Tuesday, June 09, 2009

"You're Mad, You Bastard"

The first 8 1/2 minutes of the rarely seen 1971 Australian classic Wake In Fright :



The above video is obviously pretty crap quality, but a fully-restored uncut version of Wake In Fright will be screened this month at the Sydney Film Festival, and will hit DVD later in the year.

It's a brutal movie. Beautiful, and ugly as hell as well. For many Australians born in cities in the 1980s, Wake In Fright shows an Australia they are probably not familiar with, probably didn't even know existed.

The 7.30 Report has a great story
on Wake In Fright and its remarkable restoration. It's a vital piece of Australian cinema history, and it was almost lost forever.