Cry in the Dark

Theatrical Release Date: 1988 11 11 (USA)

UPC: 085391186823

Studio: Warner Home Video

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Adult Language, Profanity]

Summary: A barely recognizable Meryl Streep plays the real-life Lindy Chamberlain, who for a long period in the early '80s was the most hated woman in Australia. While visiting the Ayers rock monument in the Outback with her husband, Michael (Sam Neill), Lindy notices a dingo creeping into the tent where her baby lies sleeping. Seconds later, the horrified woman discovers that her child is gone. Despite Lindy's anguished insistence that the dingo killed her baby, the Australian public is of the opinion that Lindy herself is the murderer. This lynch-mob atmosphere is fueled by the press, which insists upon crucifying the Chamberlains in print on a daily basis. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Picture - Drama – null Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – null Best Director – null Best Screenplay – null Best Screenplay – null Best Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Actress – Cannes Film Festival Best Actress – New York Film Critics Circle Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Actress – Australian Film Institute Awards Best Actor – Australian Film Institute Awards

Features: Interactive menus
Theatrical trailer
Scene access
Languages & subtitles: English, Fran?ais

Cry in the Dark

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 12/21/1999

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 2 PCM stereo

Runtime: 121 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: English,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
0. Scene Selections
1. Credits [:14]
2. Sketches of Family Life [1:41]
3. Ayers Rock [2:51]
4. Nightfall [3:58]
5. "A Dingo Took My Baby!" [2:39]
6. The Search [3:06]
7. Unless God Allows It [4:24]
8. In Jesus' Hands [2:25]
9. Meet the Press [2:36]
10. The Story Spreads [2:49]
11. The Ability to Endure [3:15]
12. Bloody Clothes; Slide Show [3:39]
13. Private and Public Grief [4:51]
14. The Inquest [3:58]
15. Myself to Myself [2:58]
16. The Finding [2:04]
17. New Home, New Investigation [3:15]
18. Search and Seizure [5:07]
19. Back in the Hot Seat [4:29]
20. Answer Unknown [2:33]
21. Cracked [2:43]
22. To Darwin for Trial [2:07]
23. A Bitch and a Witch [1:45]
24. Cutting Visual Aids [3:42]
25. Recrimination [2:31]
26. Drawing Blood; Decoy Time [1:27]
27. Saliva [4:56]
28. How Much More? [1:37]
29. Michael Takes the Stand [1:41]
30. The Matinee Jacket [3:23]
31. "I Can't Cry to Order." [2:11]
32. Summations [5:33]
33. Deliberations [2:27]
34. The Verdict [2:17]
35. Birth Behind Bars [3:31]
36. The Tide Turns [2:10]
37. Unexpected Discovery [2:24]
38. Home; Plenty of Time [1:41]
39. For All Australians [2:13]
40. Coda and End Credits [2:37]

Michael Hastings

Meryl Streep found a role well-tailored to her skills of impersonation -- as well as to her rather cold onscreen persona -- with A Cry in the Dark, the true story of Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman who was believed to have murdered her newborn child. Director Fred Schepisi displays his usual knack for naturalism and character nuance, without shying away from the more lurid aspects of the case and its lengthy, elliptical trial. Streep appropriately keeps the audience at arm's length for much of the film, as it becomes clear that what's on trial is less the physical evidence in the case than Lindy's reserved personality. Though much of the film is set in the courtroom, Schepisi uses plenty of cutaways and diversions so as not to let the proceedings become static. The director previously teamed with Streep for 1985's Plenty. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Brion James  Actor 
John Howard  Actor 
Frankie J. Holden  Actor 
Burt Cooper  Actor 
Kevin Miles  Actor 
Matthew Barker  Actor 
Ian Gilmour  Actor 
Tim Robertson  Actor 
Bill McCluskey  Actor 
Mark Little  Actor 
Debra Lawrence  Actor 
Dorothy Alison  Actor 
Jim Holt  Actor 
Peter Hosking  Actor 
Vince Gil  Actor 
Mervyn Drake  Actor 
Sandy Gore  Actor 
Dennis Miller  Actor 
Robert Caswell  Screenwriter 
Yoram Globus  Executive Producer 
Yoram Globus  Producer 
Menahem Golan  Executive Producer 
Menahem Golan  Producer 
Verity Lambert  Producer 
Fred Schepisi  Director 
Fred Schepisi  Screenwriter 
Bruce Smeaton  Composer (Music Score) 
Lewis Fitz-Gerald  Actor 
Meryl Streep  Actor 
Bruce Myles  Actor 
Sam Neill  Actor 
Nick Tate  Actor 
Neil Fitzpatrick  Actor 
Charles "Bud" Tingwell  Actor 
Maurie Fields  Actor 

Country: Australia,USA