Fortress

Director: Arch Nicholson Arch Nicholson

Overview

In an Australian outback town so small that children of all ages share a single classroom, teacher Sally (Rachel Ward) suffers the typical frustrations of life in the provinces. She really finds something to fret about when a gang of gun-toting, mask-wearing criminals kidnaps her and the students and drives them to the remote wilderness. With the kids' safety, perhaps survival, in the balance, Sally must appease the lewdly suggestive bandits while scheming for a way to escape their clutches. After several abortive attempts result in multiple deaths, she and the oldest children manage to usher the young ones to at least provisional safety. Free but stranded in a mountain hideaway, the class must band together to survive and perhaps turn the tables on the men who continue to hunt them.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/16/2013
UPC:	0883316769997
Original Release:	1985
Rating:	NR
Source:	Hbo Archives
Language:	English
Sales rank:	32,250

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Rachel Ward	Sally Jones
Rebecca Rigg	Narelle
Marc Gray	Tommy
Asher Keddie	Sue
Anna Crawford	Sarah
Peter Hehir	Father Christmas
Vernon Wells	Dabby Duck
Sean Garlick	Sid
Elaine Cusick	Mrs. O'Brien
Beth Buchanan	Leanne
Robin Mason	Derek
David Bradshaw	Pussy Cat
Wendy Playfair	Old Woman
Nick Waters	Det. Sgt. Cotter
Terence Donovan	Det. Sgt. Mitchell
Ray Chubb	Publican
Laurie Moran	Mr. O'Brien
Bradley Meehan	Richard
Richard Terrill	Toby
Roger Stephen	Mac the Mouse
Ed Turley	Old Man
Danny Beckerman	Composer

Technical Credits

Everett De Roche

Arch Nicholson	Director
Raymond Menmuir	Producer
Hector Crawford	Executive Producer
Ian Crawford	Executive Producer
Terry Stapleton	Executive Producer
Everett De Roche	Screenwriter
Brian Pearce	Special Effects
Mike Woolveridge	Sound Editor
Fiona Strain	Sound Editor

Editorial Reviews

A crackerjack script, a surfeit of ambience, David Connell's terrific on-location cinematography, and the exceptional lead performance of Thorn Birds star Rachel Ward elevate this down-under kidnap drama far above most other mid-'80s made-for-cable fare. Director Arch Nicholson and screenwriter Everett de Roche, who had previously worked together on the cheeky horror flick Razorback, get lots of little details right in this tale of schoolchildren and their teacher held for ransom in the Australian outback. For one thing, the plot remains admirably easy to follow despite hairpin twists and unfamiliar locales. The interaction between the kidnappers -- whose freakish disguises, such as the leader's Father Christmas mask, are truly disturbing -- subtly drives home the pins-and-needles power dynamics that can make or break a crime. The child actors, meanwhile, portray the toddler-to-teenaged students with a nice mixture of uncomfortable petulance and bruised terror. It's Ward, though, who makes the picture, one minute managing bathroom breaks in the criminals' hideout, the next masterminding escape attempts as crafty as they are nail-biting. If the final showdown between the children and their attackers recalls Lord of the Flies in both its savagery and its pointed commentary, well, Fortress raises issues of social breakdown and tribal mentality just as viscerally as that well-worn classic. In short, this is a B-movie scenario with A-list execution.

All Movie Guide - Brian J. Dillard