WAKE IN FRIGHT

Drama / Thriller
Australia / USA, 1971, 109 min

Directed by: Ted Kotcheff
Screenplay: Kenneth Cook, Evan Jones
Cast: Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence, Chips Rafferty, Sylvia Kay,  Jack Thompson, Peter Whittle, Al Thomas, John Meillon, John Armstrong, Slim de Greay, Maggie Dence, Norman Erskine,  Buster Fiddess, Text Foote, Own Moase, John Dalleen, Colin Hughes,  Jacko Jackson, Nancy Knudsen, Dawn Lake, Harry Lawrence, Robert McDarra, Carlo Manchini, Liam Reynolds

Young teacher John Grant departs from a remote village for Christmas in Sydney. During his travel he must spend the night in a remote mining town, Bundanyabba. Where he loses all of his money through gambling in the traditional Aussie game “two-up”. Now destitute, he remains imprisoned in a city whose inhabitants kill time drinking, gambling and slaughtering kangaroos. The unflattering images show the harshness of the Australian outback and focus on a man slowly declining into madness due to the searing heat and bad company. This key piece of Australian cinema is one of the best films by Canadian director and producer Ted Kotcheff, who was made famous as director of Rambo: First Blood (1982).

Festivals and Awards:
Cannes Film Festival (1971)
Centre Georges Pompidou, Australian – Pompidou Event (1991)
Australian Film Week – Ireland (1998)
Revelation Perth International Film Festival (2009)
Toronto International Film Festival (2009)
Sitges International Fantasy and Horror Film Festival (2014)
Telluride Film Festival (2015)