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Features: DVD, Letterbox, Director's Cut
Nicholas Roeg's mystical masterpiece chronicles the physical, spiritual, and emotional journey of a sister and brother abandoned in the harsh Australian outback. Joining an Aborigine boy on his walkabout-a tribal initiation into manhood-these modern children pass from innocence into experience as they are thrust from the comforts of civilization into the savagery of the natural world.Click here for more Criterion favorites! Features
New widescreen transfer of the original, unedited director’s cut Audio commentary by director Nicolas Roeg and actor Jenny Agutter Two theatrical trailers English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired
Editor's Note
Nicolas Roeg's solo directorial debut is a haunting, unconventional narrative film that presents a bleak vision of civilized life as arid and unrewarding. Abandoned in the Australian outback, two young white children (Jenny Agutter and Roeg's son Lucien) stumble upon an adolescent Aborigine (David Gulpilil), who is performing a "walkabout." In this ritualistic six-month journey, the boy must learn to survive by himself in the imposing desert. Communication is a problem, although more for the girl than for her little brother, who still has a child's ability to communicate simply and directly. The two teenagers fail to connect for a variety of reasons, mostly due to the girl's lack of interest in a culture that is unfamiliar and different from her own. Ultimately, the differences become too much to bear, resulting in a tragic conclusion that adds an even more somber denouement to Roeg's already grim vision. Based on the novel by James Vance Marshall, WALKABOUT is a powerful commentary on pastoral simplicity versus cosmopolitan clutter, and features stunning cinematography from Roeg.
Plot Summary
After a pair of British children are abandoned in the Australian outback, they join up with a young Aborigine who is performing his traditional, coming-of-age rite of passage, the Walkabout.
| Features | Region 1 | | Keep Case | | Director's Cut | | Letterbox - 1.78 | | Audio:
| Dolby Digital Mono - English | | Additional Release Material:
| Audio Commentary: Nicholas Roeg - Director, Jenny Agutter - Actor | | Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer | | Text/Photo Galleries:
| Essay: by Roger Ebert | | Chapters:
| 1. Logos | | 2. Credits "Hymnen" | | 3. The Wall | | 4. Pool by the Sea | | 5. Picnic | | 6. "Gasoline Alley" Bang! Bang! | | 7. Radio On | | 8. "It's the Sea!" | | 9. Oasis | | 10. The Boy | | 11. Ancient Camels of the Outback | | 12. The Dead Doll | | 13. The Limbs of Ghost Gums | | 14. Sunburn | | 15. The Story of the Boy on the Ladder | | 16. The Painting Wall | | 17. Heat and Desire | | 18. Ecstasy | | 19. "Los Angeles" | | 20. Plastic 'Roos | | 21. Home Sweet Home | | 22. Blood Lust | | 23. Last Dance | | 24. Suicide | | 25. The Road To... | | 26. In Her Mother's Shoes | | 27. "The Shropshire Lad" - Final Credits | | 28. Color Bars |
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| Technical Info
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Release Information
|  | Studio: Home Vision/Public Media |
| Release Date: 5/5/1998 |
| Running Time: 100 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1971 | | Catalog ID: 120 | | UPC: 00037429123225 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Available Subtitles: English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Chicago Sun-Times
"...WALKABOUT is a movie of restless images that are forever etched into one's consciousness..." 01/24/1997 p.36USA Today
"...With gorgeous outback photography....The movie is sensual, even erotic..." 04/04/1997 p.3D |
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