Customer Reviews

Walkabout: The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

The 2010 Criterion edition of this remarkable film includes a commentary track and a couple of new interviews with Jenny Agutter and Luc Roeg (billed as "Lucien John" in the film), and these do contribute to our appreciation of it; but the real bonus here is the hour-long documentary on the life of David Gulpilil, who made his screen debut here and went on to many other films. He is one of those rare people with the ability to cross the cultural barriers which are so realistically presented in Walkabout -- and the "One Red Blood" documentary also shows how much this has cost him, indeed how much the colonial invasion from Europe has cost indigenous people everywhere.

Walkabout is just as unusual and disturbing today as it was in 1971. It shines an almost painfully bright light on European-derived civilization by contrasting it with the aboriginal -- yet does not idealize life in the outback at all. Life is harsh on both sides of the divide, as Roeg shows clearly by intercutting ironic parallels between them, and the tragic/ironic ending follows quite naturally from the lack of communication across that divide between the two adolescents. Yet the potential for joy and beauty also comes across, in moments all the more poignant because they are so fleeting.

In the commentary track (recorded in 1996), Roeg comments that the word "entertainment" has become debased in our culture, to the point where it now means "distraction". This film is disturbing, but certainly not distracting. It's right on target.

The star rating is for the seller, BonnieScotland, not the movie.

I love this movie and have wanted a copy for years. I finally ordered, but am very disappointed. I purchased this DVD on Amazon Canada from BonnieScotland. The DVD will not play in Canada and US. I was in contact with BonnieScotland regarding this and although they claimed that this is mentioned on the Amazon site, it isn't. They offered to refund my money if I returned the item, but the return would be more than my refund. I will take the loss.

Be wary.

Walkabout is introduced in the film as an important period in the life of an Aborigine. A time at the age of sixteen or so that the man-child must survive in the bush by himself for six months. If he survives he is a man, if not...well he really isn't anything because he's probably dead. Going into the film my understanding of Walkabout was sort of a break from white society into the traditional Aboriginal lifestyle for a period of time. The other use of Walkabout that I have heard is in reference to a British Monarch or some higher level of person walking around greeting folks in the public. Director Nicholas Roeg seems to understand the various uses of this word as well and ties them in with the maturation of the film's core characters. The parallels make for some very exciting social commentary and the film subtly layers itself and it's characters further and further. For that, Roeg's film in perspective can be seen as two very different kinds of films and split it's audience enormously. One crowd may say that Walkabout is extremely slow and boring while the other crowd will hail the film as a fantastic artistic achievement. Understandably so for both sides I suppose, but I do count myself among the latter group.

Walkabout follows two young English kids, one a fourteen-year-old girl and the other a six-year-old boy (I think) as they are abandoned in the middle of the vast Australian outback. The abandonment itself is quite perplexing and I was fairly confused as to how it was handled, but you'll see that addressing those unanswered questions is not what Roeg's film sets out to do at all. Placing these children's survival in the arms of a 16 year old aborigine during his Walkabout is the stage that needs to be set to allow for some far more interesting questions that the audience can ask themselves about how we are all living. To paraphrase Lucas Haas in Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks", I wish we could all just live in Tee-pees...it would be better that way. Who doesn't wield an idealistic anarcho-primitivist message deep in their hearts? It also makes some outstanding observations on maturing into manhood and womanhood. Anyway, let those inquiries enter your brain how you like, but know that this is a smart film that calls for some patience in exchange for it's great rewards. I'm getting a little fuzzy here and I really don't want to urge my own observations on you.

There are aspects besides its pace that will turn some viewers away. Firstly, the violence against animals is real and pretty hard, so PETA activists beware. Secondly, it was PG when it came out but the nudity shown here from Agutter is actually too graphic for R ratings today. Thirdly; again, this film is not exactly box office gold with its lower budget and slower pace, so if you find yourself unable to sit through films that don't contain explosions or CGI then you should pass as well.

In a simple concluding scene that hits hard for me, the girl is now older and married, and she remembers back to when she didn't understand the things she knows now. It's a simple, melancholy and I believe universal feeling that's part of growing up. Perhaps she loved the aboriginal boy that saved her life and she couldn't understand his advances as a child. Perhaps she would now be willing to cross into that culture as she sees the truth now. Then again, maybe she was just reflecting on what is no doubt a very unique and significant experience to her. Something those who surround her in adulthood could never fully understand. It's a wonderful film and Roeg pulls no punches to give us everything he has and everything he intends to show us.

Many celebrate Walkabout for it's cinematography, and deservably so as its among the most beautifully shot films of it's time...but it's a lot more than that. Walkabout is sad, compelling and thoughtful. I'm glad to see Criterion recognize it with this DVD.

This is an interesting film and one of the more unusual mainstream films I have seen. Despite the full frontal nudity (obviously non-sexual nudity) It is an overall good film.

A young woman and her little brother are abandoned in the Australian outback by their father who has committed suicide. The two encounter an young aborigine man who is on 'walkabout' a ritual where individuals are sent out to see if they can survive on their own. He eventually leads them back to a populated area.

The original music score by John Barry is superb and sounds very similar to the music he did in the earlier James Bond films.

The Criterion collection DVD has an excellent audio commentary by director Nick Roeg and leading actress Jenny Agutter who was in the film. Jenny Agutter is also well known for her role in the film Logan's Run. This movie

Walkabout is simply one of the best films ever made. The photography and editing are exceptional. The sound editing is better than in any other film I have seen.
However I disagree with SOME of the reviews which seem to indicate that the film is some kind of hymn of praise direted towards the primitive aboriginals and a condemnation of modern society. Roeg seems to be saying there are problems in both. After all, both the girl's father and the aborigine kill themselves, though more criticism is naturally reserved for civilization. There is plenty of animal killing here, but except for the white hunters, it is done for food so I don't see what the problem is. People who buy food from supermarkets really just want to mentaly distance themseselves from the foodchain process.
Still, the story, the scenery, the acting, and the direction make this a movie not to miss. The failed courtship scenes before the second suicide are some of the best sequences on film.

A very unusual film for its time, Walkabout combines many themes in what is ostensibly a tale of survival in the Australian outback. I suppose it was a bit too racy for American audiences as Roeg focuses lovingly on a young nubile Jenny Augutter but that would be missing the point of this movie which contrasts the sterile life of a young British girl and boy with an Aborigine man-child.

The film depicts the initial bleakness of the Australian desert which the two children find themselves thrust into after the father mysteriously chooses to commit suicide, but eventually shows the immense diversity of the outback as the young Aborigine leads the lost children back to civilization. Roeg uses a variety of cinematic techniques to paste together his poetic vision, ultimately developing the sexual tension between Agutter and the Aborigine, culminating in a fateful courting ritual which Agutter appears oblivious too. However, the star of the movie is the little boy, Luc Roeg, who forms a very special bond with the Aborigine.

The film may be too much to handle for small children, but it is ideal for teenagers, as it will give them a very different experience from the run-of-the-mill teen movies that proliferate in the video stores. Don't fret over the R rating, as the nudity is fleeting and treated in a very respectful way. In Britain, the rating is 12 for young teenagers.

If you regard nature as a transcendant realm that clearly trumps the fragmented, modern world, this film will move you. Visually, it is sumptuous, floating from normal perspectives of the three main characters, to extreme closeups of all manner of crawling creatures, to surrealistically vast panoramas, to jaw-dropping telephotos of sun rises. The performance of the little boy is so good in this film, it seems almost impossible that he was acting. The fluid athleticism of the aborigine also seemed to be entirely unscripted. The musical score itself is one of the most beautiful I have ever heard. There is, however, one significant deficiency with this DVD (Walkabout - Criterion Collection): the quality of the sound itself is poor. This is not too noticeable with environmental sounds, but if you are a purist regarding sound quality, this shortcoming becomes very noticeable with some of the dialogue, and especially with the music. The poor sound quality is perhaps most noticeable with the blended music and narration of the profoundly moving poem at the end of the film. I've seen this film in the theatre several times since it first came out in the early 1970's and the sound quality in that pre-DVD venue and format was, ironically, clearly superior to the sound quality of the DVD.

My life has been unusual. I recommend this film for anyone who has been through an experience that they cannot fully (even if they want to) share with other people.
I thought that the last scene of the girl now grown up and washing dishes, was a perfect contrast to her life on the walkabout. Obviously, it struck a chord.

If it is hard for you to picture the 1970s with 21st century hindsight, watch this movie. An Australian white teenage girl and her younger brother who find themselves lost in the desert are eventually saved by an Aboriginal youth who is journeying through the outback as part of his ritualistic passage to manhood. The film abounds with simplistic clichés of gender roles, primitive innocence, the clash of modern urban civilization with so-called traditional cultures, and pseudo nostalgic yearnings for a simpler existence. In the end, the trek through the harsh outback becomes reduced to little more than a vigorous summer vacation. None of this undermines this movie as a worthwhile period piece, but if you have not seen it before, it might strike you as quaintly dated. We meet David Gulpilil in his youth - he is the same aboriginal actor who stars as an aging Aboriginal tracker in the more recent 2003 Australian movie Rabbit Proof Fence (another movie I have also reviewed on this website).

Wow- What a movie! After having viewed this film several times, I have come to the conclusion that it's probably one of the best films ever- I am a bit biased, though, because I'm a certifiable sucker for art that deals with the limitations of civilization when confronted with something more powerful (i.e. nature)- At any rate, I decided this was such a great movie when, five days after first seeing the movie, I was still thinking about some of the scenes, specifically the scene near the end w/ Agutter and the aborigine- Unlike some people I know, I don't find the film to be overwhelmingly pessimistic- I think the scenes in the middle, with the three of them swimming and whatnot, are really what the film is about: finding transcendence, and that the possibility of that still exists- One of my favorite aspects of "Walkabout" is that, in my opinion, it doesn't pander or overexplain, although it goes a little heavy on the ferocious greatness of nature shots, almost to the point of being didactic- But, thankfully, after finishing the film, I did not feel like I had been preached to for an hour and a half, as I did with some other supposedly "great" movies I've watched