7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Following the suicide of their father, Mary and her younger brother Peter are left stranded in the blistering heat of the vast Australian outback. Facing exhaustion and starvation, their salvation comes when they cross paths with an Aboriginal boy on ‘walkabout’, a ritual in which he must leave his home and learn to survive off the land. He teaches them how to survive in the wilderness, but a clash of cultures leads to terrible and tragic consequences.
Starring: Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, David Gulpilil, John Meillon, Robert McDarraDrama | 100% |
Coming of age | 5% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Nicolas Roeg's "Walkabout" (1971) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include an audio commentary with Nicholas Roeg and Jenny Agutter; Darlene Johnson's documentary film "Gulpilil - One Red Blood"; an interview with actress Jenny Agutter conducted for Potemkine Films in France; an interview with Luc Roeg, son of director Nicholas Roeg; and a theatrical trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Criterion's release of Walkabout is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. At the moment, I only have the 4K Blu-ray disc, which is Region-Free. I will update our review once I have a market copy with the Blu-ray disc.
The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this release:
"The new digital master on the 4K Blu-ray was created from the 35mm original camera negative, which was scanned in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics Director film scanner. Color correction was based on a high-definition master (made from a 35mm preservation interpositive) with timing approved by director Nicolas Roeg. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm optical sound print.
Colorists: Giles Sherwood, Lee Kline/Criterion Post, New York."
Please note that all screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.
I really like Walkabout and have five home video releases of it in my library. Three are Blu-ray releases. Two are old DVD releases. I think that the best one is Criterion's first Blu-ray release. While now the film looks slightly dated on it, I think that it still looks very, very good.
This upcoming release introduces a new 4K restoration of the film that can be viewed with HDR and Dolby Vision grades. I viewed the entire native 4K presentation of it with HDR.
First, the new 4K makeover produces healthier and sharper visuals. The density levels of these visuals are, unsurprisingly, better than those that the visuals on the original Blu-ray release produce. Clarity is improved as well. This is a very consequently improvement because the film has some tremendous panoramic visuals that clearly look better now. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections, so the surface of the visuals has a solid organic appearance. Colors are lush and stable. However, there are several areas where I immediately noticed discrepancies. To be clear, there isn't any preset tinting that instantly alters the color scheme of the visuals, but if you know the film, you will recognize that some areas look different. How different? It depends. Sometimes a primary color is different, sometimes there are supporting nuances that are different. However, there are is a lot of material where everything looks as it should only much, much better. The most obvious discrepancies involve primary blue. For example, screencaptures #7 and 8 demonstrate the shift quite well. I think that the shift is too strong and do not like it, but opinions are likely to vary. Elsewhere, there are much smaller adjustments but they affect the overall color temperature as well. I prefer the warmer color temperature of the previous release whose color timing was approved by Nic Roeg. Image stability is excellent. The entire film looks immaculate as well.
There is only one standard audio track on this release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
The audio is outstanding. I am unsure if it has been newly remastered but there are several areas of the film where I think that the audio is superior now. It definitely sounded clearer on my system. However, the previous release uses an audio track that was remastered from a 35mm optical soundtrack and is also very, very good.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
The 4K makeover of Walkabout produces very healthy and frequently very beautiful visuals. However, some of them do not look as they did on Criterion's original Blu-ray release of the film. Even though it is fair to say that the film has a slightly dated appearance on it, or at least by contemporary standards, I prefer that appearance. I think that it is the correct appearance too because its color timing was approved by Nic Roeg. A lot of people will disagree, move on to the 4K makeover, and will almost certainly be very happy with it, which is perfectly fine. So, you have to decide whether the old Blu-ray release or the upcoming 4K Blu-ray is the best option for you. For me, the best option remains the old Blu-ray release. RECOMMENDED.
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