After being restored and released theatrically to great acclaim after four decades, the Aussie shocker WAKE IN FRIGHT is heading to the home market; read on for the details and cover art.

Drafthouse Films will release WAKE IN FRIGHT (a.k.a. OUTBACK) on DVD and Blu-ray January 15. Directed by Ted Kotcheff, the movie stars John Grant as a British schoolteacher on vacation in Australia who stops in a remote mining town, and undergoes a frightening psychological breakdown at the hands of its residents. Donald Pleasence, Jack Thompson and Chips Rafferty co-star; the movie was barely released Stateside after its premiere at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, and was thought lost until negative elements were discovered a few years ago and the restoration was undertaken. The anamorphic widescreen transfers on the discs, with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on the DVD and DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray, include:

• Audio commentary by Kotcheff and editor Anthony Buckley

• The making-of featurette "To the Yabba and Back"

• Q&A with Kotcheff from the 2009 Toronto Film Festival

• Restoration featurette

• “Who Needs Art?” vintage featurette

• Theatrical trailers

• 28-page booklet

Retail prices are $27.97 for the DVD and $29.97 for the Blu-ray; special DVD/Blu-ray fan packs including a Kotcheff-autographed poster and a limited-edition two-up gambling set can be pre-ordered at the Drafthouse website. See WAKE IN FRIGHT’s trailer below, and our two-part interview with Kotcheff here and here. 

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