Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)

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). Coincident with the release, Text Publishing issued the biography of Joan Lindsay by Brenda Niall 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.

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 and cannot explain the fate of the others.

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. Michael's dreams continue, with Miranda symbolized by the presence of a white swan. 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.

Irma, physically recovered but still having no memory of the events, is to be sent back to Europe to reunite with her parents. She visits the College during a dance lesson to bid the rest of the students farewell, and is screamed at by classmates who believe her to be culpable. After Irma departs in tears, Mlle de Poitiers discovers that Miss Lumley has restrained Sara against a wall under the guise of improving her posture.

The night before the Easter vacation, Mrs Appleyard informs Sara that as her fees still remain unpaid she must return to the orphanage. Mrs Appleyard falsely tells Mlle de Poitiers that Sara's guardian came to collect her, and she evades her attempts to ask whether Sara will be returning next term.

Albert recounts to Michael a vivid dream in which his sister Sara visited him: "'Goodbye, Bertie,' she says. 'l’ve come a long way to see ya, and now I must go.' And she went." Sara's body is discovered; she has fallen from a height from the school building and crashed through into an adjoining greenhouse. The gardener rushes to Mrs Appleyard's office to report the tragedy and finds her sitting calmly at her desk wearing funeral attire. A voiceover reports that Mrs Appleyard, facing the collapse of her school and haunted by the disappearances and ensuing events, was found dead at the base of Hanging Rock, having apparently fallen while climbing it.

Accompanied by a flashback to the day of the picnic, the voiceover states that the disappearance of Miranda, Marion, and Miss McCraw remains an unsolved mystery that continues to haunt the local community.

The novel was published in 1967. Reading it four years later, Patricia Lovell thought it would make a great film. She did not originally think of producing it herself until Phillip Adams suggested she try it; she optioned the film rights in 1973, paying $100 for three months. She hired Peter Weir to direct on the basis of his film Homesdale, and Weir brought in Hal and Jim McElroy to help produce.

Screenwriter David Williamson originally was chosen to adapt the film, but was unavailable and recommended noted TV writer Cliff Green. Joan Lindsay had approval over who did the adaptation and she gave it to Green, whose first draft Lovell says was "excellent".

The finalised budget was A$440,000, coming from the Australian Film Development Corporation, British Empire Films and the South Australian Film Corporation. $3,000 came from private investors.

Filming began in February 1975 with principal photography taking six weeks. Locations included Hanging Rock in Victoria, Martindale Hall near Mintaro in rural South Australia, and at the studio of the South Australian Film Corporation in Adelaide.

The film's mise-en-scène and cinematography was strongly influenced by the work of the Heidelberg School of Australian impressionists, active in Victoria in the 1880s and 1890s. Leading Heidelberg School member Frederick McCubbin also lived in and often painted the Macedon Ranges, the setting and filming location of Picnic at Hanging Rock. To achieve the look of an impressionist painting for the film, director Weir and director of cinematography Russell Boyd were inspired by the work of British photographer and film director David Hamilton, who had draped different types of veils over his camera lens to produce diffused and soft-focus images. Boyd created the ethereal, dreamy look of many scenes by placing simple bridal veil fabric of various thicknesses over his camera lens. The film was edited by Max Lemon.

Weir recalled that while many in the cast and crew took the film in a humorous and jocular manner when filming began, the mood changed once location work began on Hanging Rock:

Weir originally cast Ingrid Mason as Miranda, but realised after several weeks of rehearsals that it was "not working" and cast Anne-Louise Lambert. Mason was persuaded to remain in the role as a minor character, Rosamund, by producer Patricia Lovell. The role of Mrs Appleyard was originally to have been taken by Vivien Merchant; Merchant fell ill and Rachel Roberts was cast at short notice. Several of the schoolgirls' voices were dubbed in secret by professional voice actors, as Weir had cast the young actresses for their innocent appearance rather than their acting ability. The voice actors were not credited, although more than three decades later, actress Barbara Llewellyn revealed that she had provided the voice for all the dialogue of Edith (Christine Schuler, now Christine Lawrance).

The main title music was derived from two traditional Romanian panpipe pieces: "Doina: Sus Pe Culmea Dealului" and "Doina Lui Petru Unc" with Romanian Gheorghe Zamfir playing the panpipe (or panflute) and Swiss born Marcel Cellier the organ. Australian composer Bruce Smeaton also provided several original compositions (The Ascent Music and The Rock) written for the film.

Other classical additions included Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C from The Well-Tempered Clavier performed by Jenő Jandó; the Romance movement from Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik; the Andante Cantabile movement from Tchaikovsky's String Quartet No. 1, Op. 11, and the Adagio un poco mosso from Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 "Emperor" performed by István Antal with the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra. Traditional British songs God Save the Queen and Men of Harlech also appear.

There is currently no official soundtrack commercially available. In 1976, CBS released a vinyl LP titled "A Theme from Picnic at Hanging Rock", a track of the same name and "Miranda's Theme". A 7" single was released in 1976 of the Picnic at Hanging Rock theme by the Nolan-Buddle Quartet. The song peaked at number 15 on the Australian singles chart.

An album Flute de Pan et Orgue (Music from Picnic at Hanging Rock) was released by Festival Records France.