I Am Weekender Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

I Am Weekender Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 7, 2023

WIZ's "Weekender" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the release include the documentary "I Am Weekender"; original music videos; exclusive new audio commentary by WIZ; collection of vintage production and promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. Region-Free.

Before the first press materials for Chloe Raunet’s I Am Weekender arrived, I had completely forgotten about WIZ’s Weekender. And for a very good reason, too.

During the glory days of MTV, which of course would be the 1980s, I used to tape all kinds of different concerts, music films, and videos. It was not difficult. Back then, MTV did what it was supposed to do -- play music videos all day long, so I had my VCR recording content pretty much non-stop. One of my all-time favorite shows was Headbangers Ball and at one point I had collected just about all its episodes. However, the more content I amassed, the harder it became to take care of it properly. Unlike LD, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Blu-ray, VHS was not easy to store properly, so I lost a lot of tapes because the heat and humidity demagnetized them.

I did not see Weekender in 1992, which is when WIZ apparently directed it. I accidentally acquired it from a trade I made with a Dutch collector who had a lot of unauthorized video and audio recordings, which must have been a few years later. Weekender was on a VHS tape from a package deal that included content from Depeche Mode, Front 242, KMFDM, and even Type O Negative. I remember this deal because it was big and included content that was very difficult to track down. But at the time, for obvious reasons, I did not think that Weekender was a legit short film. I thought that it was a cool but oddly long video, a lot like the ones later WIZ did for Massive Attack and The Chemical Brothers. In fact, it was probably after I became interested in Massive Attack, Tricky, and Portishead that I connected WIZ to Weekender and remembered that it was somewhere in my library.

Very late last night, I sat down to revisit Weekender and the experience almost instantly evolved into an incredible roller-coaster ride because it made my mind recover emotional memories that I did not know it had preserved. (I had a very similar experience with the recent release of It Couldn't Happen Here). So, I had to view Weekender twice in a row because initially just I could not control well the emergence of these memories, quite a few of which were from even earlier times.

My relationship with Weekender is not the same as the one people in the United Kingdom have, but this is irrelevant because it tells a universal story. It is the story of an ordinary young man who has come to realize that he is forced to live a monotonous cycle of mostly meaningless activities. The only time when he steps out of the cycle and comes alive is during the weekend, so he makes the most of it while hanging out with friends and clubbing. To enhance this borderline euphoric experience of temporarily regaining his freedom, the young man regularly loads up on drugs. Does it sound familiar? It should. Weekender sums up perfectly the classic raver and the soon-to-be-humongous rave scene. Obviously, Weekender is an effective promo piece for the excellent but sadly gone dance/alternative British band Flowered Up, too. However, it is the bigger picture -- the music, the visuals, and the mix of negative and positive energy that the two ooze -- that makes Weekender special. This bigger picture becomes even more impressive when you consider that Weekender is only 19 minutes long.

I did view I Am Weekender too, which was produced by WIZ, but I did not care much for it. I wish to carefully explain why.

I Am Weekender combines footage from various interviews with well-known individuals whose lives were impacted by Flowered Up’s music, Weekender, and of course the scene that would eventually give birth to the rave phenomenon. Shaun Ryder, Lynne Ramsay, Adam Smith, and Irvine Welsh are just a few of these individuals. Some of their observations are quite interesting and a few summarize nicely how I experienced the 1980s. However, there is quite a bit of pseudo-intellectual analysis of Flowered Up and their music, the explosion of rave, and the socio-cultural climate of the 1980s. I did not like at all how some of the interviewees did their best to convince that at the time all young people were looking at the world through the same narrow prism. The 1980s were unique and a lot of fun because the good and bad that defined them inspired tremendous individual creativity. Sadly, there was never a shortage of dangerous cheap drugs, which is what ultimately shut down the party.

*The documentary highlights Danny Boyle's statement that Trainspotting would not have happened without Weekend. The same is almost certainly true for 24 Hour Party People.

I Am Weekender Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Weekender arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.

Weekender has been fully restored in 2K from the original camera negative and looks lovely in 1080p. To be honest, there are a few segments that are quite difficult to evaluate because they feature unique stylization, but I think that the entire film has a very solid organic appearance. Color reproduction is terrific, though this is the area where the stylization clearly affects gamma levels and saturation. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. As a result, grain exposure is very pleasing. Image stability is good. (I did notice some weaving around the 0:02.52 mark but I believe that it is inherited). I did not see any age-related imperfections.

I Am Weekender utilizes quite a bit of upscaled standard definition footage. It does have bits of footage from Weekender too, though the quality of the original film is superior. Overall, I must say that I Am Weekender looks quite cheap, which is fine for a documentary but slightly underwhelming given how terrific Weekender looks after it was redone in 2K. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your plater regardless of your geographical location).

I Am Weekender Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Weekender can be seen with LPCM 2.0 track. There are no subtitles for it. I Am Weekender can be seen with LPCM 2.0 track, too. There are optional English SDH subtitles for it.

I thought that the LPCM 2.0 track for Weekender was solid. The audio sounds very healthy and nicely balanced. Depth could be a little bit better, but I assume that this is how the audio was finalized when Weekender was completed. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in our review.

I Am Weekender Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - Weekender can be seen with an exclusive new audio commentary by WIZ, who recalls how the film came to exist and discusses the scene it was connected to.

• Rushes Revisited - presented here are four sketches made from unseen Weekender rushes, with unheard isolated tracks from the original multi-track by Flowered Up, produced by Clive Langer. (10 min).

• Music Videos - presented here are four original promotional videos. Remastered.
  
  1. Take It. Directed by WIZ. (4 min).
  2. Phobia. Directed by Paul Cannell. (4 min).
  3. It's On. Directed by Pinki. (4 min).
  4. Raise. Featuring Anna Haigh. Directed by WIZ. (4 min).

• Nish - a short film by WIZ. Previously unseen Super 8 footage filmed at a Boy's Own party in 1989. (5 min).

• Turn it Up! - in this new program, Chloe Raunet discusses Weekender and I Am Weekender. In English, not subtitled. (28 min).

• Image Gallery - a collection of archival stills, sketches, posters, etc. Silent. (4 min).

• Booklet - 34-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by Miranda Sawyer, Adelle Stripe, Des Penney and WIZ, as well as technical credits.

I Am Weekender Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even though this Blu-ray release promotes Weekender as a bonus feature, or at least it appears so, I consider WIZ's film to be the main attraction on it. I used to have it on VHS and had completely forgotten about it until the BFI sent out press materials announcing that it has been restored in 2K and will be made available on Blu-ray. Late last night, I sat down to revisit Weekender and my mind instantly unleashed all kinds of different memories, many of which had nothing to do with it. I did view I Am Weekender too, but to be honest I thought that the bonus features were far more interesting. For example, Weekender can be seen with a very nice exclusive new audio commentary by WIZ. If you decide to pick up this release for your collection, take a look at It Couldn't Happen Here, which is another blast from the past that has been fully restored in 4K and looks gorgeous now. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.