By the 1990s , '' Wake in Fright '' had developed a cult reputation as Australia 's great " lost film " because its master negative had gone missing , resulting in censored prints of degraded quality being used for its few television broadcasts and VHS releases . After the original film and sound elements were rescued by editor Anthony Buckley in 2004 , the film was digitally remastered and given a 2009 re-release at Cannes and in Australian theatres to widespread acclaim ; it was issued commercially on DVD and Blu-ray later that year . Praised by critics for its direction and performances , '' Wake in Fright '' is now considered a pivotal film of the Australian New Wave and has earned a rare 100 % approval rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes
Cannes
2009 Cannes Film Festival
Wake in Fright