7.7 | / 10 |
Users | 3.9 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.3 |
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: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Nicolas Roeg's "Walkabout" (1971) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Nicholas Roeg and Jenny Agutter; Darlene Johnson's documentary film "Gulpilil - One Red Blood" (2002); 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. The disc also arrives with a 28-page illustrated booklet containing Paul Ryan's essay "Landscapes of Memory". With optional English subtitles. Region-A "locked".
Hope
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Nicolas Roeg's Walkabout arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
The following text appears in the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:
"This new high-definition transfer was scanned in 2K on a 4K Spirit Datacine from a new 35mm preservation interpositive made from the original camera negative. The color timing was approved by director Nicholas Roeg. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain, and noise reduction".
If you have seen what Criterion's old, non-anamorphic, DVD release of Walkabout looks like, then I guarantee that you would be very pleased with this Blu-ray release; the improvements are dramatic. Fine object detail is convincing, clarity substantially better and contrast levels very pleasing. The main corrections, however, are with the color-scheme. Walkabout is a very delicate film, one in which natural lighting has a very important role, and for the first time now one could fully appreciate how unique its lensing is. On the DVD release a number of scenes looked muddy, unfocused, and blocky; here, they look healthy. The variety of different yellows, greens, blues, browns and blacks are still warm and soft, but now they look natural. Depending on the specific locations, the film gran fluctuates quite a bit but is never compromised. Furthermore, neither edge-enhancement nor macroblocking affect the integrity of the presentation. Also, I noticed some mild background flicker - which I am fairly certain is inherited - but did not spot any stability issues to report in this review. I also did not see any large cuts, warps, splices, or marks while viewing the film. To sum it all up, I believe that we finally have a proper release of director Roeg's Walkabout, which I am convinced fans of the film would be enormously pleased with. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English LPCM Mono. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
According to the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm optical soundtrack print. Again, I think that the improvements are quite obvious here. For example, the separation between the strings, brass and choir on John Barry's terrific score is clearer; the animal noises are also a lot more convincing. Stability is also improved. The dialog is clean and stable; there are no problematic audio dropouts either. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hiss to report in this review.
Luc Roeg - Nicolas Roeg's son Luc played the young boy in Walkabout (credited as Lucien John). Luc Roeg is now a London-based film producer whose credits include Let Him Have It, Spider, and Nicolas Roeg's Two Deaths. In this video interview, recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2010 in London, he talks about the poetic beauty of Walkabout, the shooting process, his father's legacy, etc. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).
Jenny Agutter - an interview with actress Jenny Agutter conducted in 2008 for Potemkine Films in France. In it, she recalls how director Nicholas Roeg approached her, her encounter with David Gulpilil, how certain parts of Walkabout were filmed, her initial impressions of it, etc. In English, not subtitled. (20 min, 1080i).
Gulpilil - One Red Blood - a truly fascinating documentary film by Darlene Johnson about the famous actor and his colorful life, as well as his homeland. The film was shot in 2002. In English, not subtitled. (57 min, 1080i).
Commentary - this audio commentary with director Nicholas Roeg and Jenny Agutter was recorded for Criterion in 1996, and it appeared on their DVD release of Walkabout. The commentary is excellent - it is very personal, revealing details about the production process and how specific scenes were shot, as well as the complex thematic structure of the film and its message.
Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for the film. (5 min, 1080p).
Booklet - a 28-page illustrated booklet containing Paul Ryan's essay "Landscapes of Memory" (the author is a writer and actor whose books include Never Apologise: The Collected Writings of Lindsay Anderson).
I cannot even begin to imagine what this hobby that we are all so passionate about would have looked like without Criterion. Really, there has never been a better time to collect films, folks!
Approved by director Nicholas Roeg, the new high-definition transfer that has been used for this Blu-ray release of his Walkabout should make a lot of people very happy. I have never seen this wonderful film look so good. This is definitely one of my favorite releases of 2010! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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