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Kodak/Atlab Cinema Collection

The Night The Prowler (1979)

A new 35mm print of this feature is now available on request. Courtesy of the New South Wales Film and Television Office and Kodak (Australasia) P/L and Atlab Australia

National Film and Sound Archive National Collection
Title Number 7566.

Classification: M rating

Synopsis

A tragi-comedy focuses on the hysterical reactions of oppressive mother, Doris Bannister, over the alleged sexual attack on her daughter, plain and overweight, Felicity. The Night The Prowler, is about the dark side of suburban middle-class urban culture and family relations. Based on a short story by Patrick White, Jim Sharman's film version brings to the surface some of the darkest recesses of suburban family life. The film shifts from the comic to the serious and at other times a thriller.

Background

This film has not been viewed by audiences for almost 20 years due to a copyright embargo which has now been resolved. The production designer, Luciana Arrighi, went on to win for Best Art Direction at the Academy Awards in 1992 for Howards End and was nominated for an Oscar in 2000 for her work as Art Director on Anna and the King.

Preservation

The Night The Prowler was shot on 16mm and blown-up to 35mm for theatrical release. The National Film and Sound Archive held the 16mm original negatives and final mix but no blow-up negatives or prints were held. When the Kodak/Atlab project got underway, the producer, Anthony Buckley, had already been in search of the 35mm negatives that he had located in the United States.With assistance from the NSW Film and Television Office, these negatives were brought back to Australia and are now preserved at the Archive.The blow-up image negative was used to strike the new print and the final mix was used to remaster the soundtrack to Dolby SR Digital.

Renowned Atlab colour grader, Arthur Cambridge, now retired, graded The Night The Prowler when the film was first processed in 1978. He recalled the challenges of grading a film that required such a diverse colour range to achieve the film's theatrical look.He pushed the colour to extremes to lend itself to the dark yet comic mood of the story. Rich blues of cool cyan predominate the night scenes while the brighter scale and lush reds were used in party scenes. When Arthur regraded the film in 2001 he was able to remember all the colour requirements for each scene!

Director
Jim Sharman

Year of Production 1978
Duration 90 minutes
Format 35mm blow-up, Colour
Optical Soundtrack Mono, remastered to Dolby^® Digital

Distributor
Australian Film Institute (AFI)

Producer
Anthony Buckley

Screenplay
Patrick White

Director of Photography
David Sanderson

Production Design
Luciana Arrighi

Editor
Sara Bennett

Sound Recordist
Don Connolly

Composer
Cameron Allan

Cast
Ruth Cracknell (Doris Bannister)
John Frawley (Humphrey Bannister)
Kerry Walker (Felicity Bannister)
John Derum (John Galbraith)
Maggie Kirkpatrick (Madge Hopkirk)
Terry Camilleri (Prowler)

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