---SPOILER ALERT Also, Weir says that when he went to meet Joan Lindsey, the author, one question he was told not to ask her was whether the story was true. he asked anyway, and she said he should never ask again. So he never got an answer. Weir says that after the film was released, journalists did investigations into historical records, and could find no record of such an event. However, Weir says he believes that Lindsey did base the event some event that did happen and profoundly affect her. It was not exactly as in the book – and that's presumably why journalists found no record of it – but he believes that there was some sort of event where girls went missing on a school picnic that profoundly affected Lindsay.I never read the book, but – assuming the movie closely follows the book – I assume it is a true story because it's kinda weird how one girl, Irma, is found, but no trace is ever found of the others. If it was pure fiction, you would assume that there would be a solution to the mystery; barring that, you would assume that either all would be found or none would be found. Having one girl found – alive, but with no memory of what happened?! – and the others disappear without a trace seems kinda too strange for fiction. Also, Weir says that he thought viewers would be upset that there is no solution (as indeed many were) so that's why they came up with the idea of having that note in the beginning saying that there was a picnic and some of them disappeared without a trace, to let the viewer know right away, don't expect any solution. Personally, I wasn't expecting a solution – not only had I read the title card, but I think I had also read the plot synopsis on IMDB before seeing the movie – so this is the one instance where knowing what happens kinda helped. Cuz I think that if I had been expecting a solution but never gotten it, I would have also been disappointed. But knowing there would be no solution, tells you right away that this movie, though it may be called a Mystery, is not the sort of movie where the "What happens" matters.-----
someone posted on YouTube what he says was the original ending of Picnic at Hanging Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hChZEMQXFg
What I think (based on absolutely nothing) is that a traumatizing event happened. Nothing supernatural, just something regular but terrible, like a rape or something. The book would be a way for Lindsey to deal with her past in a metaphoric way.
What is the difference between this "original ending" and the one on Criterion BrD?
Yes i did watch the film a few days ago, but I recall the ending seemed very similar to the one in that YouTube clip. As i recall, the man walks into Mrs. Appleyard's office, sees her dressed in mourning clothes; we see Sara dead; then we hear the narrator telling us that Mrs. Appleyard was found dead at the rock, and the search for the missing girls continued unsuccessfully. What's the big difference between that and the ending in that YouTube clip?Btw, in the ending of the Criterion BRD, did Sara's guardian actually come to pick her up? Or did she run away?
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes - 8.5/10Excellent!
THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION OF PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK WILL HAVE SPOILER ALERTS. DON'T READ IT IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIESo the whole difference is that the original ending showed that "ghost of Sara" at the end?Anyway, whenever you see the images of the missing girls, you assume it's the ghost? Not that the living people searching for the missing girls are remembering them, seeing them in dreams, etc., or flashbacks for the viewer to remember them? This movie is as much about the effect the disappearances have on the lives of the living as the disappearances themselves.And btw, Weir says that the images of Miranda were so powerful, it was a shame to get rid of her so soon; that's why he came up with the idea of the flashbacks (or you might call it ghosts), so that we can continue to see those incredible images of Miranda.Anyway, yeah there are lots of interpretations/angles of this movie. Do you think Mrs. Appleyard has an infatuation with Sara? That the missing girls went off to have an orgy? That Mrs. Appleyard - heck, that the movie itself, is largely about sexual repression?
An interesting note about Zamfir - Weir says that when he approached Zamfir to score the movie, Zamfir wasn't interested, so instead, I think Weir took a piece of music Zamfir had already recorded, not sure if it was already released on record, and used it for the score.
Also, Weir says that when he went to meet Joan Lindsey, the author, one question he was told not to ask her was whether the story was true. he asked anyway, and she said he should never ask again. So he never got an answer. Weir says that after the film was released, journalists did investigations into historical records, and could find no record of such an event. However, Weir says he believes that Lindsey did base the event some event that did happen and profoundly affect her. It was not exactly as in the book – and that's presumably why journalists found no record of it – but he believes that there was some sort of event where girls went missing on a school picnic that profoundly affected Lindsay.
I never read the book, but – assuming the movie closely follows the book – I assume it is a true story because it's kinda weird how one girl, Irma, is found, but no trace is ever found of the others. If it was pure fiction, you would assume that there would be a solution to the mystery; barring that, you would assume that either all would be found or none would be found. Having one girl found – alive, but with no memory of what happened?! – and the others disappear without a trace seems kinda too strange for fiction.
Her guardian didn't pick her up. She died. It is strongly suggested SPOILER that Mrs. Appleyard killed her SPOILER END.
