Picnic At Hanging Rock
Directed by Peter Weir
The Criterion Collection 1975

reviews by Terry Wickham

Australia, Valentine's Day, 1900, three young women and a schoolmistress disappear without a trace. This happens while the schoolgirls are on a picnic at a volcanic outcropping called Hanging Rock. It's really a totally mystery what happens to them as the disappearance takes place on a sunny day in the outback of beautiful Australia. There are different clues to what could have happened, but none of them are certain. Director Peter Weir follows the novel by Joan Lindsay and doesn't lead the film one way or the other, leaving you to decide what you think happened.

This is Peter Weir's Director's Cut of the film and Criterion has made a transfer, which is a site to behold. The images captured by cinematographer Russell Boyd and his cameraman John Seal are given the kind of treatment they deserve.

George Zamfir plays "Flute De Pan" and the classical music created by composer Bruce Smeaton is elegant and music not usually found in what is essentially a horror film.

The actors chosen for each role are right on the money; blonde angelic girl Miranda (Anne Lambert), heavyset girl Edith (Christine Schuler), curious/young guy (Dominic Guard) and head mistress Mrs. Appleyard (Rachel Roberts) are perfect casting.

It's Peter Weir who spellbinds us with direction that is dreamy and hypnotic at the same time. Weir chooses to throw random images into slow motion at some of the coolest times and he uses camera angles that maximize the drama. He is a filmmaker that works with precision. His choices are bull's eye hits.

This isn't a film that you should let escape you. Seek it out, sit down when you have a solid 107 minutes and see if you can figure out what happened at Picnic At Hanging Rock.

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