WE OF THE NEVER NEVER (1982)
Label: Twilight Time
Region Code: A
Rating: G
Duration: 133 Minutes
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1)
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Igor Auzins
Cast: Arthur Dignam, Martin Vaughan, John Jarratt, Tony Barry, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Angela Punch McGregor
We of the Never Never (1982) is an adaptation of the well-loved Australian novel of the same name, a lush period drama set in 1902-era Australia and based on true events as chronicled by author Jeannie Gunn. It tells the story of an upper crust woman, Jeannie (Angela Punch McGregor, The Survivor), who marries a kind school teacher named Aeneas (Arthur Dignam, Strange Behavior) who has just purchased a million acre cattle station in the remote Outback of Northern Australia. It's an arduous weeks long journey by horse to her new home, traveling by horse wagon the trip is fought with danger, including a raging river crossing during the early rainy season. The men of the cattle station are not impressed by their new station master, a former teacher they assume knows nothing of cattle, who has brought along his wife along, of which they are of the mindset that women have no place in the outback.
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Igor Auzins
Cast: Arthur Dignam, Martin Vaughan, John Jarratt, Tony Barry, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Angela Punch McGregor
We of the Never Never (1982) is an adaptation of the well-loved Australian novel of the same name, a lush period drama set in 1902-era Australia and based on true events as chronicled by author Jeannie Gunn. It tells the story of an upper crust woman, Jeannie (Angela Punch McGregor, The Survivor), who marries a kind school teacher named Aeneas (Arthur Dignam, Strange Behavior) who has just purchased a million acre cattle station in the remote Outback of Northern Australia. It's an arduous weeks long journey by horse to her new home, traveling by horse wagon the trip is fought with danger, including a raging river crossing during the early rainy season. The men of the cattle station are not impressed by their new station master, a former teacher they assume knows nothing of cattle, who has brought along his wife along, of which they are of the mindset that women have no place in the outback.
The transition is difficult for Jeannie, the men are dismissive
of her, and while her husband loves her dearly, she feels he sides with the men more than with her on a variety of subjects. She is also offended by the treatment of the Aboriginal people who work on the ranch in exchange for food and tobacco, with the men often calling them lazy while treating them poorly. She is equally offended by the misogynist treatment of the aboriginal women by their husbands, her own feelings of isolation and disenfranchisement bonding her to them as somewhat kindred spirits.
of her, and while her husband loves her dearly, she feels he sides with the men more than with her on a variety of subjects. She is also offended by the treatment of the Aboriginal people who work on the ranch in exchange for food and tobacco, with the men often calling them lazy while treating them poorly. She is equally offended by the misogynist treatment of the aboriginal women by their husbands, her own feelings of isolation and disenfranchisement bonding her to them as somewhat kindred spirits.
Over time Aeneas earns the begrudging respect of his men, including the crusty Dan (Martin Vaughan, Picnic At Hanging Rock), and young bucks Dandy (John Jarratt, Next of Kin) and Jack (Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Pitch Black), but their feelings about having a woman about the ranch are harder to reconcile. Feeling more and more alone Jeannie works on making their dilapidated ranch house a home, while growing closer to the Aboriginal women, sparring with a ill-willed Chinese cook, and semi-adopting a mixed race aboriginal girl named Bett-Bett (Sibina Willy), against the wishes of her husband.
It's quite a lovely film with lush cinematography by the late Gary Hansen (Next of Kin) who dies afger this film in a helicopter crash, which captures the rugged Northern Territory in all it's rough-hewn glory, the lensing of the film is beautiful with a few cattle and horse wrangling scenes that look like a dusty dreamscapes with a low-hanging sun giving them an otherworldly feel. At it's heart this is a love story and it's a story of the pioneering Australians and their interactions with the indigenous people, with the Anglo's troubling views of the aboriginals as third-class citizens who they are happy to exploit, which is offset by Jeannie's respect and non-condescending interaction with them, but never bleeding into being too saccharine, but also sort of glossing over the uglier truths of racism. The aboriginal people are colorful and interesting, particularly the village elder Goggle Eye (Donald Blitner) and the aboriginal woman Rosie (Mawuyul Yanthalawuy) whom Jeannie attempts to protect from her abusive husband, developing a friendship. The white ranch hands are certainly portrayed as prejudiced and unkind towards Jeannie, as well as the indigenous people, which is appropriate for the era, but they're not depicted as straight-up evil fellas, which is part of the glossy nature of the film. There's various shades of ignorance seen throughout, and some of the men experience small breakthroughs beyond their own ignorance, but it's nothing miraculous.
The film is well-crafted and and looks stunning, the tale of a prim woman of society experiencing and observing sexism against herself and the ugly racism against the indigenous people, wrapped up in a rugged period love story, is a spellbinding watch. It's a bit sprawling in length and construction as well, but the acting is top-notch and the gorgeous yet harsh setting in the Outback make this a true gem of Australian cinema.
Audio/Video: We of the Never Never (1982) arrives on Blu-ray from Twilight Time in 1080p HD and framed in 2.39:1 widescreen with a new 4K scan and restoration. It looks pretty great, with lush cinematography and warm colors, and good depth and clarity. The source is in great shape as well with natural looking film grain throughout, truly a eye-catching and picturesque work of cinema-art.
Audio comes by way of English LPCM 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is clean and well placed in the mix, and the lush score from Peter Best (The Adventures of Barry McKenzie) sounds fantastic. It's definitely a score that made me wish the new SAE operated incarnation of Twilight Time had carried on the tradition of featuring uncompressed isolated scores.
As for extras, we get a few, the first is the 26-minute Back to the Never Never featurette with interviews from Co-Stars Angela Punch McGregor and Arthur Dignam, Director Igor Auzins, Co-Producer John B. Murray and Composer Peter Best. They cover the pre-production, financing, casting and experiences on set and the challenges of making the film in the Northern Territory of Australia. We also get a 4-minute Behind-the-Scenes Stills Gallery and the 4-minute Original Theatrical Trailer.
The release arrives in a standard Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of artwork featuring an image on the other side, but it's not a reversible sleeve . Inside there's a 12-page illustrated booklet with new writing on the film from Mike Finnegan that gets into the literary origins of the story, the cast, the themes of the film and the attitudes towards indigenous people depicted, as well as the career of the director and fate of the cinematographer,
Special Features:
- Back to the Never Never Interview Featurette with Co-Stars Angela Punch McGregor and Arthur Dignam, Director Igor Auzins, Co-Producer John B. Murray and Composer Peter Best (26 min) HD
- Behind-the-Scenes Stills Gallery (4 min) HD
- Original Theatrical Trailer (4 min) HD
- Back to the Never Never Interview Featurette with Co-Stars Angela Punch McGregor and Arthur Dignam, Director Igor Auzins, Co-Producer John B. Murray and Composer Peter Best (26 min) HD
- Behind-the-Scenes Stills Gallery (4 min) HD
- Original Theatrical Trailer (4 min) HD
We of the Never Never (1982) is quite a gem, and not something that was ever on my radar before Twilight Time announced their Blu-ray release. A wonderfully sprawling and engaging drama set in the rugged outback that explores the misogyny and racism of the era, even if it's a bit glossy in that respect. The film gets a solid limited edition Blu-ray release from Twilight Time with a some good extras and a handsome presentation of the film.
Screenshots from the Twilight Time Blu-ray:
