PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK TV remake

Noooo. The film was great. I forbid a remake

I hope this never happens. I have the book the movie was based on. It's not a long book. There really isn't enough material for a six part mini-series. If one is made, probably a lot of shit is going to be made up to pad it out. And yes, they'll probably make it seem like Miranda and Sarah are lesbian lovers. I hate these stupid remakes.

For many years, I was one of the legion who thought it was based on a true story.

Are they going to bring in the original, supernatural ending that Joan Lindsay intended?

I've always been interested in Aboriginal concepts of "Dreamtime" and origin stories, so that's how I stumbled upon this book and film. There's no preachiness, only a total acceptance of the ancestral outsider status of the main characters.

The original can't be improved upon. Beautiful and eerie.

r5 It's an exceptional film. If you're into ambiance, it's not built more perfectly than in this film.

Blasphemy.

"Are they going to bring in the original, supernatural ending that Joan Lindsay intended?"

I don't know what you're referring to. I always heard that people who read the book and/or saw the movie were clamoring for some kind of resolution: WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE GIRLS AND THE SCHOOL TEACHER? To appease them Lindsay came up with some kind of "sequel" which explained their disappearance: they got caught in a time warp. What a crock of shit!

The ending was perfect the way it was, with the disappearance of the girls and the teacher never being explained.

[quote]PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK TV remake

Is this a Ree Drummond special on Food Network?

Lindsay supposedly wrote the ending before the book was published, but it was omitted because the story's better without it. Enough so, that if you go on Amazon you get people who refuse to accept that Lindsay wrote a "conclusion."

The original paired with Mulholland Drive and some pharmaceuticals would make a great trippy dippy double feature.

It's not a film based on character but on theme and mood. It deals with isolation and unknowability there are few better places to explore that than among a group of Colonial schoolgirls in the Australian bush

And a TV adaptation would be padded out with character - Sarah and her brother's childhood, a good hour devoted to the young British twink, schoolroom flirtations and jostling for position amongst the students, the upstairs downstairs dramas between teachers and maids,

And Lena Dunham for Edith?

The whole mystery and unknown and subtlety of the characterization is what made it. I don't TV wants to any of that.

They'll probably slut them up. I don't know if it's bad acting or poor historical research, but it turns me off when actors engage in behaviour or speech that don't match the time period. As an example, eye rolling when speaking is common for teen girls today. It wasn't done decades ago. The same goes for "up speak." Social constructs were more controlled and girls would be branded as forward or hussies if they crossed certain lines. One did not touch people, flirt with those outside your class and a host of other things.

Hanging Rock isn't far from where I live. Beautiful place.

While I'm hesitant about a remake, most of the Foxtel produced mini-series have been very good. I'm not entirely dismissive about the idea.

I enjoyed SECRET CITY a lot, r15, it was great fun. The trans character was actually really well conceived and not pandering or token at all. And Dan Wyllie, who may be neither pretty nor rugged enough to make it overseas and is still best known internationally as Muriel's brother - did terrific yeoman's work.

The remake is being produced by Rupert Murdoch's Foxtel (who did the recent Prisoner remake) so subtly likely won't be its strong point. In this version Miranda will probably come back as a flesh eating zombie, Miss McCraw will perform cunnilingus on the students during the time-warp segment, and rivers of blood will flow from the rock...

I love that movie

Natalie Dormer as Miss Appleyard?!

Dormer is a vixen. They will definitely go for barely repressed predatory lesbian.

It sounds pretty soapy. The movie worked because of the unknowability of the girls. And then, in turn, this shed light on European settlers trying to mould Australia in something tameable and familiar when it is very much it's own beast.

The (geo-locked) trailer is out.

R4 Lots of those 'Aboriginal concepts in "Dreamtime"' were invented by uncomprehending Whiteys. The word 'Dreamtime' was invented by a Whitey in the 1920s.

The natives don't share their culture with outsiders so the Whiteys have been inventing myths about them for 2040 years.

^ 240 years.

Why?

This is the first movie I slept through, a feat I would not repeat until The English Patient.

When they filmed the original was it beastly hot?

R24 yes it was beastly hot. It was funded by a state which contains most of Australia's desert.

The real site at the disappearance at Mount Macedon is a cold place which gets winds straight from the Antarctic.

The trailer looks good

One of the OITNB gals is in this, as well as the star of McG’s Netflix film THE BABYSITTER.

Will they go with the proper ending of a weird snake and walking into the rocks and into a worm hole?

So, what did you all think about the first episode?

The 5-minute tracking shot that opens it is masterful, although the CG bit almost killed my boner. The cinematography, in general, is spectacular and inventive, as are the gorgeous costumes and the whole production design. The Australian vegetation on display is so luscious and refreshing I just wanted to go there right that instant. Natalie Dormer is great, though she seems a tad young for her position. The OINTB gal r27 mentioned also seems too young for the role. That was the only thing that took me out a bit.

As for the story, I'm not familiar with the source material so the sudden dreamy and magical stuff was shocking to see. In a good way; I was convinced this was going to be just another Downton Abbey-style period drama with boring intrigue. Can't wait for the second episode! My newest TV obsession, for sure.

Oh, and Don Hany caught my (mussy's) eye immediately. Lovely Australian BDF, very nice.

I don’t like it at all. Bargain basement Baz Luhrmann kitsch.

ewtete

Elizabeth Debicki can't act for shit. So a big NO to that casting choice.

I saw the original movie a few years ago and liked it - spooky and beautiful landscape. I saw there was a remake on Amazon and wanted to see how a modern filmmaker would spin this story.

I bailed in the middle of episode 3. Not having read the book, I don't know if all of the added material comes from that or from the screenwriters imagination, but whatever the case, too many dream sequences and slo-mo scenes to portray "an aura".. The headmistress, played by Natalie Dormer, was such s strict ramrod who has an unexplained dark history that permeates all her scenes -- it got tiring watching her torment those girls/teachers and swanning around spitting acid lines. I don't remember this character in the original being so harsh, but it's been a few years and my memory may be hazy.

After watching pointless corporal punishment, racist names being used towards the indigenous people, gratuitous man junk, teen girls enacting scenes one would expect to see in a soft-core lesbian flick, I realized this was not my cup of tea - didn't care about the added sex and violence to compete with the HBO.

The one bright spot was some UST between the upper class guy Michael and the hunky grounds-keeper guy who was helping him search for the girls. They had a scene of Michael watching the workman get dressed after a swim and later, the worker found Michael passed out and took off his shirt to tenderly wipe Michael's face. Since I bailed out in the middle, can't say it this 'relationship' develops into anything.

I'm the one who raved about the first episode at r29 but it all goes off the rails in the second half and barely recovers in the final episode, which features one of the most gorgeous nature closing shots I have ever seen captured on film. All hail aerial drones.

I don't know how the novel or the original movie handled this, but I prefer the Outlander route where the magical element is strictly confined to the stones alone, and everything around them is super grounded. But here, everything was so dreamlike at all times I didn't register any of the characters as real people and so didn't really care for them at all. Case in point: the headmistress was established as almost a witch in the first episode, so I was waiting the whole season for her to go the Hanging Rock and throw some magic around. But no, she's just a common scammer. False advertising much?

The scenes intimating sapphic behaviour went on and on, mostly utilizing the same footage. We get it, writers. On the other hand, we get a brief touching of the shirt for the two gay male characters. I fucking hated that. Also, why not rewrite the story with a modern twist so it's explicitly about the Hanging Rock awakening latent homosexual desire? Because losing the innocence and the sexual repression thing didn't work for me. I mean, shouldn't the two homo boys be getting it on as well then? Or does the rock only work on girls? Again, look towards Outlander on how to establish a very clear magical power set.

Shots of distinct Australian vegetation are the best thing about this show. Truly heaven on Earth.

[quote]gratuitous man junk

It was one shot of a flaccid penis, so far from gratuitous. And that's what human bodies look like, if you haven't yet noticed, so I don't understand why anyone would ever protest depicting that on TV. Prudeness like that really pisses me off because it's usually just one step removed from all sorts of other misogynistic and anti-gay views.

[quote]racist names being used towards the indigenous people

This is actually very realistic.

[quote] ^ 240 years.

Wow I didn’t know Australia didn’t get colonized until 1778. My family had already been in America for 130 years.

[quote]gratuitous man junk

Screenshot please.

Believe me, you don't want to see the junk. Nothing sexy is going on. The scene shows a 50-60 year old man, about 250 lbs. He's naked, thinking that he's going to bed, when he is ambushed and shot. He falls to the floor dead and his stocky body and junk are on display.

Why would they show an old man naked?

Why not show one of the young guys?

This show is atrocious.

I get why Appleyard was pissed at tween student Sarah (she snooped and found secrets), but why was she holding her prisoner? It's not like Sarah was the only one who had dirt on Appleyard - the French teacher and the missing student Irma (or Miranda) also could have blown her cover. It was sad that Sarah didn't get back together with her brother - they were so close to meeting up. Last, did Sarah jump/fall from the tower or did Appleyard "help" her?

I should have paid more attention, but.... what was Appleyard running from? She met up with that guy from her past in the last episode, but I had trouble understanding their accents. Then there were some flashbacks of her in a bar and stabbing a man and jabbing her fingers in his wound. Was she a prostitute or a con-woman? Please elaborate - thanks.

You need to watch tv shows with subtitles. Now that we have big screen TVs, subtitles don’t take up too much screen space.

[quote]This show is atrocious.

It was always going to be difficult to remake Peter Weir's 1975 masterpiece.

FYI - no strain yourself. I got the answers to my questions.

I've often wondered if Joan Lindsay was a closet lesbian.

She and her husband had no children, which was unusual in those days.

[quote]Darkness spreads. It gets everywhere. It was her all along. The widow. Why, Mrs Appleyard, you're she.

Acting, bitches.

Genius.

The original film has the most sinister atmosphere of any film I've ever seen. Nothing overtly scary happens but the inexplicable dread that hangs over everything is almost suffocating.

r49 There's definitely some of that in the first episode or at least until the girls disappear. There's still a whiff of it after one of them returns but then it disappears completely and it's just a pretty-looking slog until the finish line.

So is the TV series any good?

It's fine.... if you're interested in cinematography and some breathtaking nature shots. Don't go in for the story, though. Unless you're a lesbian; then it's probably a must-watch.

I love watching Australian productions during hot and humid summertime for some reason. They complement each other perfectly for me.

Just finished watching it

So

Appleyard was just crazy and paranoid. No-one was after her. Arthur was really dead. Tomasetti was really only in marbles business.

Albert is revealed as Sarah's brother...but we barely get a follow up of that. They don't meet. He doesn't even know she lives next door

Sarah may have committed suicide, fell from the tower or pushed by Appleyard

Mrs Lumley was keeping the home made dildo of Mrs McCraw. And her brother was was a little pervert. They all end up in a fire anyway.

Irma didn't get the rich boy's cock she was aiming for

The rich boy is probably testing Albert's ass somewhere on their "tour" of Australia.

Edith's mother kept forgetting her at school

[quote]Albert is revealed as Sarah's brother...but we barely get a follow up of that. They don't meet. He doesn't even know she lives next door

These plot details are all faithful to the original film, and to the novel.

No Mike nudity!

I really liked it. The slo-mo scenes of the girls lying down together in various places was excessive, but overall I was hooked throughout. Gorgeous costumes as well.

[bold]Natalie Dormer on ‘horrible’ bullying scenes in Picnic At Hanging Rock: ‘You have to dig deep’[/bold]

Dormer opens up about terrorizing a 14-year-old on the show.

[quote]‘What she really thinks she’s giving is tough love to the girls. Else, she’s a psychopath, which she isn’t so as an actor you have to find those places. It made me uncomfortable sometimes, but that’s when I lean on Larysa [Kondracki] on days like that.’

[quote]‘You can’t. You just launch in,’ Natalie says. ‘I’m going to say a really actor, w*nky thing now, but you have to follow the truth of the moment. There’s no other way of doing it. ‘Ines was an incredible raw young talent, extraordinary personality for a young girl, and she got it. She understood the difference between real and pretend, you just ensure that when you’re not in characterisation, you’re approachable and supportive as you can be.

r56 Those costumes were next-level gorgeous.

Where did wild colonial girl Miranda go on her barefoot night runs? (Which was bullshit, in Australia, in the bush, at night, she’s likely to stick her foot in a burrow or stab it on a stick or tread on an animal).

Did anyone fuck the hot Arab doctor?

[quote]Did anyone fuck the hot Arab doctor?

r58 No, I thought him and Dormer were going to have a thing eventually but it went nowhere. He basically just disappeared later on if I remember correctly.

The pilot was spectacular! Uber lesbian vibe, love the storytelling style and hope it gets even better. As is, definite win for Amazon. Cinematography is brilliant.

I watched half of the first episode and wished everyone involved would just go missing already and spare me.

I gave up after episode 3.

Is there any reason to watch this if you think the Peter Weir version was brilliant?

^ No. It’s fairly tedious.

It's dreadfully boring.

Natalie Dormer is an okay actress, but it's unlikely she can have the screen presence of Rachel Roberts:

Rachel Roberts was the motorcycle lesbian in MOTOE. Makes her casting as Mrs Appleyard even more appropriate.

Roberts sounds like she was a major, major bitch during film. She and she alone is responsible for the wig she's wearing. She's terrific in the part, so her bitchery was well used.

Rachel Roberts was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for "This Sporting Life" (1963), opposite Richard Harris.

It was directed by Lindsay Anderson and featured male nudity, which was unusual for those days. It also was the film which led to William Hartnell being cast as the first 'Doctor Who'.

r60 I was ecstatic the same way after the premiere but it spectacularly falls apart in the second half. It just isn't adapted that well to the series, at the end of the day. The script should've gone to more capable hands. Love rooting for Australian projects so I'm especially disappointed when they're executed poorly.

I do wonder whether lesbians would be more forgiving towards all of this show's shortcomings because of the sapphic imagery and themes involved. I sure as hell know I'd be if the roles were reversed and there were gay guys constantly frolicking around in the grass. It would probably be my most favourite thing ever.

"Racist names being used towards the indigenous people". Imagine that! And imagine someone having the gall to actually DEPICT it in a historical film!

I just finished watching the second episode R70, and I must be daft, because apart from the reveal that Miss McCraw is a lesbian who uses a dildo, the lesbian "themes" are going over my head. I mean, I can see that Sarah has a bit of a crush on Miranda, but her being so small and young looking next to Miranda it mostly just makes me uncomfortable.

I will say that the three girls playing Miranda, Marion and Irma are unbelievably model-level gorgeous, so that's nice to look at. However, it's also totally unrealistic that three girls like that would go to the same small school, especially since they all seem to have the exact same bone structure, even the one who is half-aboriginal.

r72 It gets way more lesbionic as it progresses.

[quote]However, it's also totally unrealistic that three girls like that would go to the same small school, especially since they all seem to have the exact same bone structure, even the one who is half-aboriginal.

Yeah, I think that might have been intentional - to evoke a witchy, coven-y feel.