot, the stunts, the location and reactions to the film.

     * Henry Thomas talks about coming to Australia as a 12 year old to shoot the film, his character, relationships between the characters, issues with being a child actor, other cast members and a stunt that did not go to plan.

     * Director Brian Trenchard-Smith speaks about how he got hired, taking over a production that had been going 3 weeks already of a 9 week schedule, Henry Thomas, the genre of the film, motifs he uses in his films.

The Depths of a Legend: Looking Back on Frog Dreaming (28:12)

     Made in 2018 by Umbrella, director Brian Trenchard-Smith visits Henry Thomas at his home in the US. This is a friendly and amusing chat as Trenchard-Smith questions Thomas about why he decided to come to Australia to make Frog Dreaming, other cast members, experiencing Aboriginal culture, the location, the bike stunt and his stunt double, returning to Australia (Melbourne, at least) on other occasions, films he was offered but passed on and his attitudes to acting.

The Go Kids: Looking Back on Frog Dreaming (28:12)

     Also made by Umbrella in 2018, Rachel Friend and Tamsin West were interviewed separately and the interviews intercut. Items discussed include getting the role, Henry Thomas, anecdotes from the shoot, the change of director and reactions to the film.

The Dream Quest (5:32)

     Vision of Victorian locations used in the film as they now are - Moorooduc Quarry, Mount Eliza, the town of Woods Point, Menzies Creek Railway Station, Nobelius Siding, Emerald - are contrasted with footage from the film accompanied by the film score. Some of the locations have not changed much in over 30 years!

Theatrical Trailer (1:30)

Image Gallery (7:28)

     Concept art, promotional material, VHS covers from across the globe and behind the scenes. No music, the images advance automatically.

     Although there have been previous DVD releases of Frog Dreaming in various regions, including here in Region 4, this release from Umbrella is the only Blu-ray version currently available.

     Frog Dreaming is another of those Australian films from the 1980s that sunk without much of a fuss due to distribution and marketing issues. Thanks to Umbrella it is good to see the film now available with an excellent HD presentation and decent extras. It is a bit of a curiosity, blending a coming of age story, creeps, mystery and a bit of horror in a PG “children’s” film but it does it pretty well, the cast are likeable, the score and locations spooky, and so is worth a look.

     The Umbrella DVD release here in Australia of Frog Dreaming some years ago was 4x3; it did contain the Not Quite Hollywood extended interviews and a trailer but not the other extras available on this Blu-ray. The HD vision, lossless sound and new extras make an upgrade to Blu-ray an easy decision for fans or those interested in the genre or Australian films.

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