New Australian DVD and BD Releases

[thekeystobarton]

I just finished watching the Umbrella's new blu edition of John Schlesinger's "Darling." For anyone who may be interested I can confirm, comparing their new blu to my old OOP MGM-dvd, that Umbrella has released the uncensored version of the French sequence. However, Umbrella has a couple of cute differences in their subtitles in this sequence versus the spoken dialog: in the subtitles for the first scene in this sequence when Harvey's character, "Miles," approaches the sculptress to give her a sarcastic compliment on her pendant you can clearly hear him speak the line, "I thought I recognized the rivets." But Umbrella's subtitles have the line as "I thought I recognized the rubies." (It could work either way as the backhanded compliment it was intended as since you can clearly see the piece of jewelry in question has no stones, rubies or otherwise). Then in the following scene during the "home movies"-musical chairs game, the black man in the wig pretending to be Julie Christie's character is asked if he would come on a cruise with the sculptress and his reply is "only if I have the top berth" (you can see that is the spoken line as he has a tight close-up and the tongue position is clearly visible. However, the subtitle for that line is "only if I have the top bed."

Also, one other update is in the scene much earlier in the film (in chapter 3 on the MGM dvd) when Christie and Bogarde are on the train together kissing for the first time, the Umbrella edition restores the musical scoring to that scene. This appears to be the same cue that Criterion also included when they last had the film streaming on the Channel but was missing from the MGM dvd for reasons unknown.

[yoloswegmaster]

[midnitedave]

OrbitDVD is taking preorders for Umbrella's Eyes Without a Face 4K Collector's Edition. This option is significantly cheaper than preordering direct from the United States.

[TechnicolorAcid]

Umbrella's Timecrimes isn't showing up on Diabolik and according to OrbitDVD it's because a US company will be choosing to release this.

[domino harvey]

In case you think recent Via Vision releases have been a bit much, Here’s a 175 disc set for ~$517 US to show us all what fools we’ve been for thinking there could possibly be a ceiling for this hobby

[therewillbeblus]

This has become a neverending story

[Grand Wazoo]

I really thought the 131 disc Dark Shadows Complete Series would be the pinnacle of insane sets. Which to be fair, I gave my parents as a gift and they watched it in its entirety over the course of one year, so it was a worthwhile purchase.

[jazzo]

Umbrella releases for January 2025:
Severance (2006, from Triangle director, Christopher Smith)
Creep (2005, also from Smith)
Lars and the Real Girl
Metal Skin (from Romper Stomper director, Geoffrey Wright)
Hounds of Love

I can only speak to Metal Skin being pretty fucking terrific, although I'm going off my memory of its 1994 Midnight Madness screening at TIFF when it was known as Toronto's Festival of Festivals (and I do miss that title). It had the off-kilter, dangerous vibes that I love in many an Aussie picture.

[domino harvey]

Severance is okay, it’s exactly what it looks like (“Backwoods Slasher meets the Office”)

[domino harvey]

Triangle is getting an impressive deluxe Blu-ray from Umbrella - gorgeous art on the slip too

Got my copy of this and it is gorgeous (and the barely perceivable triangle scribble on the cover is embossed). Not sure I'd spring for the excessively expensive deluxe packaging for many other movies, but this is such a fave that I splurged. I thought they'd use the same kind of packaging as Imprint's boxes, but it's a side-opening slipbox. I see on eBay that Umbrella's OOP hardbox sets regularly go for $100-200, so I guess any of them could be seen potentially as an investment.

[Finch]

ALL THE LITTLE DEVILS ARE PROUD OF HELL.

Proudly presenting Umbrella's newly restored WAKE IN FRIGHT in glorious 4K Dolby Vision with authoring by Fidelity in Motion.

Raw and uncompromising in its depiction of Australian masculinity and country culture, Ted Kotcheff's WAKE IN FRIGHT is a unique horror film - equal parts an ode to the outback and a nightmarish descent.

Featuring iconic performances from an ensemble that includes Chips Rafferty, Jack Thompson and Donald Pleasance, experience the horrifying and captivating WAKE IN FRIGHT, one of Australia’s most legendary and valuable contribution to film.

Bored school teacher John Grant (Gary Bond) stops overnight in Bundanyabba, a frontier mining town, on his way to Sydney for Christmas. After a bad gambling bet, Grant is swept up in the vortex of a group of hard-drinking, hard-living, crude, vicious men who threaten to make him just as crazy, drunk, and violent.

Director: Ted Kotcheff

Cast: Chips Rafferty; Donald Pleasance; Gary Bond; Maggie Dence

Extras:
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 with Film Historian Peter Galvin

BD 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 with Film Historian Peter Galvin
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

Authored by Fidelity in Motion

Releases 4 June 2025.

[Big Ben]

I must confess I only know of this film for two reasons. The first, was that it was presumed lost until being rediscovered, and the second being that it's notorious for scenes of real kangaroos being killed. I know that Nick Cave thinks highly of it and was wondering if anyone here has seen it? Is it any good?

[therewillbeblus]

I know people who absolutely love it. Personally, I think it's more of an interesting exercise than a successful one, but I'm due for a revisit. If you like watching white men engage in debauchery, look no further

[Peacock]

If you like watching white men engage in debauchery, look no further

Indeed, and the quote applies equally to Wake With Fright!

Have any images been posted from the new restoration? I see FiM are encoding this but fingers crossed this fixes the terrible DNR of the previous resto.

[bugsy_pal]

With FiM encoding Wake in Fright, might there be a possibility of this being released in the UK, perhaps by Indicator, Arrow or Eureka?

[beamish14]

I must confess I only know of this film for two reasons. The first, was that it was presumed lost until being rediscovered, and the second being that it's notorious for scenes of real kangaroos being killed. I know that Nick Cave thinks highly of it and was wondering if anyone here has seen it? Is it any good?

It’s a stunning film. Donald Pleasance is just sensational in it.

There is an interesting disclaimer regarding the kangaroo slaughter, as I think they were overpopulated in a certain area, and the Australian government authorized their extermination in order to support other wildlife or fauna.

Ted Kotcheff has always been a favorite of mine. I highly recommend his autobiography. One hell of a weird, quirky career

[GaryC]

I must confess I only know of this film for two reasons. The first, was that it was presumed lost until being rediscovered, and the second being that it's notorious for scenes of real kangaroos being killed. I know that Nick Cave thinks highly of it and was wondering if anyone here has seen it? Is it any good?

There is an interesting disclaimer regarding the kangaroo slaughter, as I think they were overpopulated in a certain area, and the Australian government authorized their extermination in order to support other wildlife or fauna.

Ted Kotcheff has always been a favorite of mine. I highly recommend his autobiography. One hell of a weird, quirky career

Kotcheff and crew filmed a real kangaroo hunt, and whatever you make of what's on screen, there was a lot of very much more graphic footage left out. As the hunt wasn't in the control of the filmmakers, the scene didn't violate British law, so the UK censor has always passed it uncut. It's the only reason why the film is still rated 18 in the UK (there's nothing else that would get more than a 15), though it should be said that Walkabout, which was in UK cinemas at the same time, has some similarly graphic shots of real hunts and is now a 12, a AA originally.

It's a mark of Kotcheff's versatility that, shortly after he finished Wake in Fright, if he didn't do anything else in between, his next production was the UK Play for Today Edna, The Inebriate Woman.

[colinr0380]

I'm still waiting for Sunday Too Far Away and Buddies to get their due.

[GaryC]

I'm still waiting for Sunday Too Far Away and Buddies to get their due.

There is an Australian Blu-ray of Sunday Too Far Away. Not one of Buddies as far as I'm aware. At least there is one of the former, as it seems that if you can't pass something off as Ozploitation or if it's not one of a few standard classics like Picnic at Hanging Rock, it won't get a Blu-ray release any time soon, let alone a UHD. Meanwhile, other films which were classics of the 70s and 80s haven't got past DVDs or SD streams or are AWOL. (To name but three: Caddie, Careful He Might Hear You, Newsfront.) No doubt Ozploitation is where the money is, and Blu-ray distributors aren't set up to appeal to the tastes of people like me, but I am saddened that there are so many people who say they are fans of Australian films when they mean Ozploitation and not much else.

[Aunt Peg]

I'm still waiting for Sunday Too Far Away and Buddies to get their due.

There is an Australian Blu-ray of Sunday Too Far Away. Not one of Buddies as far as I'm aware. At least there is one of the former, as it seems that if you can't pass something off as Ozploitation or if it's not one of a few standard classics like Picnic at Hanging Rock, it won't get a Blu-ray release any time soon, let alone a UHD. Meanwhile, other films which were classics of the 70s and 80s haven't got past DVDs or SD streams or are AWOL. (To name but three: Caddie, Careful He Might Hear You, Newsfront.) No doubt Ozploitation is where the money is, and Blu-ray distributors aren't set up to appeal to the tastes of people like me, but I am saddened that there are so many people who say they are fans of Australian films when they mean Ozploitation and not much else.

The number of great Australian cinema not getting the treatment they deserve pains me greatly.

My personal wish list of restorations and Blu Ray releases is very extensive. I don't mind some of the Ozploitation films - saw most of them when they were first released at the cinema and largely failed at the box office so it is sort of bizarre but pleasing to see them get a second life decades later. My personal wish list include: The Night, the Prowler, Bliss, The Book of Revelations, The Clinic, Lonely Hearts, Man of Flowers, My First Wife, Kostas, Island, Cactus, A Woman's Tale, The Tale of Ruby Rose, A Street to Die, Backlash, Jilted, Mortgage, Malpractice, Sweetie, Fever, Georgia, Winter of Our Dreams, Mouth to Mouth, Pure Shit, The Set, Number 96, Summerfield, Eliza Fraser, Goodbye Paradise, Mull, Lust & Revenge, Hoodwink, Lantana, Jindabyne, With Prejudice, In Search of Anna, Going Down, In a Savage Land, Dance Me To My Song, Strikebound, Say A Little Prayer, Fast Talking, Monkey Grip, Deadline, Mushrooms, Praise, Somersault, Dead to the World, Heatwave, Stanley, The Twelfth Night, Dimboola, A Country Life, Grievous Bodily Harm, The Last Days of Chaz Nous, Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens, Against the Grain, Salt Salvia Sperm and Sweat, Inside Looking Out, Les Paterson Saves the World, The Fringe Dwellers, Don's Party, The Home Song Stories.....

And the titles I want are only scratching the surface.

Also, we need a new scan of Head On (1998) - the exisiting Blu Ray is one of the worst I've ever seen.

I know Bliss has been restored but remains missing in action on Blu Ray - an ideal release would include the Cannes cut and then the directors cut. I suspect only the directors cut has been restored and given it is the superior version and what went into release in Australia and around the world negates any need for the original cut.

[beamish14]

I'm still waiting for Sunday Too Far Away and Buddies to get their due.

There is an Australian Blu-ray of Sunday Too Far Away. Not one of Buddies as far as I'm aware. At least there is one of the former, as it seems that if you can't pass something off as Ozploitation or if it's not one of a few standard classics like Picnic at Hanging Rock, it won't get a Blu-ray release any time soon, let alone a UHD. Meanwhile, other films which were classics of the 70s and 80s haven't got past DVDs or SD streams or are AWOL. (To name but three: Caddie, Careful He Might Hear You, Newsfront.) No doubt Ozploitation is where the money is, and Blu-ray distributors aren't set up to appeal to the tastes of people like me, but I am saddened that there are so many people who say they are fans of Australian films when they mean Ozploitation and not much else.

The number of great Australian cinema not getting the treatment they deserve pains me greatly.

My personal wish list of restorations and Blu Ray releases is very extensive. I don't mind some of the Ozploitation films - saw most of them when they were first released at the cinema and largely failed at the box office so it is sort of bizarre but pleasing to see them get a second life decades later. My personal wish list include: The Night, the Prowler, Bliss, The Book of Revelations, The Clinic, Lonely Hearts, Man of Flowers, My First Wife, Kostas, Island, Cactus, A Woman's Tale, The Tale of Ruby Rose, A Street to Die, Backlash, Jilted, Mortgage, Malpractice, Sweetie, Fever, Georgia, Winter of Our Dreams, Mouth to Mouth, Pure Shit, The Set, Number 96, Summerfield, Eliza Fraser, Goodbye Paradise, Mull, Lust & Revenge, Hoodwink, Lantana, Jindabyne, With Prejudice, In Search of Anna, Going Down, In a Savage Land, Dance Me To My Song, Strikebound, Say A Little Prayer, Fast Talking, Monkey Grip, Deadline, Mushrooms, Praise, Somersault, Dead to the World, Heatwave, Stanley, The Twelfth Night, Dimboola, A Country Life, Grievous Bodily Harm, The Last Days of Chaz Nous, Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens, Against the Grain, Salt Salvia Sperm and Sweat, Inside Looking Out, Les Paterson Saves the World, The Fringe Dwellers, Don's Party, The Home Song Stories.....

And the titles I want are only scratching the surface.

Also, we need a new scan of Head On (1998) - the exisiting Blu Ray is one of the worst I've ever seen.

I know Bliss has been restored but remains missing in action on Blu Ray - an ideal release would include the Cannes cut and then the directors cut. I suspect only the directors cut has been restored and given it is the superior version and what went into release in Australia and around the world negates any need for the original cut.

I adore Bliss as well, particularly its Cannes cut. There is simply nothing else like it. 1985 was such a singular, amazing year for cinema

Paul Cox’s films are being restored, so that’s looking good. Jeremy Thomas seems to control them now.

Helen Gerner’s novel Monkey Grip got republished recently in North America to a big critical reappraisal. I hope the film gets its due

Dallas Doll is another that I really want

[Aunt Peg]

I adore Bliss as well, particularly its Cannes cut. There is simply nothing else like it. 1985 was such a singular, amazing year for cinema

Paul Cox’s films are being restored, so that’s looking good. Jeremy Thomas seems to control them now.

Helen Gerner’s novel Monkey Grip got republished recently in North America to a big critical reappraisal. I hope the film gets its due

Dallas Doll is another that I really want

I love Dallas Doll too. The list was from the top of my head and that was a glaring omission. Innocence, Grendel Grendel Grendel, Abra Cadabra & Maybe This Time are other omissions.

Great news about the Paul Cox films. A box set of all his work would be the release of the year. I do consider Paul Cox one of the greatest directors of all time and his work deserves to be widely seen and available for people to discover.

[Finch]

Paul Cox sounds like a good fit for Indicator or Radiance. Maybe in 2026 or 27.

[GaryC]

Paul Cox sounds like a good fit for Indicator or Radiance. Maybe in 2026 or 27.

That would be good, and I'd buy them like a shot if that did happen. Though to be honest I'd be reviewing them for Cine Outsider if they were available for me to do so. It's a pity that Cox wouldn't be able to contribute to them, but better late than never.

And seconding the ones of Aunt Peg's list that I have seen and definitely want to see those that I haven't.

[GaryC]

Further to the above, Cox is a director who would be "rediscovered" in the UK if a UK label took on at least some of his work. He wasn't the only director who had a run in UK arthouses for a few years in the 1980s and then got more or less dropped, presumably because audiences weren't there in suffiicent numbers. (Percy Adlon was another.) Man of Flowers was the first, which was sold as a piece of arty erotica with discreet nudity on the poster, but it was then followed by the earlier Lonely Hearts (my own favourite and likely the best of the ones I've seen), then My First Wife, Cactus, Vincent and Golden Braid, only missing out Island (which I saw at the London Film Festival and remember being disappointing). Cox did an interview at the National Film Theatre (as was) with Derek Malcolm, following a preview of Golden Braid, and that would make a good extra if there was a recording made. However, Golden Braid was the last Cox film to have a UK cinema release except for Innocence (2000), though his films still showed at the LFF - I saw The Nun and the Bandit there. Kostas I saw streamed on the shortlived Lovefilm Instants, before Lovefilm were bought out by Amazon.

There are archival interviews which could be used as extras, plus quite a few shorts and documentaries if they were able to be cleared. The Hidden Dimension would look good on Blu-ray as it was shot in IMAX.

Okay, I can dream, can't I?