This film is currently unavailable
Wake in Fright
In this classic, broiling Australian thriller, an exasperated schoolteacher finds himself stranded in the dusty outback town of Bundanyabba, where the growing isolation and unhinged locals begin to eat away at his sanity.
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Overview
Schoolteacher John Grant (Gary Bond) is journeying to visit his girlfriend in Sydney when a series of unfortunate events leave him stranded in ‘the Yabba’, a sinister town filled with a myriad of eccentric characters. Featuring a chilling yet charismatic performance from Donald Pleasence, Ted Kotcheff’s film, once thought “lost”, is now considered a crowning achievement of the Australian New Wave.
Simmering with tension and a heat that feels as though it is emanating from the screen itself, Kotcheff’s violent indictment of the divisions in Australian society is a disturbing, destructive film imbued with an anger and intensity rarely seen since. Visceral in its depiction of outback life, Wake in Fright is not easily forgotten. Please note this film contains strong scenes of kangaroo hunting and slaughter. More context is provided by the following Producers' Note: "The hunting scenes depicted in this film were taken during an actual kangaroo hunt by professional licensed hunters. For this reason and because the survival of the Australian kangaroo is seriously threatened, these scenes were shown uncut after consultation with the leading animal welfare organisations in Australia and the United Kingdom."
strong scenes of kangaroo hunting and slaughter
Related
Take Shelter Take Shelter
Drama 2011 116 mins Director: Jeff Nichols
Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain bring to life this extraordinary tale of ordinary madness.
Samsara Samsara
Drama 2023 114 mins Director: Lois Patiño
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.
The Last Picture Show The Last Picture Show
Drama 1971 128 mins Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd and director Peter Bogdanovich all made their names with this funny, touching and psychologically astute coming-of-age tale.
Rocco and His Brothers Rocco and His Brothers
Drama 1960 179 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
Italian maestro Luchino Visconti’s epic drama follows a mother and her five sons who move from a small town to Milan, changing their lives forever.
La Terra Trema La Terra Trema
Drama 1948 160 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
A fishing family attempts to escape poverty and exploitation by becoming the owner of its own boat in Luchino Visconti's work of uncompromising realism.
L'innocente L'innocente
Period drama 1976 130 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti's final film is a brilliant and disturbing drama set against the opulent backdrop of decadent, late 19th-century aristocracy.
All Consuming Love All Consuming Love
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 9 mins Director: Louis Hudson
Kevin Eldon voices this oddball, award-winning animated short about a tiny middle-aged man who lives inside a stray cat.
The Battle of Algiers The Battle of Algiers
Drama 1966 121 mins Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Gillo Pontecorvo’s masterpiece about the last years of French colonial rule in Algeria, seen from the perspective of both the revolutionaries and the French authorities.
Caravaggio Caravaggio
Biopic 1986 93 mins Director: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman’s unique biopic of the 17th century Italian artist Michelangelo da Caravaggio is a powerful meditation on sexuality, criminality and art.
Daisies Daisies
Comedy 1966 73 mins Director: Věra Chytilová
Two self-confessed hedonists wreak wanton havoc in Věra Chytilová's visually spectacular neo-dadaist farce.
Island of the Hungry Ghosts Island of the Hungry Ghosts
Documentary 2018 98 mins Director: Gabrielle Brady
A therapist helps traumatised refugees detained on a remote island where powerful natural and tribal rituals prevail, in this extraordinary mix of fact and fiction.
Heathers Heathers
Comedy 1989 103 mins Director: Michael Lehmann
Winona Ryder and Christian Slater star in the endlessly quotable cult black comedy that subverted expectations of teen movies forever.
Take Shelter Take Shelter
Drama 2011 116 mins Director: Jeff Nichols
Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain bring to life this extraordinary tale of ordinary madness.
Samsara Samsara
Drama 2023 114 mins Director: Lois Patiño
Berlin Film Festival award winner Lois Patiño’s assured third feature transports us to magical places in Laos and Zanzibar, where the visible and the invisible merge.
The Last Picture Show The Last Picture Show
Drama 1971 128 mins Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd and director Peter Bogdanovich all made their names with this funny, touching and psychologically astute coming-of-age tale.
Rocco and His Brothers Rocco and His Brothers
Drama 1960 179 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
Italian maestro Luchino Visconti’s epic drama follows a mother and her five sons who move from a small town to Milan, changing their lives forever.
Ossessione Ossessione
Crime 1943 140 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti’s adaptation of James M Cain's novel The Postman Always Rings Twice is an electrifying tale of the seductive and destructive power of human sexuality.
La Terra Trema La Terra Trema
Drama 1948 160 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
A fishing family attempts to escape poverty and exploitation by becoming the owner of its own boat in Luchino Visconti's work of uncompromising realism.