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Australian boardies: Picnic at Hanging Rock


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I finished the book yesterday, read the 18th chapter, then rented Picnic at Hanging Rock on Amazon video ... and missed the scene with the swan on the bed?! (there is only one version so far, right? Peter Weir's?) I only realized during the movie that Albert and Sara were long lost siblings who never learned of one another's proximity which seemed most tragic in light of how the events turned for Sara vs Albert (in the book since Albert's part didn't make it into the movie). Totally missed that in the book. I confess that while the book was a page turner, I actually wasn't disappointed by the parts omitted or changed in the movie to condense the story as the movie felt really long and it didn't leave the same sense of eeriness with me that it did as a child. I guess it was all the details of the individual stories and reactions to the events that can't be (or wasn't) conveyed as well on screen that made the book so interesting. I feel conflicted about that lack in the movie when, as I mentioned, I also felt okay with what was skipped so that the movie wasn't longer than it already was. Maybe because even what was there just didn't measure up for me in comparison to reading the book? Maybe I just ruined the whole movie for myself by reading the book!  :sleep:

Edited by SGPS
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I used to live near Hanging Rock...but I'm in NSW now. I have the book somewhere but don't remember actually ever reading it. I should dig it out..

 

PS: And we had the fire lit for the first time last night. It sure is better than the 48C that we had during the summer :).

Edited by LindaOz
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Is it Hanging Rock in NSW, or is it in Victoria? I'm only 5hrs from the NSW one.

 

We had to do it at school, and I remember reading the 'secret ending' - I think it was published that year. There is a good reason they didn't publish it (at the time). The movie is famous but I don't remember the book being a great classic. It's a long time ago though.

 

Looking for Alibrandi, though, now that's a classic! It'd be so dated now with the internet and mobile phones. I love Melina Marchetta though. Definitely didn't do it at school, but I do remember being at Uni with her little sister, who was also training to be an English teacher (Melina Marchetta was/is? a high school teacher). 

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I finished the book yesterday, read the 18th chapter, then rented Picnic at Hanging Rock on Amazon video ... and missed the scene with the swan on the bed?! (there is only one version so far, right? Peter Weir's?) I only realized during the movie that Albert and Sara were long lost siblings who never learned of one another's proximity which seemed most tragic in light of how the events turned for Sara vs Albert (in the book since Albert's part didn't make it into the movie). Totally missed that in the book. I confess that while the book was a page turner, I actually wasn't disappointed by the parts omitted or changed in the movie to condense the story as the movie felt really long and it didn't leave the same sense of eeriness with me that it did as a child. I guess it was all the details of the individual stories and reactions to the events that can't be (or wasn't) conveyed as well on screen that made the book so interesting. I feel conflicted about that lack in the movie when, as I mentioned, I also felt okay with what was skipped so that the movie wasn't longer than it already was. Maybe because even what was there just didn't measure up for me in comparison to reading the book? Maybe I just ruined the whole movie for myself by reading the book! :sleep:

I could have written that word for word. (Except I did see the swan on the bed because my son and I burst into laughter when we saw it.)

 

The movie was a smidge over an hour and a half long, but it lasted for.ev.er. I almost turned it off because we were getting so bored. We forced ourselves to watch it and played on our ipads during the second half from time to time to make it through. I think with better editing, they could have told the story in a way that wasn't boring and added another half hour (like most movies have) to put in the good stuff from the book. As the movie was done, it was boring as all get-out.

 

That part where Michael is swimming on the rocks--where he's lying down and flailing around and making swimming motions For No Good Reason also made us burst into laughter. We looked at each other like, "Whaaa....?"and then started giggling.

Edited by Garga
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I live in the region. The parts that are boring to you are very rich to me. :) They help recreate the familiar feeling of the heat, the boredom and the smell of the bush. 

 

The only thing wrong with the movie *for me* is the white swans. Why are the swans white? !!

 

When I arrived in Sydney in college and was walking around a park or botanic gardens there, I stopped by a pond. Two swans appeared. I was gobsmacked, "Black swans! Why are the swans black?"

 

Later I would say, "Why are the ants green?"

 

And "Why are the crows black and white?" (Um, because they were magpies...)

 

I was like a toddler on her first trip to the zoo.

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Unfortunately, I'm the furthest flung. I think we established there's only one other boardie in QLD, quite close to me actually but she doesn't post often.

 

I'm a QLDer too (a Gold Coast QLDer).  I read the boards a lot, but I don't often pipe up.  You guys are far more entertaining.  So I chuckle along as I read.

 

Count me out for a trip to Hanging Rock though.  Too cold for a QLDer at this time of year.  Plus an almost 18 hour drive down the Newell Highway (with tolls apparently!).

 

Do you seriously have to pay to visit Hanging Rock?  What a rort! 

 

Well, you've all inspired me to pull out the book and dust it off for a reread.  :)

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I'm a QLDer too (a Gold Coast QLDer).  I read the boards a lot, but I don't often pipe up.  You guys are far more entertaining.  So I chuckle along as I read.

 

Count me out for a trip to Hanging Rock though.  Too cold for a QLDer at this time of year.  Plus an almost 18 hour drive down the Newell Highway (with tolls apparently!).

 

Do you seriously have to pay to visit Hanging Rock?  What a rort! 

 

Well, you've all inspired me to pull out the book and dust it off for a reread.  :)

 

What? Tolls on the Newell? :svengo:

 

Yeah, you have to pay to visit Hanging Rock. I guess it pays for the maintenance.

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