Wake in Fright (Outback) (1971)

83% of users liked it
(396 ratings)

Outback was based on Kenneth Cook's novel Wake in Fright. Gary Bond plays a naive young Australian teacher who is tragically unprepared for his new position in the outback. The community he has been sent to is populated almost exclusively by amoral, primitive toughs, more interested in slaughtering… More Outback was based on Kenneth Cook's novel Wake in Fright. Gary Bond plays a naive young Australian teacher who is tragically unprepared for his new position in the outback. The community he has been sent to is populated almost exclusively by amoral, primitive toughs, more interested in slaughtering kangaroos and sexual carousing than in such niceties as education or propriety. The methodical shattering of Bond's dearly held values plunge the young teacher deeper into degeneracy. Outback was so graphic in its original Australian version that 15 minutes had to be cut before American distributor Group W would consider touching it. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Ted Kotcheff
Written By: Kenneth Cook, Evan Jones
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Feb 20, 1972 Limited

Critic Reviews

Fernando F. Croce, House Next Door
Shot with a feverish feeling for heat and madness that's worthy of Borges.
Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile
A riveting film with exceptional relevance today in its cultural veracity and its observation of not just outback Australian society (if you can call it that), but in human nature.
Louise Keller, Urban Cinefile
What a treat to see this remastered 1971 Australian classic that depicts a particular part of the Aussie culture so beautifully.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Pierluigi P

The australian outback shown as a gigantic prison. A claustrophobic and asphyxiating no man's land where only the strong can survive. And no matter how far you can get, how much beer you can drink to forget reality, you're condemned to a cyclic, aimless, tortuous existence.… More
The australian outback shown as a gigantic prison. A claustrophobic and asphyxiating no man's land where only the strong can survive. And no matter how far you can get, how much beer you can drink to forget reality, you're condemned to a cyclic, aimless, tortuous existence. A must see for people who take pleasure in the raw, allegorical, disturbing and existentialist films that came out in that period of time.