Mark Kermode reviews Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975) | BFI Player

[@NoirFan84]

This movie is a haunting & hypnotic experience like no other in cinema. Brilliant.

[@castinmeadows6956]

And Monsieur Costello is a haunting and hypnotic experience like no other in cinema.

[@ThePsycoDolphin]

One of the eeriest things I've ever seen. A sense of creeping, haunting, indescribable loss filters the whole film. Its staggering.

[@lw3646]

For me the best mystery film I've ever experienced and one of my top 10 films of the 1970s.

[@leonkane8570]

It is one of the most beautifully directed films ever

[@lw3646]

The director is amazing. He Also made Gallipoli 1981 and Witness 1985.

[@stevennicholas4160]

I do remember that scene where they wilfully disappear into the rocks sent shivers down my spine. A classic scene.

[@harryflashman9495]

It sends shivers down my spine every time I watch it.

[@OUTBOUND184]

Immediate goosebumps seeing those girls walk into the bush. A classic.

[@MLElf]

Same , each time I see it

[@TheWaynos73]

yeah the fact that Edith calls to Miranda like six times without a response is well creepy. such an effective horror scene and so masterfully done. terrifying without using jump shocks or gore.

[@MLElf]

@@TheWaynos73 just thinking about that scene now gives me chills. It’s otherworldly but in a multitude of ways

[@nigelcarren]

The Thing made me scared of Snow. Jaws made me scared of the Ocean, Picnic at Hanging Rock made me scared of... Panpipes. Joking aside, watching this is a truly disturbing memory. There is a bleakness to it all that caught me quite unaware as a child. Prior to this moment, I think I was only scared on monsters... so I will label this a coming-of-age horror. But not one I want to see again, and I say that as a compliment.

[@TheWaynos73]

Picnic made me really creeped out by the Australian bush when i was a kid. seriously. The idea that an unseen force could lure you away to your doom and could come at any time would put the chills up me any time we would go hiking or camping. Even as an adult years later i still feel unsettled, after learning of stories of Yowies and Quinkins and other aboriginal bush folklore. The bush is an uneasy place and not a place i would want to be lost in.

[@anibalcesarnishizk2205]

@@TheWaynos73 Not by chance there is a military word:Ambush.

[@unclvinny]

@@anibalcesarnishizk2205I’d never thought of the etymology of ‘ambush’, of course it makes perfect sense now.

[@htgar8201]

I never forgot seeing in the cinema for the first time, mesmerising. A true masterpiece. I felt so proud to be an Australian, from this all Australian classic, both author (Joan Lindsay) and then director (Peter Weir)

[@GlennDavey]

I've been there, it's a beautiful place. Eerie.

[@Dancing-Spirits]

This film is a masterpiece on so many levels, most interestingly: as a horror film.

[@DaveWhoa]

its a mystery, there's not really any horror in it, and certainly no gore

[@redpenink12]

@@DaveWhoa there’s s hint at horror in some later scenes

[@THEDONTTELLSHOW]

Absolute masterpiece. It washes over you and traps you in its riptide.

[@tamsin192]

My favourite ever film, just beautiful and fabulous. Every frame is like a painting.

[@markvegar33]

It is utterly unbelievably extraordinary.

[@jackspring7709]

I remember when this movie came out and I was intrigued by it. The film has a very surreal, dreamlike quality to it - which, believe it or not, the country has, too. I visited Australia a few years ago (Perth, Sidney & Rottnest Island) and the country has an atmosphere about it that is very hard to describe. Even 'though it was just a few years ago my memories of the place are very dreamlike. This movie captures that quality - so does the film 'Walkabout'.

[@Investigate_Mermaids]

Perth native here. Did you learn about the history of Rottnest Island when you were there? I and many others believe that it contributes to the eeriness of the place.

[@jackspring7709]

@@Investigate_Mermaids Hello. My (Australian) girlfriend of the time told me it was once a prison colony - and we did visit a museum there that showed the history f the place. In fact, if I remember properly, the hotel we were staying at was once a prison/barracks. You could definitely feel something there. she said the same. I read afterwards there's a satanic church there :/

[@juanaltredo2974]

for months I couldn't shake off the eerie feeling this movie gave me, it is a profound and unmatched masterpiece. At its style and at its niche, its the best movie I've seen. I dont think I'll watch it again though, it depressed me

[@jerryrichardson2799]

Read the novel a few years ago, now I really want to see this movie, thank you.

[@magicknight13]

Just watched this film yesterday after reading the book a few months back and I loved it! I honestly can't wait to watch it again! Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant

[@denisefreitas6727]

A true masterpiece indeed. Brilliant!

[@evenzero]

Great film

[@FixFilmsLtd]

Amazing film. This short but compelling review makes me want to watch it again!

[@ThereIsTooMuchButter]

Just watched it. Interesting, beautiful, beguiling!

[@TheWaynos73]

Can you believe this movie was rated G when it was released? crazy. its the spookiest, most unsettling family friendly film ever put out. i dont think i would let a six year old watch it though.

[@danielboyer3272]

Le film le plus envoûtant de ce genre , que j'aie vu dans ma vie !!! Un chef-d'oeuvre absolu !!

[@haydenwittig8877]

I went to Hanging rock in the 80s as a kid in the state of Victoria 1hrs drive outside of Melbourne and it has Spiritual feel to it a strong energy.

[@paulrawes]

Beautiful on all accounts!

[@stevecox7075]

And you should also check out his earlier film, 'The Cars That Ate Paris', which is terrific.

[@THEDONTTELLSHOW]

And The Last Wave. Also hypnotic and horrifying.

[@lw3646]

Gallipoli is brilliant, if this is a story about young women then Gallipoli is about a group of young men. Witness is brilliant, it's an action film but it's so much more.

[@shaundgb7367]

I saw The Cars that ate Paris as a kid. Really weird and scary movie but not watched it since. I never realized it was done by same director as Picnic at Hanging Rock. I'd basically forgot about Picnic at Hanging Rock over the decades probably because as a kid I did not understand much about it except it was eerie and kind of hypnotic. Popped up as clips on my youtube feed in the last week and now that I remember more about the music and moodiness of it it makes me wonder more and more if it influenced David Lynch with some of his movies, especially Fire Walk With Me that I saw at the cinemas in the early 90's.

[@princejohn6560]

The measure of any good story, whether book or movie, is the discussion and debate it generates over the years. For this it is easy to see why Picnic at Hanging Rock is such an iconic story.

[@menagers]

Some of my favourite seniors have told me that Joan Lindsay was really strange lady but have refused to elaborate like it’s a state secret or something.

[@timheavyable]

Lindsey had written a final chapter that explains what happened and has the girls following mademoiselle who had turned into a crab into smother dimension in time. The deleted chapter 18.

[@danrobinson572]

Great movie 🍿

[@clemdane]

First saw it decades ago and I'll never get over it. One of my top five or even higher.

[@stevemurrell6167]

A wonderfully haunting film.....a masterpiece.

[@jrlakin370]

Superb film

[@garrybaldy327]

Interesting that Kermode omits Fearless from his list at the end - my favourite Peter Weir film. Picnic At Hanging Rock, however, needed a few Brian Trenchard Smith karate kicks and car chases to liven it up.

[@BrennFilm]

You sound like an American. ;-)

[@garrybaldy327]

@@BrennFilm Impossible, there's irony in my original post.

[@TheWaynos73]

The Man From Hong Kong is an Australian masterpiece in its own right

[@wondernexus3d482]

Love this film from the moment I set eyes upon it!

[@nimos1]

A masterpiece. The recent television remake was not. I was looking forward to seeing the television version, but it was a big disappointment unfortunately.

[@robertthomson1587]

Indeed. Unnecessary and undistinguished,

[@lw3646]

Yep same thought. Some of the "girls" in it looked liked they'd already graduated.... from University..... a while back....definitely a bit long in the tooth. You loose the sense of mystery and innocence by casting them as women. So you have the idea of casting a group of women in their mid to late 20s as the schoolgirls, then you cast an Aboriginal woman as one of the missing girls which totally misses the point of the original story that these are British European characters in a strange unfamiliar new landscape full of mystery which they don't fully understand, it's such a blatant example of how a desire to be more diverse in some cases does more harm than good. Casting Natalie Dormer as a younger headmistress also misses the subtext of the original having this older widow in the original resenting and jealous of these younger girls who've got all their lives and a romances still ahead. The remake is pretty much a rewriting of the book, no sense of mystery, endless back story and terrible dialogue.

[@ddc2957]

To my mind, our greatest film ever as a country (though The Babadook & Lake Mungo give it a run for its money).

[@TheWaynos73]

the original Mad Max and Wake in Fright are also so brilliantly made. i love our cinema in Australia. we have made some absolute crackers.

[@saracarlson-kringle]

Hmmm...kind of a 'Bermuda Triangle' on land.

[@shaunxthexmod777]

yes i remember this film as a boy ! Remember it well, as a boy my first crush as a boy? ..lol great film,

[@firekind1980]

I always thought it was scary because it was a real mystery. There is no mystery which dilutes the film. It's all fiction.

[@freetrailer4poor]

Maybe not. Watch librarian review pahr. There was article in old newspaper 1914 that referred to it.

[@TheWaynos73]

i had visited hanging rock when i was about 12 with my family and yeah, it is a place that makes you feel uneasy. perhaps the memory of the spooky movie didnt help either. we all checked our watches to make sure they hadnt stopped. one of the creepiest moments of the story.

[@haydenwittig8877]

Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and space. Edgar Allen Poe.

[@invernessfan3017]

This is a interesting movie.

[@timetheory84]

Weir came to that conclusion after he had made Hanging Rock. His first few movies definitely had a certain style and surrealism to them. I honestly wish he would have kept that up. You can see it a little in some of his later movies, but they only started to get more conventional.

[@timbodedidleo]

Is this Peter's most extrodinary moment in cinema?. Big call there, but honestly it's hard to disagree with you Mark. I am a massive admirer of Peter Weir and of course, Picnic At Hanging Rock. Love the lush tone of this film. The way the erie summer scenes and music usher the viewer towards a dream like state is remarkable.

[@bridgecross]

Lists Weir's work, doesn't mention Master and Commander? I should love this film. I enjoy a slow-paced narrative, and I really enjoy ambiguity. But for some reason this film left me feeling nothing.

[@ajs41]

Is that Mrs Mangel from Neighbours at 2:06?

[@mdee8784]

Yes

[@undeadcatman]

First half is really well made and put together, especially stylistically with the cinematography. However, it tends to drag after the first girls appearance. Could have done with about ~20mins shaved off. Otherwise good movie, 3.5 bags of popcorn

[@anthonyscully2998]

The cinematographer was influenced by David Hamilton

[@richardmurphy9006]

And they remade it WTF

[@mathewkelly9968]

Good grief I grew up in Victoria , I had to do reviews of the book the movie and went on the obligatory Hanging Rock excursion . Groan

[@lw3646]

You were lucky to come back haha.

[@2nostromo]

I had to watch it to get into a smart girls .... good side. Wondered about it ever since. Now I'm 68 and still don't get it. And girls don't like me anymore. I guess everything happens at exactly the right time and place.

[@freetrailer4poor]

Although In found the movie overrated bore, I did like the style and keep reading reviews. They went up in the rocks and got lost. Happens every year in Los Angeles forest.

[@tracboy80]

The film is way too subtle for most Americans ;)

[@jackmurphy6864]

Mick Taylor done away with them ;)

[@donna25871]

It’s not a true story people.

[@balto8111]

0:34 Lemmings going for their booster jab.

[@claudiahansen4938]

One of the worst films I've seen.

[@racerguy-fm9jb]

shorse

[@mothratemporalradio517]

I still haven't watched the whole thing. Can i possibly request an explainer of the specifics of the loathing, without spoilers?

[@paulklee5790]

Fool...

[@mothratemporalradio517]

@@paulklee5790 Any recommendations for other films with a haunting sense of mystery, like Francois Ozon's Under the Sand? Especially if Australian.

[@tracboy80]

You must have only ever watched a handful of films then, poor thing

[@erywst2106]

If Mark Kermode recommends then it's worth watching. I first saw this film in my late teens, and whilst I found it rather slow moving and tiresome, I was also spellbound and fascinated. So when it appeared on TV recently I knew I had to watch it, to piece together the few memories I had. Now in my 50s I find it breathtaking, magical, haunting and downright scary. Utterly wonderful.