Wake in Fright (Blu-ray) (1971) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Thriller |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Booklet-32 pages Audio Commentary-Director Ted Kotcheff & Editor Anthony Buckley Interviews-Crew-with Director, Ted Kotcheff Theatrical Trailer-International Trailer - Outback TV Spots-Who Needs Art? (1971) Segment on Wake In Fright TV Spots-ABC's 7:30 Report - Rediscovery & Restoration of the film Interviews-Cast-Ken G. Hall interview about Chips Rafferty Featurette-Restoration Comparison Deleted Scenes-From the 2008 documentary, Not Quite Hollywood Teaser Trailer-Madman Trailers |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1971 | ||
Running Time | 108:50 (Case: 92) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Audio Format Select Then Menu | ||
Region Coding | 4 | Directed By | Ted Kotcheff |
Studio
Distributor |
Madman Entertainment |
Starring |
Donald Pleasence Gary Bond Chips Rafferty Sylvia Kay Jack Thompson Peter Whittle Al Thomas John Meillon John Armstrong Slim DeGrey Maggie Dence Norm Erskine |
Case | Amaray Variant | ||
RPI | $44.95 | Music | John Scott |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Unknown |
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) |
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Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 1080p | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.85:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | Yes, and plenty of drinking too! |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
Wake in Fright is quite simply a masterpiece of Australian filmmaking. Fellow MichaelD reviewer Steve Crawford has recently written a review for the Madman DVD release of the film which is quite informative and extensive. The review can be referenced here. There are only a few things that I wish to add to Steve's excellent review.
Firstly, in my opinion, Wake in Fright represents one of the three most important films made in this country. All these films share a common theme of the struggle of white Australian Anglo-Saxon people fitting into the natural environment of outback Australia. The other two films are Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout, made in 1971, and Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock, made in 1975. Secondly, please consider the fact that this film has been awarded special Cannes honours twice and has been re-released after 38 years. Remarkably, the film is still quite fresh in its themes of alienation, even in this modern era, and it is also thematically rich, there are so many sources of information in the film that are not dialogue-specific that have an important impact upon the film's meaning. For example, you can compare the lights of the kangaroo hunt stunning the kangaroos at night and the use of strong source light used to shine in John Grant's eyes constantly throughout the film. It seems the spotlight is on Grant and his ability to adapt and fit into his surroundings. At the beginning of the film John wears an immaculate pair of sunglasses. He uses this to perceive his surroundings with an impassive distance, by the end we see his sunglasses smashed as John becomes consumed by the events that overtake him. These are just two examples of how rich thematically Wake in Fright is, I'm sure fans of the film could point out more.
The Blu-ray release is simply a revelation. Due to the hard work of editor Anthony Buckley, a film negative has been used to restore the film to its former greatness. In fact, the film stock used to print the film in 1971 was not as advanced as today's film stock, this Blu-ray presentation therefore presents the film with more detail than previously possible.
As Steve Crawford mentioned in his DVD review of the film, The 32 page booklet goes into further detail about the restoration of the film.
The aspect ratio of Wake in Fright is 1:85:1, 16x9 enhanced for widescreen televisions.
The restoration has allowed the filmmakers to show more detail in the film then what was possible in 1971 during the film's initial theatrical release. There are some instances where the image has slight grain, yet overall the video transfer is immaculate.
Ted Kotcheff used hot primary and secondary colours, avoiding cool colours such as blue and green. The main colours used in the transfer are red, yellow and orange, the colours of the outback.
There are no film artefacts as these have been removed frame-by-frame.
The film has no subtitles, like the DVD, and this is a great shame indeed.
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Grain/Pixelization | |
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Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio tracks used on the Blu-ray release of Wake in Fright are identical to the DVD release.
The two audio tracks used are the main English soundtrack and the English audio commentary. Both tracks are encoded in Dolby Digital 2.0, encoded at 224 kbps.
Dialogue was clear to understand for Australians familiar with our cultural colloquialisms. There are some scenes where phrases may not be familiar to foreigners viewing the film, in this case, Ted Kotcheff's commentary helps to enhance the meaning of scenes.
The music by John Scott serves to subtly support the action in the film without being overwhelming.
There is no surround channel usage.
The subwoofer is not utilised either.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
The extras on the Blu-ray release of Wake in Fright are exactly the same as the DVD release, therefore I wish to acknowledge fellow MichaelD reviewer Steve Crawford's work in compiling the information below which I have quoted from his review here.
There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
There are no other Regional releases of Wake in Fright on Blu-ray at the time of writing this review.
Beginning with the iconic opening 360 degree shot of the small town where John Grant works, the audience is immediately drawn into the plot with the following question - can one know what goes on around them? Can you perceive what goes on without being influenced? It is interesting how John Meillon bookends the film when his character interacts with Grant at the beginning and end of the film, just like the opening 360 degree shot, Grant ends up where he began. There are so many themes like this one in Wake in Fright that repeat viewing is highly recommended.
Do not hesitate to pick up this great Australian film on Blu-ray. I consider it one of the most important films I own in my collection and I know that you will too.
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Review Equipment | |
DVD | Sony BDP-S550 (Firmware updated Version 020), using HDMI output |
Display | Samsung LA46A650 46 Inch LCD TV Series 6 FullHD 1080P 100Hz. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. This display device is 16x9 capable. |
Audio Decoder | Sony STR-K1000P. Calibrated with THX Optimizer. |
Amplification | Sony HTDDW1000 |
Speakers | Sony 6.2 Surround (Left, Front, Right, Surround Left, Surround Back, Surround Right, 2 subwoofers) |