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Picnic at Hanging Rock - Criterion Collection

Picnic at Hanging Rock - Criterion Collection

List Price: $29.95
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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: So beautiful and ethereal
Review: The setting is stunning, the music mystical and the people are hypnotic. I have been a fan of this movie since it was made and waited months for the price of the video to go down. If you want a intricate story line or a concreat conclusion this may not be for you, but even so definetly worth a watch.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hauntingly Beautiful, A Cinematic Experience
Review: I loved "Picnic At Hanging Rock". The film was so beautiful to watch. One can take away multiple meanings from the disappearance of the 3 girls, and how it affects the rest of the schoolgirls. The image of Hanging Rock will haunt you long after you watch the film. The dialougue is thought provoking, and poetic, and wonderful. I would HIGHLY recommend this great film.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Haunting, lyrical, soulful, tearful... but boring
Review: Yes, Miranda was quite pretty, and yes, the period customs were compelling, but sometimes we forget that the nature of cinematic drama demands there be a story, a plot which maintains our interest from beginning to end. Aristotle said it first in his Poetics: a drama must have a beginning, a middle, and an end, all of which must contribute to its essence (I paraphrase). Here there was a good beginning but little middle and no end. This movie had too much of lingering scenic mood shots and too little of dramatic substance. People who like this kind of film will probably like "The Thin Red Line". Those who, like myself, found TRL pretentious and silly will probably reach for the FF button during this one.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: it's true
Review: It might be proven that the events in this film did not actually occur. I was driving past hanging rock in 1985 on my way to the snowfields when I suggested to my wife that we visit Hanging Rock, which was nearby. Something stopped our car from turning off the highway, to the right. We could not control it and made our way - safely - to Mt. Buller. Seriously, I saw this film in '75 as part of a high school outing, along with SUNDAY TOO FAR AWAY. The S. A. film corporation was the best thing about my state, South Australia, and this film was its best period piece. I am still in love with Miranda.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Exquisite Film
Review: Picnic at Hanging Rock is a frighteningly beautiful film about longing. The exquisite setting and the pan flute give the film anything that it could be lacking, and also add to the story by paralleling the odd events and metaphors which are frequently presented throughout the film. These subtle hints will slip by the audience if they are not appreciated in the way that they are intended. Miranda is perhaps the film's most important character because she means so many things. Her beauty is coveted and wanted, but also appreciated as something that does not last. One of the most difficult ideas to recognize in this film are the two statements from Miranda and Mademoiselle. "Now I know...What do you know?" "Everything begins and ends at exactly the right time and place." The understanding that Mademoiselle comes to about Miranda and life is said in that brief exclamation. Miranda`s statement is even more important because that is what the film is really about. If one notices Miss Macraw as she is staring at a geometry book, they see a triangle within a circle. The circumcenter of the circle is the center of the circumscribed circle that passes through the vertices of the triangle and is equidistant from all the sides. It begins and ends at exactly the right time and place. WHile understanding these ideas, it gives the audience an understanding that was intended in the making of this beautiful film

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Australian Masterpiece
Review: This is one of the most lyrical & haunting films I have ever seen. The cinematography is outstanding. At the picnic, each frame is like a Renoir painting. At the heart of the story is a mystery that each person may interpret differently. Each element--the excellent acting, the exotic panpipe music, & the beautifully strange setting--contributes to an unforgettable visual & emotional experience.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Strange!
Review: This is one of the wierdest movies I have ever seen. I mean that in a good way. It's a beautiful film, and very entertaining. The dialogue is extremely melodramatic, to the point of being laughable, but in a strang way that only makes the film that much spookier. The music is great. Definitely worth watching

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "What we are, and what we see is only a dream..."
Review: A haunting masterpiece of australian cinema has gracefully assumed its place within the ranks of grandeur. This is a must-see, and a must-keep.

Possibly one of the most haunting stories ever told.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonder rediscovered
Review: Beautiful. Strange. A journey through another world within this one. Every scene fills you with surmise in this romantic withdrawal from the from the ordinary. Picnic at Hanging Rock creates an enthralling impression of the unknown - at once, a whole philosopy of life and the most exquisite of emotions. All without overdone special effects or highly paid actors.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: About being left behind...
Review: Superficially a film about a disappearance, it is actually a film about being left behind. Miranda and the others are a metaphor of those who -- through bravery, expertise, birth, etc. -- go on to experience things that others of us can only dimly imagine. Sarah, of course is left behind by birth; Mrs. Appleyard, one supposes, gave up her chance long before; Edith represents someone gone and then drawn back, but forever unable to enlighten those who have never been. The experience is so haunting because we've all been there: older siblings gone off to college, artistic friends who quickly move beyond our dabblings, mathematical classmates whose minds expand into the ether... It prompts the thought: who have we left behind?


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