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Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)
Encyclopedia
Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975
Australian
feature film
directed by Peter Weir
and starring Anne-Louise Lambert
, Helen Morse
, Rachel Roberts
and Vivean Gray
. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name, by author Joan Lindsay
.
The film relates the story of the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic to Hanging Rock
on St. Valentine's Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community.
), Irma (Karen Robson
), Marion (Jane Vallis), Rosamund (Ingrid Mason), waifish Sara (Margaret Nelson) and outsider Edith (Christine Schuler) read poetry and Valentine's Day cards.
The group prepare for a picnic to Hanging Rock, accompanied by the remote mathematics mistress Miss Greta McCraw (Vivean Gray
) and the young and beautiful Mademoiselle de Poitiers (Helen Morse
). Sara is advised by jittery teacher Miss Lumley (Kirsty Child
) that she is not allowed to attend, on the authority of the stern Mrs. Appleyard (Rachel Roberts
), the headmistress.
Driven by buggy operator Ben Hussey (Martin Vaughan), the party pass through the town of Woodend
, and arrive at the Rock mid-afternoon. After a meal, Mr. Hussey notes his watch has stopped at the stroke of twelve, as has the watch of Miss McGraw. With permission from Mlle. de Poitiers, Miranda, Marion and Irma decide to explore Hanging Rock and take measurements, with Edith allowed to follow. The group are observed several minutes later by a young Englishman, Michael Fitzhubert (Dominic Guard
) who is lunching at the Rock with his uncle Colonel Fitzhubert (Peter Collingwood
), aunt Mrs. Fitzhubert (Olga Dickie) and valet Albert (John Jarratt
). At the top of the Rock the group lie on the ground, apparently dazed by the sun. Miss McCraw, still at the base of the Rock, stares up. Miranda, Marion and Irma awake and move as if in a dream into a recess in the rock face. Edith screams and flees down the Rock.
A hysterical and distraught party eventually return to the College, where Mlle. de Poitiers explains to Mrs. Appleyard that Miss McGraw has been left behind. Sara notes the absence of Miranda, and Mr. Hussy explains to Mrs. Appleyard that Miranda, Irma, Marion and Miss McGraw are missing on the Rock. A search party led by Sgt. Bumpher (Wyn Roberts) and Constable Jones (Garry McDonald
) of the local police finds nothing, although Edith reveals that she witnessed Miss McGraw climbing the Rock without her skirt. Michael is questioned and reveals he watched the schoolgirls and followed them out of concern for their safety, but can provide no clues in the investigation.
Michael becomes obsessed with finding Miranda, and with Albert he conducts another search of the Rock. Despite Albert's protests, Michael decides to remain on the Rock overnight, and begins climbing again the next day, leaving a trail of paper. Albert returns, and follows the markers to a nearly delirious Michael, who is taken away by buggy with local doctor. Before doing so Michael passes an object to Albert which is revealed to be a fragment of lace from a dress. Albert returns to the Rock and discovers Irma, unconscious but alive. The residents of Woodend become restless as news of the discovery spreads. At the Fitzhubert home, Irma is treated for dehydration and exposure, and tells the police and Mlle. de Poitiers she has no memory of what happened. A servant notes that Irma's corset is missing but is advised by Mrs. Fitzhubert that it is not important.
Michael befriends a recovered Irma, but alienates her when he demands to know what happened on the Rock. Mrs. Appleyard advises Miss Lumley that several parents have withdrawn their children from the school. Before leaving for Europe, Irma visits her classmates a final time; they become hysterical and demand to know what happened to their missing friends. Mlle. de Poitiers intervenes, and as Irma flees, she also notices that Sara has been strapped to a wall by Mrs. Appleyard to correct her posture. That night Miss Lumley gives notice to a drunken Mrs. Appleyard that she is resigning.
Mrs. Appleyard tells Sara that as her guardian has not paid her tuition, Sara must return to the orphanage. The next day Mrs. Appleyard lies to Mademoiselle de Portiers and claims that Sara's guardian collected her early that morning. The next day, however, Sara's body is found in the greenhouse by Mr. Whitehead, the school gardener. Believing Sara committed suicide by leaping from her bedroom window, Whitehead confronts a calm Mrs. Appleyard, who is in full mourning dress with her possessions packed. Michael tells Albert he has decided to travel north, with Albert revealing he had a dream in which his lost sister Sara visited him.
During a flashback
to the picnic scene, Sgt. Bumpher states in voice over that the body of Mrs. Appleyard was found at the base of Hanging Rock, and that the search for the missing school girls and their mistress continued sporadically for several years without success.
, Hal McElroy and Jim McElroy. Peter Weir
directed the film. Screenwriter David Williamson
was originally chosen to adapt the film, but was unavailable and recommended noted TV writer Cliff Green
. The finalised budget was A$440,000 and with principal photography taking six weeks. Director of photography Russell Boyd
stated in interview that he created the ethereal look of the picnic by placing simple bridal veil fabric over the camera lens.
Weir originally cast Ingrid Mason as Miranda, but realised after several weeks of rehearsals that it was "not working" and cast Anne-Louise Lambert. Mason was persuaded to remain in the role of a minor character by producer Patricia Lovell. Several of the school girls' voices were dubbed
in secrecy by professional voice actors. The voice actors were not credited, although actress Barbara Llewellyn revealed that she provided the voice for the role of Edith (Christine Schuler).
: Sus Pe Culmea Dealului" and "Doina Lui Petru Unc" with Romanian Gheorghe Zamfir
playing the panpipe (or panflute) and Swiss born Marcel Cellier
the organ. Australian composer Bruce Smeaton
also provided several original compositions written for the film.
Other classical additions included Bach's
Prelude No. 1 in C; the Romance piece from Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; the Andante Cantabile movement from Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No.1 Op.11 and the Adagio Un Poco Mosso from Beethoven's
Piano Concerto No. 5, also known as the Emperor Concerto.
There is currently no official soundtrack commercially available. In 1976, CBS
released a vinyl LP titled "A Theme from Picnic at Hanging Rock", a track of the same name and "Miranda's Theme". A 7" single was released in 1976 of the Picnic At Hanging Rock theme by the Nolan-Buddle Quartet.
Despite this the film was a critical success, with American film critic Roger Ebert
called it "a film of haunting mystery and buried sexual hysteria" and remarked that it "employs two of the hallmarks of modern Australian films: beautiful cinematography and stories about the chasm between settlers from Europe and the mysteries of their ancient new home."
Cliff Green stated in interview that "Writing the film and later through its production, did I - or anyone else - predict that it would become Australia's most loved movie? We always knew it was going to be good - but that good? How could we!"
in the Criterion Collection on 3 November 1998. This release featured a director's cut
of the film with an entirely new transfer, a theatrical trailer, and liner notes regarding the film. That same year, the film was also re-released theatrically, with Weir removing seven minutes from the film that apparently detracted from the narrative.
The film was later released in a special 3-disc set on 30 June 2008 in the United Kingdom
. This set included the director's cut and a longer original version, interviews with filmmakers and book author Joan Lindsay
, poster and still galleries, a 120 minute documentary and deleted scenes. It was also released on Blu-ray by UK distributor Second Sights Films with the same special features on July 26, 2010.
1975 in film
The year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
Australian
Cinema of Australia
Cinema of Australia, more commonly referred to as the Australian film industry, refers to the system of production, distribution, and exhibition of films in Australia. Film production commenced in Australia in 1906 with the production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film made...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
directed by Peter Weir
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
and starring Anne-Louise Lambert
Anne-Louise Lambert
Anne-Louise Lambert is an Australian actress whose acting career began with her role in Number 96 in 1973.-Life and career:...
, Helen Morse
Helen Morse
Helen Morse is an Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television, and on stage.-Biography:Morse was born in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England. She was the oldest of four children; her parents were a doctor and nurse...
, Rachel Roberts
Rachel Roberts (British actress)
Rachel Roberts was a Welsh actress noted for her fervour and passion; Roberts is best remembered for her forthright screen performances in two key films of the 1960s, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and This Sporting Life, in both of which she played the older mistress of the central male...
and Vivean Gray
Vivean Gray
Vivean Gray is an English actress, who found her niche playing gossipy characters in Australian television series. In her early life, she lived in England but moved to Australia after she had trouble finding any acting opportunities...
. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name, by author Joan Lindsay
Joan Lindsay
Joan Lindsay, Lady Lindsay was an Australian author, best known for her "ambiguous and intriguing" novel Picnic at Hanging Rock.-Life:...
.
The film relates the story of the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic to Hanging Rock
Hanging Rock, Victoria
Hanging Rock , in Central Victoria, Australia, is a distinctive geological formation, 718m above sea level on the plain between the two small townships of Newham and Hesket, approximately 70 km north-west of Melbourne and a few kilometres north of Mount Macedon, a former volcano...
on St. Valentine's Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community.
Plot
The students at private girls school Appleyard College are dressing on the morning of St. Valentine's Day, 1900. Several of the girls, including Miranda (Anne-Louise LambertAnne-Louise Lambert
Anne-Louise Lambert is an Australian actress whose acting career began with her role in Number 96 in 1973.-Life and career:...
), Irma (Karen Robson
Karen Robson
Karen Robson is a film finance , film producer and actress, best known for her portrayal of the mysterious brunette Irma in Picnic at Hanging Rock. She was born in Malacca, Malaysia....
), Marion (Jane Vallis), Rosamund (Ingrid Mason), waifish Sara (Margaret Nelson) and outsider Edith (Christine Schuler) read poetry and Valentine's Day cards.
The group prepare for a picnic to Hanging Rock, accompanied by the remote mathematics mistress Miss Greta McCraw (Vivean Gray
Vivean Gray
Vivean Gray is an English actress, who found her niche playing gossipy characters in Australian television series. In her early life, she lived in England but moved to Australia after she had trouble finding any acting opportunities...
) and the young and beautiful Mademoiselle de Poitiers (Helen Morse
Helen Morse
Helen Morse is an Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television, and on stage.-Biography:Morse was born in Harrow on the Hill, Middlesex, England. She was the oldest of four children; her parents were a doctor and nurse...
). Sara is advised by jittery teacher Miss Lumley (Kirsty Child
Kirsty Child
Kirsty Child is an Australian actress, best known for playing three roles in the cult drama Prisoner. She played two guest roles – prison officer turned drug dealer Anne Yates in 1979, and Glynis Johnson, the sister of an inmate, in 1983. In 1985 she played a more prominent part in the series as...
) that she is not allowed to attend, on the authority of the stern Mrs. Appleyard (Rachel Roberts
Rachel Roberts (British actress)
Rachel Roberts was a Welsh actress noted for her fervour and passion; Roberts is best remembered for her forthright screen performances in two key films of the 1960s, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and This Sporting Life, in both of which she played the older mistress of the central male...
), the headmistress.
Driven by buggy operator Ben Hussey (Martin Vaughan), the party pass through the town of Woodend
Woodend, Victoria
Woodend is a small town in Victoria, Australia. The town is in the Shire of Macedon Ranges Local government area. It is bypassed to the east and north by the Calder Freeway and is located about halfway between Melbourne and Bendigo...
, and arrive at the Rock mid-afternoon. After a meal, Mr. Hussey notes his watch has stopped at the stroke of twelve, as has the watch of Miss McGraw. With permission from Mlle. de Poitiers, Miranda, Marion and Irma decide to explore Hanging Rock and take measurements, with Edith allowed to follow. The group are observed several minutes later by a young Englishman, Michael Fitzhubert (Dominic Guard
Dominic Guard
Dominic Guard is a former English film actor.His most famous role was as a 14-year-old when he played Leo in The Go-Between. He won a BAFTA award in 1972 for his performance...
) who is lunching at the Rock with his uncle Colonel Fitzhubert (Peter Collingwood
Peter Collingwood
Peter Collingwood is a British television actor.Roles include Lord John Russell in Edward the Seventh and Mr. Dunkley in Are You Being Served?.- External links :...
), aunt Mrs. Fitzhubert (Olga Dickie) and valet Albert (John Jarratt
John Jarratt
-Early life:Jarratt was born and grew up in Wongawilli, a small rural town near Wollongong, New South Wales and later in the Snowy Mountains area. Jarratt's father was a coal miner and later concreter, who worked on the Snowy Mountains hydroelectric scheme. Both his parents were of Irish origin....
). At the top of the Rock the group lie on the ground, apparently dazed by the sun. Miss McCraw, still at the base of the Rock, stares up. Miranda, Marion and Irma awake and move as if in a dream into a recess in the rock face. Edith screams and flees down the Rock.
A hysterical and distraught party eventually return to the College, where Mlle. de Poitiers explains to Mrs. Appleyard that Miss McGraw has been left behind. Sara notes the absence of Miranda, and Mr. Hussy explains to Mrs. Appleyard that Miranda, Irma, Marion and Miss McGraw are missing on the Rock. A search party led by Sgt. Bumpher (Wyn Roberts) and Constable Jones (Garry McDonald
Garry McDonald
Garry George McDonald, AO is an Australian stage and screen actor.-Early life and career:McDonald was born in Sydney and was educated at Cranbrook School and National Institute of Dramatic Art....
) of the local police finds nothing, although Edith reveals that she witnessed Miss McGraw climbing the Rock without her skirt. Michael is questioned and reveals he watched the schoolgirls and followed them out of concern for their safety, but can provide no clues in the investigation.
Michael becomes obsessed with finding Miranda, and with Albert he conducts another search of the Rock. Despite Albert's protests, Michael decides to remain on the Rock overnight, and begins climbing again the next day, leaving a trail of paper. Albert returns, and follows the markers to a nearly delirious Michael, who is taken away by buggy with local doctor. Before doing so Michael passes an object to Albert which is revealed to be a fragment of lace from a dress. Albert returns to the Rock and discovers Irma, unconscious but alive. The residents of Woodend become restless as news of the discovery spreads. At the Fitzhubert home, Irma is treated for dehydration and exposure, and tells the police and Mlle. de Poitiers she has no memory of what happened. A servant notes that Irma's corset is missing but is advised by Mrs. Fitzhubert that it is not important.
Michael befriends a recovered Irma, but alienates her when he demands to know what happened on the Rock. Mrs. Appleyard advises Miss Lumley that several parents have withdrawn their children from the school. Before leaving for Europe, Irma visits her classmates a final time; they become hysterical and demand to know what happened to their missing friends. Mlle. de Poitiers intervenes, and as Irma flees, she also notices that Sara has been strapped to a wall by Mrs. Appleyard to correct her posture. That night Miss Lumley gives notice to a drunken Mrs. Appleyard that she is resigning.
Mrs. Appleyard tells Sara that as her guardian has not paid her tuition, Sara must return to the orphanage. The next day Mrs. Appleyard lies to Mademoiselle de Portiers and claims that Sara's guardian collected her early that morning. The next day, however, Sara's body is found in the greenhouse by Mr. Whitehead, the school gardener. Believing Sara committed suicide by leaping from her bedroom window, Whitehead confronts a calm Mrs. Appleyard, who is in full mourning dress with her possessions packed. Michael tells Albert he has decided to travel north, with Albert revealing he had a dream in which his lost sister Sara visited him.
During a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to the picnic scene, Sgt. Bumpher states in voice over that the body of Mrs. Appleyard was found at the base of Hanging Rock, and that the search for the missing school girls and their mistress continued sporadically for several years without success.
Production
The film was produced by Patricia LovellPatricia Lovell
Patricia Lovell is an Australian film producer whose work within the that country's film industry led her to receive the Longford Life Achievement Award in 2004 from the Australian Film Institute . One of her productions, Gallipoli, received an AFI Award in 1982 as best film...
, Hal McElroy and Jim McElroy. Peter Weir
Peter Weir
Peter Lindsay Weir, AM is an Australian film director. After playing a leading role in the Australian New Wave cinema with his films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Last Wave and Gallipoli, Weir directed a diverse group of American and international films—many of them major box office...
directed the film. Screenwriter David Williamson
David Williamson
David Keith Williamson AO is one of Australia's best-known playwrights. He has also written screenplays and teleplays.-Biography:...
was originally chosen to adapt the film, but was unavailable and recommended noted TV writer Cliff Green
Cliff Green
Cliff Green is an Australian screen writer, whose best known work is Picnic at Hanging Rock .He was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June 2009...
. The finalised budget was A$440,000 and with principal photography taking six weeks. Director of photography Russell Boyd
Russell Boyd
Russell Boyd is an Australian cinematographer. He rose to prominence with his highly-praised work on Picnic at Hanging Rock , the first of several collaborations with director Peter Weir. He is also a member of the ASC....
stated in interview that he created the ethereal look of the picnic by placing simple bridal veil fabric over the camera lens.
Weir originally cast Ingrid Mason as Miranda, but realised after several weeks of rehearsals that it was "not working" and cast Anne-Louise Lambert. Mason was persuaded to remain in the role of a minor character by producer Patricia Lovell. Several of the school girls' voices were dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
in secrecy by professional voice actors. The voice actors were not credited, although actress Barbara Llewellyn revealed that she provided the voice for the role of Edith (Christine Schuler).
Soundtrack
The main title music was derived from two traditional Romanian panpipe pieces: "DoinaDoina
The Doina is a Romanian musical tune style, with Middle Eastern roots, that can be found in Romanian peasant music, as well as in Lăutărească and Klezmer music.-Origins and characteristics:...
: Sus Pe Culmea Dealului" and "Doina Lui Petru Unc" with Romanian Gheorghe Zamfir
Gheorghe Zamfir
Gheorghe Zamfir is a Romanian pan flute musician.Zamfir is known for playing an expanded version of the traditional Romanian-style pan flute of 20 pipes to 22, 25, 28 and 30 pipes to increase its range, and obtaining as many as eight overtones from each pipe by changing the embouchure.He is...
playing the panpipe (or panflute) and Swiss born Marcel Cellier
Marcel Cellier
Marcel Cellier is a Swiss organist, ethnomusicologist and music producer, internationally known for his Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares project presenting Bulgarian traditional music and his work with Gheorghe Zamfir....
the organ. Australian composer Bruce Smeaton
Bruce Smeaton
Bruce Smeaton is an Australian composer, well known for a variety of Australian film and television scores in all genres - features, shorts, television, documentaries and advertisements. His scores include Picnic at Hanging Rock, Seven Little Australians, Roxanne, Iceman, and Circle of Iron...
also provided several original compositions written for the film.
Other classical additions included Bach's
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
Prelude No. 1 in C; the Romance piece from Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik; the Andante Cantabile movement from Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No.1 Op.11 and the Adagio Un Poco Mosso from Beethoven's
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
Piano Concerto No. 5, also known as the Emperor Concerto.
There is currently no official soundtrack commercially available. In 1976, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
released a vinyl LP titled "A Theme from Picnic at Hanging Rock", a track of the same name and "Miranda's Theme". A 7" single was released in 1976 of the Picnic At Hanging Rock theme by the Nolan-Buddle Quartet.
Reception
Weir recalled that when the film was first screened in the United States, American audiences were disturbed by the fact that the mystery remained unsolved. According to Weir, "One distributor threw his coffee cup at the screen at the end of it, because he'd wasted two hours of his life - a mystery without a goddamn solution!"Despite this the film was a critical success, with American film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
called it "a film of haunting mystery and buried sexual hysteria" and remarked that it "employs two of the hallmarks of modern Australian films: beautiful cinematography and stories about the chasm between settlers from Europe and the mysteries of their ancient new home."
Cliff Green stated in interview that "Writing the film and later through its production, did I - or anyone else - predict that it would become Australia's most loved movie? We always knew it was going to be good - but that good? How could we!"
Awards
- Nominated in 1976 for "Best Cinematography" by the British Society of CinematographersBritish Society of CinematographersThe British Society of Cinematographers was formed in 1949 by Bert Easey, 23 August 1901 - 28 February 1973, the then head of the Denham and Pinewood studio camera departments.The stated objectives at the formation of the BSC were...
. - Winner of "Best Cinematography" at the 1976 for BAFTA Awards. Also nominated for "Best Costume Design" and "Best Soundtrack".
- Winner of "Best Cinematography" at the 1979 Saturn Awards by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Also nominated for "Best Writing".
Versions
Picnic at Hanging Rock was first released on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
in the Criterion Collection on 3 November 1998. This release featured a director's cut
Director's cut
A director's cut is a specially edited version of a film, and less often TV series, music video, commercials, comic book or video games, that is supposed to represent the director's own approved edit...
of the film with an entirely new transfer, a theatrical trailer, and liner notes regarding the film. That same year, the film was also re-released theatrically, with Weir removing seven minutes from the film that apparently detracted from the narrative.
The film was later released in a special 3-disc set on 30 June 2008 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. This set included the director's cut and a longer original version, interviews with filmmakers and book author Joan Lindsay
Joan Lindsay
Joan Lindsay, Lady Lindsay was an Australian author, best known for her "ambiguous and intriguing" novel Picnic at Hanging Rock.-Life:...
, poster and still galleries, a 120 minute documentary and deleted scenes. It was also released on Blu-ray by UK distributor Second Sights Films with the same special features on July 26, 2010.