6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A young peasant, with no interest in adventure or fortune, is mistaken as the kingdom's only hope when a horrible monster threatens the countryside.
Starring: Michael Palin, John Le Mesurier, Warren Mitchell, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones (I)Comedy | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Terry Gilliam's "Jabberwocky" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new program with special effects artist Valerie Charlton; new documentary featuring interviews with director Terry Gilliam, producer Sandy Lieberson, and actors Michael Palin and Annette Badland; making of featurette; audio commentary by Terry Gilliam and actor Michael Palin; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring a new essay by critic Scott Tobias' and technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
The simpleton
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:
Jabberwocky was restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in 2017, with funding provided by yje George Lucas Family Foundation and with the participation of director Terry Gilliam. The film was scanned in 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner and restored in 4K resolution from the 35mm original camera negative and other original film elements. All image repair for the new 4K master was carried out so as to best present the film's original photography and texture, and was completed at L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy. The original surround soundtrack was remixed in 2001 from the original monaural magnetic multi-tracks by Andre Jacquemin at Redwood Studios, London, using iZotope RX software to give the dialogue, music, and effects new vibrancy.
Restoration supervisors: Ben Thompson, Keron Webb/BFI National Archive, Berkhamsted, England.
Film inspection and comparison: Claire West/BFI Naitonal Arhcive.
Audio transfer and QC: Mike Kohler. Charles Fairall/BFI National Archive.
Restoration production: Davide Pozzi, Elena Tammaccaro/L'Immagine Ritrovata.
Colorist: Giandomenico Zeppa/L'Immagine Ritrovata; Stephen Bearman/Silver Salt Restoration, London."
All but one of the basic characteristics of the new restoration are outstanding. While I don't have another home video release of this film to perform any direct comparisons, the type of organic density and fluidity on display are so strong and so convincing that such comparisons actually would have been completely pointless. It is true that there are areas with some density fluctuations, but virtually all of them reflect the native qualities of the original photography; there are only a couple of examples where it appears that there are additional limitations introduced by a different type of element (screencapture #3 comes from one such segment). Grain is very nicely exposed and is free of compromising digital tinkering. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments either. Image stability is excellent. My one minor concern pertains to the color grading as it has some of the typical colder primaries and greenish hues that restoration projects graded at L'Immagine Ritrovata have become famous for. The end result is not distracting and it actually seems rather appropriate for the film's period atmosphere, but there is no doubt that if the film was graded by the folks at Criterion the final color scheme would have been more convincing. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The 5.1 mix is so aggressive at times that it almost feels a bit awkward for a period project like Jabberwocky. There are a couple of segments where the monster attacks his targets and a few others where the knights are seen galloping or fighting that were clearly enhanced for optimal effect(s). I think that this is why plenty of folks will like the 5.1 mix, but the ideal scenario would have been to have a restored monaural track as well. The dialog is clean and stable, but there are a couple of sequences where the optional subtitles are definitely helpful because the accents are quite thick and there is some movement that makes it a bit difficult to hear all lines. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.
There are some films that emerge as such unsolvable odd enigmas that they just have to be seen. Terry Gilliam's Jabberwocky is not exactly that kind of a brilliant head-scratcher, but once it pulls you into its bizarre universe it becomes awfully difficult to remain indifferent to it. It is a pretty funny film, too. Criterion's recent release of Jabberwocky is sourced from a good 4K restoration and as usual there is a wide range of exclusive new and archival bonus features. RECOMMENDED.
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