I’d be lying if I said that having to review Wake in Fright wasn’t an intimidating prospect, and with it currently being the middle of winter, discussing the Australian classic feels very off-season. However, this occasion cannot be ignored as Umbrella Entertainment, through their tireless efforts, have delivered Wake in Fright to 4K Ultra HD and it’s everything we all hoped for and more
Missing from the movie-going consciousness for decades until its rediscovery in 2009, this captivating screen adaptation of Kenneth Cook’s novel by Canadian filmmaker Ted Kotcheff follows the unexpected plight of Outback schoolteacher John Grant, played by Gary Bond. Intending to fly to Sydney for the Christmas break, John is drawn into a town’s culture of excess, drinking, gambling and violence. Unable to escape the crazed inhabitants of what is dubbed the “Yabba”, he descends into madness.
I’ve never visited the Outback, but as someone who was born and raised in a rural region of Australia, I can relate to a lot of what John experiences. Namely, the aggressive hospitality and those puzzled looks from strangers when you choose not to indulge, as if there is nothing else one could conceivably do otherwise. Despite the familiarity, Wake in Fright is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s an unfiltered portrait of what represented a large portion of Australian society, that’s in one breath civil, but in another, almost barbaric once the pubs open. I find it near impossible to turn away from, even though on the surface it’s often nauseating, yet there’s something sophisticated about the film, from the acting to the almost documentary-like aesthetic.
John’s journey quickly becomes immune to time as one day burns into the next. With almost nothing left to his name, he finds himself in the putrid refuge of a destitute former doctor, Doc Tydon, played belligerently astute by Donald Pleasence. John recognises a fellow intellectual in Doc, but is disturbed by his living situation, fearing this may one day be his own fate. Whereas the Yabba’s gatekeeper of sorts, policeman Jock Crawford (Chips Rafferty), serves as an overly friendly harbinger of temptation and is the first character John meets. The elongated flame that spouts from his cigarette lighter gives Jock a Devil-like aura and is seemingly the only resident unaffected by the endless and unnaturally consumption of beer that flows from almost every tap.
While I can praise every performance in Wake in Fright, the film belongs to Gary Bond, who sadly never became the star he should have been. It’s the sense of naivety, and to some extent, the snobbery, that he conveys early on that makes what he goes through all the more impactful and frightening for the audience. The film could have easily been a straightforward adventure in the Outback, but it’s a horror film in many respects on a subconscious level.
SPECIAL FEATURES
4K UHD DISC
- NEW! Feature remastered in 4K HDR Dolby Vision from Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary with Director Ted Kotcheff and Editor Anthony Buckley
- NEW! Audio Commentary by Peter Galvin, author of The Making of Wake in Fright
BLU-RAY DISC
- NEW! Feature remastered in 4K from Original Camera Negative
- Audio Commentary with Director Ted Kotcheff and Editor Anthony Buckley
- NEW! Audio Commentary by Peter Galvin, author of The Making of Wake in Fright
- NEW! Sunstruck (1972): a bonus feature film from the producers of WAKE IN FRIGHT
- NEW! Return to the ‘Yabba: a 50-minute feature tracking down the film’s Broken Hill locations
- NEW! Interview with Director of Photography Brian West
- NEW! Not Quite Hollywood Interview with Actor Jack Thompson
- Yer Mad, Ya Bastard! – 2008 Interview with Director Ted Kotcheff
- Q&A with Ted Kotcheff from 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
- NEW! The Cinema’s Great Squeaky Bald Git: Kim Newman Discusses the Career of Actor Donald Pleasence
- NEW! The Filmmaker and the Filmbuff: Philippe Mora and Paul Harris Discuss Wake in Fright
- NEW! Foreign Visions of Local Stories: A Trailer Reel of Australian Films Helmed by Overseas Filmmakers
- Alternate scenes from Outback
- 7:30 Report on the Rediscovery and Restoration of Wake in Fright
- NEW! Interview with Ted Kotcheff about his career Conducted by Paul Harris (Audio Only)
- NEW! Interview With Composer John Scott Conducted by Music Historian Daniel Schweiger (Audio Only)
- Who Needs Art? 1971 TV Segment on Wake in Fright
- Wake in Fright TV Spot
- Chips Rafferty Obituary by Ken G. Hall
- Stills Gallery
Before this mammoth release, the most premium Blu-ray editions came from Madman Films (Australia) in 2009 and later Eureka Entertainment (UK) in 2014, both of which shared a modest selection of extras. Umbrella has gathered an abundance of exclusive and archival bonus material, intending to provide the most retrospective appreciation possible for new and old fans alike. Ted Kotcheff and Editor Anthony Buckley’s audio commentary, which is one of my favourites, is a must-listen and more that justifies re-watching the film If you’re curious to see how time has change the film’s locations, then I highly recommend “Return to the ‘Yabba’” which pin-points many of the most memorable shots while exploring the region centre of Broken Hill and it’s legacy within Australia cinema.
VIDEO AND AUDIO
Presented from a NEW Dolby Vision 4K remastered feature from the Original Camera Negative by Umbrella Entertainment, the comparison with the previous HD master is night and day. There’s substantially more detail visible with this new print, which I like to measure by how many beads of sweat you can count on Donald Pleasence’s forehead. It enhances the often-filthy surroundings that John finds himself in and the Outback’s brutal climate. The 4K image is very bright and the colours seem almost impossibly vibrant, but I wouldn’t call them over-saturated. I prefer the Blu-ray copy only because I find it gentler on my eyes, which is still just as impressive, but lacking that extra level of clarity that comes with Ultra HD.
Upgraded from Dolby Digital 2.0, Umbrella’s new 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio track is a lot louder than previous editions, on which you had to crank the volume at times, and it’s also noticeably clearer. English subtitles are included.
Wake in Fright is available in three separate editions. There’s a Standard Edition (which I reviewed) and is the most affordable at $59.95, then a Collector’s Edition and “The Yabba” Edition, which each come with a selection of merchandise and are priced between $110 and $200.
WAKE IN FRIGHT
(1971, director: Ted Kotcheff)
★★★★★
direct blu-ray screen captures
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