Fortress (1985)

An Australian school teacher and her students are kidnapped. She and the children fight for their lives and try to escape from their captors.

Director:

Arch Nicholson

Writers:

Everett De Roche (screenplay), Gabrielle Lord (from the novel by)

Stars:

Sean Garlick, Rachel Ward, Elaine Cusick

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Garlick	...	Sid
Rachel Ward	...	Sally Jones
Elaine Cusick	...	Mrs. O'Brien
Laurie Moran	...	Mr. O'Brien
Marc Aden Gray	...	Tommy (as Marc Gray)
Ray Chubb	...	Publican
Bradley Meehan	...	Richard
Rebecca Rigg	...	Narelle
Beth Buchanan	...	Leanne
Asher Keddie	...	Sue
Anna Crawford	...	Sarah
Richard Terrill	...	Toby
Vernon Wells	...	Dabby Duck
Peter Hehir	...	Father Christmas
David Bradshaw	...	Pussy Cat

Storyline

"Fortress" explores a shocking concept which shows how easily a borderline between a victim and an attacker can be crossed. The children and the teacher, calm and peaceful by nature, when driven beyond their limits by the kidnappers, eventually respond with a cruelty and fury extending that of their oppressors.

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Plot Keywords:

see through bra | human hunts a human | hunter and the hunted | teacher | school | 

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Taglines:

For one teacher and nine children, the lesson of the day is kill or be killed.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Did You Know?

Trivia

Loosely based on the 1972 Faraday School kidnapping of a teacher and her class by Edwin John Eastwood and Robert Clyde Boland. Eastwood later escaped from prison and repeated the crime with another teacher and her class in 1977. The Faraday kidnapping was in turn a real-life copycat crime based on a scene in the Clint Eastwood film Dirty Harry (1971) where the Scorpio Killer holds a bus driver and several schoolchildren hostage.

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Goofs

After Sally emerges from the water while she's exploring, for an instant her hair seems swept back and pressed down, clearly drenched. During the next shot, which is a close-up, her hair looks as if it had been hastily dried with a towel, even though we never even see her touch her hair.

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Quotes

Sid: Shit, Miss. I thought you snuffed it!
Sally Jones: Language, Sid.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Day After Halloween (2018)

User Reviews

Great MOVIE

I remember watching this movie every Saturday on TV why my mom cleaned the house. I remember it freaking me out. I love this movie. I was probably 8 at the time. I was talking to people randomly about the movie and people thought I was crazy because no one remembered it. My sister didn't even remember it. Finally two years ago a girl that I worked with was like yeah I know the movie you are talking about. However we didn't know the name of the film. It took me 15 years and a NICE NICE guy from Austrialia (that I meet on in a chat room) to help me find the name of the movie. I also want to say thanks to Amazon.com for being fantastic. I love this movie...I recommend it to anyone. Rachel Ward gives a Fantastic performance as well. Plus this movie is based on a true story.

Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 November 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fortress

Filming Locations:

Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Crawford Productions, HBO Premiere Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1