Jonathan Livingston Seagull Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 2, 2021

Hall Bartlett's "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new audio commentary by filmmaker Adam Zanzie and a gallery of stills from the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Dreamland

While I was viewing Jonathan Livingston Seagull my mind never questioned the authenticity of the visuals that were appearing on my screen -- not even once. My eyes were glued to the screen and my mind was convinced that everything was absolutely real and captured on film by a team of visionary professionals with spectacular skills. It was an astonishing experience that was many, many times better than the one I had when I went to my local theater to see Winged Migration.

A day later, I decided to see Jonathan Livingston Seagull again while listening to Adam Zanzie’s commentary. Zanzie isn’t just a huge admirer of this film, but an expert on the film who has talked to as many of the people that made it as possible, so his comments were beyond illuminating. (I am not exaggerating. He can easily record two more two-hour commentaries and still have plenty of interesting information to share). I went back to the sequence where the seagull crashes in the rocks and then falls into the ocean, which Zanzie claims was done with a radio-controlled replica. Fine, it is probably how it was done, but it still looks absolutely real. I saw it four times after Zanzie’s comments and I paid very close attention to the manner in which the wings are moving right before the crash. There is no digital trickery here, so how did they get the movement to appear so fluid? I even slowed down the footage to find some flaws and it still looked real.

How about the other sequence where the seagull crashes into the water and the camera observes its movement while it is gradually heading toward the bottom of the ocean. Zanzie admits that he does not know precisely how they shot it, and neither do I. There must have been multiple cameras, but the rest is unclear. Of course, there is some brilliant editing work, but the camera that is underwater is very, very close to the bird and the clarity of the visuals is astonishing. So, how did they do it?

The bird fights were just as incredible. For example, Zanzie explains that in the big fight next to the fishing boat where the dead meat is discarded there are trained seagulls. Trained seagulls? This is another sequence that I saw multiple times because I could not believe that the fight was staged. I mean, how exactly do you stage a seagull fight when it is so obvious that the birds are completely unleashed and attacking each other over scattered pieces of dead meat? You can’t just turn them on and off so that you get the sequence right, can you? I am sorry, I know that Zanzie is probably right, but it is much easier for me to conclude that the man with the camera was just at the right place at the right time.

An eagle attacking a seagull? A long time ago, while vacationing in Arizona I saw an eagle attacking smaller birds, so this particular sequence was easier to rationalize. The former is like a lion in the sky, so if another bird enters its territory there will be trouble. But is this a real fight in the sky? Or did the creators of the film use another one of these mechanized birds that Zanzie mentions in his commentary?

I don’t think I can provide even a partially accurate description of the incredible aerial vistas that are seen throughout the film. How could I? There are so many of them and they are brilliant in so many different ways that this is simply an impossible task. (I am convinced now that this is one of the main reasons Zanzie wanted to do a documentary on the making of the film. There must be tremendous stories about the planning and execution of so many of these terrific sequences that are waiting to be told). But I have to mention the speed, or the illusion of speed, that defines the journey of the main protagonist. Obviously, there is a lot of brilliant editing work that assembles unique pieces of footage to create the mind-boggling flights, but the filmmakers’ vision and sense of timing is simply impeccable. Remember folks, this film was conceived and shot during the ‘70s, so the filmmakers had to get the right footage while operating cameras up in the sky; they did not ‘imagine’ it in front of a computer screen.

Director Hall Bartlett used the services of cinematographer Jack Couffer, who should have earned more than an Oscar nomination for his contribution. The soundtrack was created by Neil Diamond.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.36:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jonathan Livingston Seagull arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Via Vision Entertainment.

The release is sourced from an older master that was supplied by Paramount. So, if fully restored the film can look better in high-definition, but the current master is quite good. Excluding a few white specks and blemishes, it boasts consistently strong delineation, clarity and depth. It even has very good density levels, though the folks at Via Vision could have done some encoding optimizations to for even better results and ensure that the technical presentation is all-around solid. (I did notice a few encoding artifacts that should have been avoided). The color scheme is very convincing as well. A few highlights could have been managed better, but saturation levels are strong and the overall balance is very good. There are no traces of problematic digital work. Image stability is excellent. So, while there is room for some meaningful improvements, this is a good organic presentation of the film. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

I did not notice any distracting age-related imperfections to report in out review. However, if the audio is remastered, I am quite certain that it will be rebalanced and opened up a little better. As it is, from time to it is rather easy to tell that it was mixed at a different time and with a different equipment, plus Neil Diamond's score could be a tad more prominent as well.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Photo Gallery - a collection of original stills from the film. (2 min, 1080p).

• Commentary - in this new audio commentary, filmmaker Adam Zanzie shares an incredible amount of factual information about the production of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, his research work and (at the moment) failed attempt to produce a documentary about the making of the film, Neil Diamond's score, some notable errors in the official credits of the film, the special effects and technical decisions that were made by Hall Bartlett and his team, etc. It is fantastic commentary and I strongly recommend that you listen to it in its entirety, especially if you enjoy the film and conclude that it is a genuine masterpiece.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I don't know if it is right or fair to compare Hall Bartlett's film to the great book that inspired it, but if I was forced to pick one of the two, I would go with the film. It is a genuine masterpiece that contemporary directors would not even be able to imagine, let alone shoot without digital trickery. I spent a couple of days examining different parts of the film and I have to admit that I can't tell precisely how certain sequences were done to look as they do. Mechanical devices? I think that I can see some possibilities, but if I am right then the editing work is even more incredible than it looks in real time. Simply amazing. This release is sourced from an older but quite nice master that was supplied by Paramount Pictures and features an outstanding exclusive audio commentary by filmmaker Adam Zanzie. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.