8.1 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the beginning of the Summer of Love, the Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade's spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey featured career-making performances by Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Otis Redding, but they were just a few of the performers in a wildly diverse lineup.
Starring: Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, Keith MoonMusic | 100% |
Documentary | 76% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: LPCM 2.0 (Original)
English: LPCM 2.0
None
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
D.A. Pennebaker's documentary "Monterey Pop" (1968) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include exclusive new video interviews with director D.A. Pennebaker and Lou Adler, producer of the Monterey International Pop Festival; vintage interviews; audio commentary; original promotional materials; and more. The release also arrives with a 72-page illustrated booklet featuring essays by critics Michael Chaiken, Armond White, David Frickle, Barney Hoskyns, and Michael Lyndon. In English, not subtitled. Region-A "locked".
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, D.A. Pennebaker's Monterey Pop arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:
"This new digital transfer of Monterey Pop was created in 16-bit 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner from the 16mm original A/B camera reversal at Metropolis Post in New York. The 4K digital restoration was undertaken at L'immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Italy, with additional restoration performed at Criterion Post in New York. The original stereo soundtrack for Monterey Pop was remastered from the 35mm magnetic track. The stereo and 5.1 surround materials for Monterey Pop, Jimi Plays Monterey, and Shake! Otis at Monterey were created by Eddie Kramer from the original analog 8-track tapes made at the concerts by Wally Heider, and conformed to picture by by Ted Hall at POP Sound in Santa Monica, California. The audio for the outtakes was mixed by Howard Frank and Dennis Dragon from the original concert recordings. Clicks, thumps, hiss, and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD.
Transfer supervisors: Frazer Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, Lee Kline.
Colorist: Jason Crump/Metropolist Post. "
I was already quite happy with the first release of Monterey Pop that emerged in 2009. Obviously, given the nature of the project there were certain source limitations that were retained, but I thought that the overall presentation had strong organic qualities. This new release, however, offers a wide range of improvements that further strengthen these qualities. The most substantial ones are in terms of density and color reproduction. Indeed, now that a new 4K master has been created the entire film boasts better density levels that help the depth and fluidity, and it is worth mentioning that you do not have to have a very large screen to appreciate the difference (compare screencapture #5 with the corresponding screencapture from the review of the first release). The entire film also has a more convincing color scheme that helps the overall dynamic range. Grain is a lot better defined, though as it is typically the case with 16mm material that is scanned in 4K now it also appears slightly overexposed. But this is a proper and very convincing organic look. It appears that some additional work was also done to minimize or entirely remove some remaining age-related imperfections. My one minor concern is about the management of the color values as during some of the stage performances it almost looks like there is color bleeding. In fact, I went back to Jimi's performance twice to take a closer look as the strong projector makes his red pants look a bit harsh, but on the other hand his face and shirt are far better defined now (see screencapture #14). In other words, some of the ways in which the light hits the stage could be quite misleading. All in all, this is a very fine upgrade that should please fans of Monterey Pop. (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 are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English LPCM 2.0 (Original), and English: LPCM 2.0 (Remixed). Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided.
The three tracks that are listed above were also used for the first release of the film, so my opinions of them, as well as comments, remain unchanged. I prefer the original Stereo track, but the remixed track is indeed vastly superior, providing better stability, clarity, and overall balance. The 5.1 track further expands the dynamic range, but I also think that it brings a different type of ambience to the film.
DISC ONE - MONTEREY POP
There is no doubt in my mind that Criterion's decision to reissue Monterey Pop after the film was restored in 4K was the right one. While I was quite happy with the previous release, the new presentation offers numerous upgrades in quality that strengthen the film's organic appearance across the board and the end result is truly quite impressive. Naturally, I think that the new release is definitely worth picking up. Monterey Pop is included in this three-disc box set, together with Jimi Plays Monterey and Shake! Otis at Monterey. (The remaining two films will be reviewed separately). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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