Wake in Fright film re-release scheduled for August

The 1971 film ‘Wake in Fright’, directed by Ted Kotcheff, is scheduled for a theatrical re-release on August 19. The film follows John Grant, a young schoolteacher who becomes trapped in a remote Australian mining town during a stopover on his way to Sydney.

Set against the harsh and oppressive landscape of the Australian outback, the story depicts Grant’s descent into a cycle of excessive drinking and gambling. The narrative explores themes of social satire and horror as the protagonist is influenced by the local community and a tyrannical police chief.

Regarded as a foundational work of the 1970s Australian cinematic renewal, the film is noted for its intense atmosphere and use of the desert landscape. The production was famously preserved after a copy was discovered in a trash bin in Pittsburgh in 2004.