Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian mystery film directed by Peter Weir and based on the 1967 novel Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. Cliff Green adapted the novel into a screenplay. The film stars Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Vivean Gray and Jacki Weaver. The plot involves the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic at Hanging Rock, Victoria on Valentine's Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community.
Picnic at Hanging Rock was a commercial and critical success, and helped draw international attention to the then-emerging Australian New Wave of cinema. It is widely regarded as one of the most iconic and defining films of the New Wave. In 1996 it was voted the best Australian movie of all time in a poll by the Victorian Centenary of Cinema Committee and the NFSA.
In 2025 the film was restored for release into cinemas. Under the supervision of Peter Weir, a new 4K scan of the original 35mm negative (from the National Film and Sound Archive in Australia) was undertaken by The Grainery (USA) and Fixafilm (Poland).[3] Coincident with the release, Text Publishing issued the biography of Joan Lindsay by Brenda Niall[4] which describes Lindsay's school experience evident in the mystery at Hanging Rock, its significance in the landscape and its resonance for First Nations people. Niall considers both Lindsay's novel and later contribution to the making of the film.
Plot
On Valentine's Day 1900, students from Appleyard College, a girls' private school in Victoria, Australia, embark on a picnic to Hanging Rock led by teachers Miss Greta McCraw and Mlle de Poitiers. Sara, a quiet child who arrived at the school from an orphanage and continues to suffer from the separation from her brother Bertie, is forced to stay behind. She remains at the school with teacher Miss Lumley and stern headmistress Mrs Appleyard.
At Hanging Rock, the students settle down to their picnic; the teachers worry about the time, as the only two available watches have both stopped at exactly 12 noon. Miranda, Marion, Irma, and Edith ask permission to explore the area. As they head to the Rock they are observed by a young Englishman, Michael Fitzhubert, and his Australian friend, Albert Crundall. The girls begin climbing, and under a strange influence fall asleep. When they awaken, Miranda, Marion and Irma proceed in a trance into a crevice. Edith, distressed, watches them go before screaming and fleeing back down alone.
Mlle de Poitiers and the remaining students return to Appleyard College hours later than expected, having not found Miranda, Marion or Irma, and reporting that Miss McCraw has also gone missing. The police are called and undertake their own search next day, but without success. Edith provides a disjointed account in which she recalls seeing a strange red cloud, and Miss McCraw running towards the Rock without her skirt.
After having nightmares about the girls' disappearances, Michael returns to search for them, with Albert’s assistance. He stays overnight at the Rock, and next day discovers Irma unconscious in a crevice, barefoot and without corset or stockings. Michael staggers out and collapses. Alarmed by his overnight absence, Albert returns with the police and finds Michael unconscious. As he is carried to the carriage, Michael passes Albert a torn scrap of Irma’s dress. Albert goes back to the rock and locates Irma. She has no memory of what happened.
The disappearances cause a scandal, leading to students being withdrawn from the school. News attention begins to intrude, and locals speculate about sexual motives, rape and murder. As the school's reputation and financial stability suffer, Mrs Appleyard informs Sara that her guardian has not contacted the College in months and that her tuition fees have not been paid. She tells Sara that she is no longer able to participate in extracurricular lessons. Sara spends much of her time in bed, mourning Miranda. Michael's dreams continue, with Miranda symbolized by the presence of a white swan.
Irma, physically recovered but still having no memory of the events, is to be sent back to Europe
Cast
Rachel Roberts as Mrs Appleyard
Dominic Guard as Michael Fitzhubert
Helen Morse as Mlle. de Poitiers
Jacki Weaver as Minnie
Anne-Louise Lambert as Miranda St. Clare
Margaret Nelson as Sara Waybourne
John Jarratt as Albert Crundall
Wyn Roberts as Sergeant Bumpher
Karen Robson as Irma Leopold
Christine Schuler as Edith Horton
Jane Vallis as Marion Quade
Vivean Gray as Miss Greta McCraw
Martin Vaughan as Ben Hussey
Kirsty Child as Miss Lumley
Frank Gunnell as Mr Whitehead
Tony Llewellyn-Jones as Tom
John Fegan as Doctor McKenzie
Kay Taylor as Mrs Bumpher
Peter Collingwood as Colonel Fitzhubert
Garry McDonald as Constable Jones
Olga Dickie as Mrs Fitzhubert
Jenny Lovell as Blanche
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