When Peter Weir was filming his 1975 masterwork Picnic at Hanging Rock, the artist Martin Sharp played an important role on the set as artistic adviser. After the shoot, he kept a collection of 35mm trims and outtakes, not included in either the original 1975 edit or the 1988 director’s cut, which he later donated to the National Film and Sound Archive. Soundless, fragmentary, the outtakes act as a dream-like augmentation to the hypnotic beauty of Weir’s film, and give insights into the processes and preoccupations of the filmmakers. 

In these outtakes, we see fragments of an alternative ending. In the finished film, Weir ends with a close-up of Mrs Appleyard’s face, and we learn in a voice-over of her death at Hanging Rock. In this clip, we see her stumbling up the Rock.  

Her ascent is the dark counterpart of the schoolgirls’ climb. Dishevelled by her struggle through the undergrowth, she is smothered by her dark clothes where they moved lightly in their white muslins, and she moves against grey cloud rather than idyllic golden light. But like them, she circles the boulder; like them, she falls into a mysterious sleep. Sarah, whom she had cruelly oppressed before the girl fell to her death from the roof of Appleyard Hall, is waiting in white at the top of the Rock.    

Despite the power in this final confrontation on the Rock, Weir stands by his decision to cut it. ‘I can see in my mind that final close-up of the headmistress, and recall the feeling I had in the cutting room 50 years ago: “This is the ending of the film.” So much conveyed by Rachel Roberts; so much meaning in that shot. With all the advances in technique over the decades, the close-up remains the greatest single discovery, especially to see the eyes of the subject on a large screen – “the windows to the soul”.’  

In our interview with Peter Weir, the director remembers the ‘strange, beautiful and haunting’ world of the film, and talks about how he shaped it.

With special thanks to Peter and Ingrid Weir.   

When Peter Weir was filming his 1975 masterwork Picnic at Hanging Rock, the artist Martin Sharp played an important role on the set as artistic adviser. After the shoot, he kept a collection of 35mm trims and outtakes, not included in either the original 1975 edit or the 1988 director’s cut, which he later donated to the National Film and Sound Archive. Soundless, fragmentary, the outtakes act as a dream-like augmentation to the hypnotic beauty of Weir’s film, and give insights into the processes and preoccupations of the filmmakers. 

This selection of outtakes centres on the formal symmetries of Appleyard College (shot at South Australia’s Martindale Hall), and shows Michael looking longingly towards it after Miranda’s disappearance; Miranda gathering flowers in the early morning; Sarah as a lone, lonely figure in the garden and on the parapets; Rosamund meditatively playing the piano; and Miranda framed by floating lace in a window. There are also glimpses of the crew at work – scaling the flagpole, tugging open a sash window.  

Sharp, who had a deep knowledge of and fascination with the Joan Lindsay novel from which Weir’s film was drawn, worked to embed layers of meaning into the College sets. Weir says, ‘He had no specific role but ended up with the art department, collecting various props, like small personal items for the girls and the headmistress. These were more often than not specific to the individual, and they loved his choices. He brought a special magic to the shoot.’ 

In our interview with Peter Weir, the director remembers the ‘strange, beautiful and haunting’ world of the film, and talks about how he shaped it.

With special thanks to Peter and Ingrid Weir.   
 

When Peter Weir was filming his 1975 masterwork Picnic at Hanging Rock, the artist Martin Sharp played an important role on the set as artistic adviser. After the shoot, he kept a collection of 35mm trims and outtakes, not included in either the original 1975 edit or the 1988 director’s cut, which he later donated to the National Film and Sound Archive. Soundless, fragmentary, the outtakes act as a dream-like augmentation to the hypnotic beauty of Weir’s film, and give insights into the processes and preoccupations of the filmmakers. 

Weir says that to Sharp, the outtakes were ‘significant, even magical. This was consistent with his concept, as an artist, of the whole experience. Just as the book held hidden meanings, so did the shards of film.’  

This series of outtakes focuses on the four schoolgirls, showing their slow, tranced climb through the crevices of the Rock; the circle they make around a boulder, echoing a child’s game or witches’ ritual; Irma playfully hiding in a hollow of the Rock; a white swan, which is associated with Miranda; and Miranda herself, looking back over her shoulder in the gardens of Appleyard College. Her whimsical pose echoes Mademoiselle de Poitiers’ last sight of her, in the lyrical afternoon light, at which she exclaims, ‘Miranda is a Botticelli angel’ – but here the angel seems half-swallowed by the dark.   

In our interview with Peter Weir, the director remembers the ‘strange, beautiful and haunting’ world of the film, and talks about how he shaped it.

With special thanks to Peter and Ingrid Weir.   

The original Picnic at Hanging Rock trailer which screened ahead of the film’s Australian cinema release in August 1975. It features narration by Sydney radio presenter John Laws.

Viewers are advised that this trailer contains language that may cause offence, and should be viewed in its historical context.

On Valentine's Day 1900, a party of schoolgirls went on a picnic to Hanging Rock. Some were never to return... 

Read an interview with Peter Weir in which the director remembers the ‘strange, beautiful and haunting’ world of the film, and talks about how he shaped it.

Anne Louise Lambert, who played Miranda in Picnic at Hanging Rock, provided the NFSA with the following notes on her costume: 'The daisy pattern in the lace trim of the dress was Miranda’s favourite flower. The butterfly-buckle was selected because like her, their lives are beautiful and brief.’

Judith Dorsman was the chief costume designer for Picnic. She was only 26 years old at the time the film was released and collaborated with Wendy Stiles (director Peter Weir’s wife, working under her maiden name) with assistance from Mandy Smith. 

Click 'View More' below to see a 360-degree view of the costume.

Helen Morse’s Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers, the French and Dancing mistress at Appleyard College, is a model of grace and elegance. She wears a high-throated Edwardian gown of cream silk, with a modest train. The bodice is decorated with a confection of lace, and the dress is perfectly matched at the picnic with parasol, straw boater and shoes.

Judith Dorsman was the chief costume designer for Picnic at Hanging Rock. She was only 26 years old at the time the film was released and collaborated with Wendy Stiles (director Peter Weir’s wife, working under her maiden name) with assistance from Mandy Smith. 

Helen Morse was nominated for Best Actress at the 1976 AFI Awards for her leading roles in Picnic at Hanging Rock and also Caddie, and won the award for the latter role. 

Click 'View More' below to see a 360-degree view of the costume.

There is no pretty summer dress for orphan Sara, played by Margaret Nelson, who is forbidden from attending the picnic in Picnic at Hanging Rock. 

Sara’s costumes are plain and her hairstyles severe. The starched pinafore covers a practical school uniform skirt and blouse. The ensemble conveys no sense of the wearer’s body shape and is without personal touches or decoration.

Judith Dorsman was the chief costume designer for Picnic. She was only 26 years old at the time the film was released and collaborated with Wendy Stiles (director Peter Weir’s wife, working under her maiden name) with assistance from Mandy Smith. 

Click 'View More' below to see a 360-degree view of the costume.

Anne Louise Lambert – who famously portrayed Miranda in Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975, Peter Weir) – reflects on the film’s lasting impact in this rare full-length Q&A, recorded at the National Film and Sound Archive in 2015. 

She speaks candidly about her experience filming with Peter Weir, returning to Hanging Rock years later, and how the haunting story of Miranda shaped her life and career.

Explore more behind-the-scenes footage and unseen material from Picnic at Hanging Rock

Actor Helen Morse interviewed by Margaret Leask in 2015.

Actor John Jarratt interviewed by Alec Morgan in 2013

Producer Pat Lovell interviewed by Martha Ansara in 1993

Director of Photography Russell Boyd interviewed by Martha Ansara in 1978

Composer Bruce Smeaton talks candidly about his musical contribution to Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975).

At the time of this interview with Peter Beilby and Ivan Hutchinson in 1974–75, Smeaton was in the process of composing what would become the 'Ascent Music' in the film.

This version of the 'Ascent Music’ was recorded by Roger Woodward in 1996 and originally composed by Bruce Smeaton for Picnic at Hanging Rock.

The contours of the ascending melodic minor motif (embellished by arpeggiated figures) is mirrored through each successive harmony, providing the music with direction and unity.

According to Smeaton, the music was composed to help bridge the gap between the film’s use of the Romanian panpipes and its European classical music – such as Bach and Mozart.

The ascending music also correlates with the film’s imagery and themes – namely, the girls' ascension of the rock, some of them never to return.

Screenwriter Cliff Green interviewed by Ina Bertrand in 2007

Actor Helen Morse interviewed by Margaret Leask in 2015

1974 telegram with Harold Pinter’s reaction to the script.

Architectural sketch for Lake View boathouse and garden party marquee.

Picnic at Hanging Rock architectural sketch for Appleyard College glasshouse, in which Sara's body is found.

BEF (Film Distributors) press release dated 13 January 1975 announcing imminent production of 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', p 1. 

Printed card announcing that shooting of 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' has commenced.

Prop 'Missing' poster on noticeboard. 

Script changes: the original ending with Mrs Appleyard at Hanging Rock.

View outtakes of the original ending with overlay of the script by Cliff Green, based on the novel by Joan Lindsay.

Since 1975, audiences have pondered the ending of Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock, trying to make sense of its unresolved mystery – which is only deepened by Weir's original ending. 

The artist Martin Sharp, who served as artistic adviser on the shoot, saved footage from this scene and donated it to the National Film and Sound Archive. Here, we’ve overlaid these outtakes with the scene as written in Cliff Green’s original script. In the finished film, Weir ends with a close-up of Mrs Appleyard’s face, and we learn in voice-over of her death at Hanging Rock. 

In the alternate ending, we see the character’s final trajectory: after the death of Sara – a student she had cruelly oppressed – Mrs Appleyard gravitates to the Rock. Struggling in her heavy mourning clothes, she climbs the same path taken by the vanished girls. Cliff Green’s script describes her progress: ‘an exhausted, half-mad old woman, as far away from the study and the drawing-room as it is possible to be.’ At the summit she encounters Sara, dressed in mystical white against the crags of the Rock, savouring her power over the broken headmistress. The script also extends the voice-over, detailing the fate of Appleyard College and the discovery of a last clue.

Read Peter Weir’s thoughts on the original ending

With special thanks to Peter and Ingrid Weir.

Night shoot on the steps of Martindale Hall (location for Appleyard College).

Director Peter Weir stands to the right of the camera.

Production call sheet for Day 10 including Hanging Rock and unused police station scene.

The main street of Woodend, Victoria as recreated in Picnic at Hanging Rock. Mr Hussey drives the schoolgirls to Hanging Rock. 

The actual location is Albyn Terrace, Strathalbyn, South Australia.

Prop sketches: 'Woodend' set dressing in Picnic at Hanging Rock.

A trailer for Picnic at Hanging Rock (Peter Weir, 1975) that may have screened with a re-release of the film in Australian cinemas in 1989.

On Valentine's Day 1900, a party of schoolgirls went on a picnic to Hanging Rock. Some were never to return... 

Read an interview with Peter Weir in which the director remembers the ‘strange, beautiful and haunting’ world of the film, and talks about how he shaped it.

Some of the most distinctive examples of Australian film music are the panpipe pieces by the Romanian folk musician Gheorghe Zamfir in Picnic at Hanging Rock. In this clip, we encounter the central theme – ‘Doïna: Lui Petru Unc’ – accompanying imagery of the rock and the schoolgirls, led by Miranda (Anne Lambert).

The delicate, ethereal and intensely ominous qualities of the music – including the meandering pipes and sustained chords of the organ – highlight the mysterious and ancient nature of the stone formation and the alluring power it has over those who come into contact with it.

As stated by director Peter Weir, the music’s pagan qualities tapped into the great unknown of the country at the time the story was set – and provided a contrast to other themes in the film, such as European notions and concepts of time, culture, cultivation and civilisation.

According to a 2013 poll by the ABC, the score for Picnic at Hanging Rock was ranked 12th in a list of the 100 best film scores of all time. It is strange that this music works so well, given its dislocation from the narrative setting – a locational setting and period far removed from Romania.

Marion (Jane Vallis) tries to make sense of her changed perspective, as she looks down on the sleeping picnickers. Miranda (Anne Lambert) leads the girls higher, to the foot of a series of strange monoliths, where all four girls lie down to sleep. Far below, Miss McCaw (Vivean Gray) senses that something is happening. When the girls awake, something has changed – the three friends walk through a crack in the rocks, as Edith (Christine Schuler) tries to stop them.

Summary by Paul Byrnes

On St Valentine’s Day 1900, three schoolgirls from an exclusive English-style boarding school go missing, along with a teacher, at Hanging Rock, in central Victoria.

In this clip, Michael Fitzhubert (Dominic Guard) has spent the night on Hanging Rock, looking for clues. When his servant Albert (John Jarratt) finds him the next day, he is exhausted and unable to speak. As he’s stretchered off the mountain, he hands Albert a tiny piece of a girl’s dress. Albert returns to the spot and finds missing schoolgirl Irma (Karen Robson).

Publicity kit, Cannes Film Festival 1976. 

In this clip, film critic and presenter Bill Collins reports from the 1976 Cannes Film Festival for a Channel 7 TV special called Australia in Cannes.

On the beach, Bill discovers director Peter Weir playing his part in a memorable stunt to promote Picnic at Hanging Rock. Jack Thompson is there, along with a picnic party of young women in white dresses.

The clip also includes director Fred Schepisi and cast members Nick Tate and Arthur Dignam talking about The Devil’s Playground.

Australian one-sheet poster.

This 1978 poster for the Polish release of Picnic at Hanging Rock (Piknik pod wiszacą skałą) has an ethereal quality that foreshadows the film's events.

The interpretation is folksy and bold. Danuta Bagińska-Andrejew captures the dreamlike mood of Peter Weir’s film. Rather than highlight the imminent dangers and eerie qualities of the Australian bushland, Miranda's portrait is rendered as a graceful, gothic vision. 

See more Polish Film Posters in the NFSA collection and read more about Polish film poster art.

Japanese one-sheet poster.

French one-sheet poster.

This 1992 Polish quad poster for Picnic at Hanging Rock (Piknik pod wiszacą skałą) is folksy and bold. 

Wiktor Sadowski captures the dreamlike mood of Peter Weir’s film. Rather than highlight the imminent dangers and eerie qualities of the Australian bushland, Miranda's portrait is rendered as a graceful, gothic vision. 

See more Polish Film Posters in the NFSA collection and read more about Polish film poster art.

One-sheet poster for German re-release, 1990.

Miranda (Anne Lambert) collects flowers in the gardens of Appleyard College, on St Valentine's Day morning.

Taken from a series of outtakes and rare footage from Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975, Peter Weir).

Miranda (Anne Lambert, centre, with magnifying glass) and other students at the picnic.

A production photograph of the picnic scene.

Appleyard College's senior girls: Irma Leopold (Karen Robson, left), Miranda (Anne Lambert, lying in foreground) and Marion Quade (Jane Vallis). 

Mlle Dianne de Poitiers (Helen Morse) with parasol.

L-R: Irma Leopold (Karen Robson), Miranda (Anne Lambert), Marion Quade (Jane Vallis) and Edith Horton (Christine Schuler) at Hanging Rock.

Miranda (Anne Lambert) looks up at Hanging Rock.

The girls encircle the rock. L-R: Irma Leopold (Karen Robson), Marion Quade (Jane Vallis), Miranda (Anne Lambert) and Edith Horton (Christine Schuler).

Miranda (Anne Lambert) unconscious at Hanging Rock.

Production shot of Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers (played by Helen Morse, left) and Sara Waybourne (Margaret Nelson).

Michael (Dominic Guard) is drawn to Appleyard College because of its association with Miranda.

Irma (Karen Robson) meets her rescuer, Albert Crundall (John Jarratt), for the first time.

A scene from the original release of Picnic at Hanging Rock, removed from the Director's Cut.

Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers (Helen Morse) and Minnie (Jacki Weaver) investigate Sara's room after her sudden departure from the Appleyard College.

Mrs Appleyard (Rachel Roberts) arrives at Hanging Rock in the film's original ending.

Taken from a series of outtakes and rare footage from Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975, Peter Weir).

Sara (Margaret Nelson) haunts Mrs Appleyard at Hanging Rock.

Detail from Australian lobby card showing Irma (Karen Robson) and Michael Fitzhubert (Dominic Guard) in a punt.

Peter Weir removed this scene entirely from Picnic at Hanging Rock for his Director's Cut of the film. 

Australian lobby card showing Dianne de Poitiers (played by Helen Morse, left) and Irma (Karen Robson) at the picnic.

Australian lobby card showing Mrs Appleyard (played by Rachel Roberts, left) and Sara (Margaret Nelson) in the schoolroom.

Australian lobby card showing Albert Crundall (John Jarratt, left) and Michael Fitzhubert (Dominic Guard).

Seal-shaped 'Sammy' award for Best Feature Film won by 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' in October 1976. The awards were presented by TV Times magazine on the Seven television network for the Variety Club of Australia. The 'Sammy Awards’ were so named for the seal that adorned the top of the statuette given to winners. The inscription reads: 'Australian TV and Film Awards 1976 - Best Feature Film - Picnic at Hanging Rock - Presented by TV Times for the Variety Club of Australia'.

Picnic also won the 1976 Sammy awards for Film Actress (Helen Morse), Direction (Peter Weir) and Art Direction (David Copping), and was named runner-up in Best Actor (Dominic Guard) and Actress (Rachel Roberts).

Notes by Stephen Groenewegen