In Peter Weir’s defining work of the Australian New Wave, a field trip to the Australian bush goes hypnotically awry. The students and staff of Mrs. Appleyard’s all-girls boarding school, suffering from the usual thinly veiled tensions and discontent, go away for the day to Hanging Rock. Then, the disappearance of four students completely shatters their psychological equilibrium. Eerie and ambiguous, Weir’s expert manipulation of the unearthly landscape is complemented by an equally haunting score.

Print courtesy of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.