BFI: First Look at New 4K Restoration of Watership Down
HomeBFI: First Look at New 4K Restoration of Watership Down
Posted September 11, 2024 06:29 PM by Webmaster
The British Film Institute has provided final details and a promotional trailer for the new 4K restoration of Martin Rosen's Watership Down (1978), which will be released on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray on November 11.
The classic, distinctly beautiful British animated feature film WATERSHIP DOWN, which follows a group of rabbits on a perilous journey to find their own utopia, is back on the big screen again this autumn, the first time in nearly 50 years, re-released in cinemas by BFI Distribution. A BFI home entertainment release in 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray will follow shortly afterwards.
Newly restored in 4K by the BFI and Silver Salt Restoration, with the characters and colors sparkling as never before, WATERSHIP DOWN will be in cinemas in the UK and Ireland from 25 October 2024, coinciding with the half term holidays. The first chance for audiences to glimpse it will be at the World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival 2024, where it will screen in the Treasures section, which spotlights new restoration premieres from around the world.
Following the theatrical release, a home entertainment release from the BFI on 11 November 2024 will present the film both in Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray for the first time and on Limited Edition Blu-ray, with a raft of extras including a set of 4 postcards, a poster and a perfect bound book.
In 1978, Richard Adams' timeless novel Watership Down was brought brilliantly to the screen in the celebrated film adaptation directed by Martin Rosen. A building project threatens the tranquil lives of the wildlife residing in a British woodland area, not least the rabbits who reside in one of the local warrens. Littlest rabbit Fiver, who has a sixth sense, has distressing visions of destruction lying ahead and persuades a small group to join him on what is to be a challenging journey to safety in the halcyon location of Watership Down.
Although hard-hitting in its depiction of survival and conflict, the film is a work of great beauty with an extraordinary voice cast who elevate the work to the highest level. Some of Britain's best-known actors including John Hurt, Richard Briers, Ralph Richardson, Denholm Elliott, Roy Kinnear and Hannah Gordon, brought the rabbits to life and made them eternally memorable.
Not only was the film a huge success, but the song 'Bright Eyes', written especially by Mike Batt and recorded by Art Garfunkel, was a smash hit on release. It was No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart for six weeks and was Britain's biggest-selling single of 1979.
This thrilling tale of adventure, courage and resilience, one of the greatest of British animations, will continue to enthral new and old audiences alike, and is unmissable on the big or small screen this autumn in these wonderful 2024 presentations.
Special Features and Techncial Specs:
The classic, distinctly beautiful British animated feature film WATERSHIP DOWN, which follows a group of rabbits on a perilous journey to find their own utopia, is back on the big screen again this autumn, the first time in nearly 50 years, re-released in cinemas by BFI Distribution. A BFI home entertainment release in 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray will follow shortly afterwards.
Newly restored in 4K by the BFI and Silver Salt Restoration, with the characters and colors sparkling as never before, WATERSHIP DOWN will be in cinemas in the UK and Ireland from 25 October 2024, coinciding with the half term holidays. The first chance for audiences to glimpse it will be at the World Premiere at the BFI London Film Festival 2024, where it will screen in the Treasures section, which spotlights new restoration premieres from around the world.
Following the theatrical release, a home entertainment release from the BFI on 11 November 2024 will present the film both in Limited Edition 4K Blu-ray for the first time and on Limited Edition Blu-ray, with a raft of extras including a set of 4 postcards, a poster and a perfect bound book.
In 1978, Richard Adams' timeless novel Watership Down was brought brilliantly to the screen in the celebrated film adaptation directed by Martin Rosen. A building project threatens the tranquil lives of the wildlife residing in a British woodland area, not least the rabbits who reside in one of the local warrens. Littlest rabbit Fiver, who has a sixth sense, has distressing visions of destruction lying ahead and persuades a small group to join him on what is to be a challenging journey to safety in the halcyon location of Watership Down.
Although hard-hitting in its depiction of survival and conflict, the film is a work of great beauty with an extraordinary voice cast who elevate the work to the highest level. Some of Britain's best-known actors including John Hurt, Richard Briers, Ralph Richardson, Denholm Elliott, Roy Kinnear and Hannah Gordon, brought the rabbits to life and made them eternally memorable.
Not only was the film a huge success, but the song 'Bright Eyes', written especially by Mike Batt and recorded by Art Garfunkel, was a smash hit on release. It was No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart for six weeks and was Britain's biggest-selling single of 1979.
This thrilling tale of adventure, courage and resilience, one of the greatest of British animations, will continue to enthral new and old audiences alike, and is unmissable on the big or small screen this autumn in these wonderful 2024 presentations.
Special Features and Techncial Specs:
- 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION
- Newly recorded audio commentary by film and animation experts Catherine Lester and Sam Summers
- Vintage audio commentary by director Martin Rosen and writer and filmmaker Chris Gore (2003)
- Defining a Style (2005): short featurette about the film's aesthetic
- A Conversation with the Filmmakers (2005, 17 mins): Archive featurette in which director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings discuss the production history of the film
- Storyboard comparison (2005, 15 mins): a look at four sequences from the film
- Super 8 version (20 mins): original UK Super 8 digest release of Watership Down
- Nepenthe Super 8 footage (3 mins): footage shot by Arthur Humberstone, one of the senior animators on Watership Down
- Designing Watership Down (2024, 5 mins): a gallery containing some of the materials related to Watership Down courtesy of The Arthur Humberstone Animation Archive
- Trailers and TV spots
- Once We Were Four (1942, 9 mins): a bunny quartet face an onslaught of badgers, bombs and birds of prey in this black comedy masquerading as a nature film, directed by Mary Field
- Rabbits or Profits? (1969, 15 mins): public information film providing a potted history of rabbits in the UK
- Bolly in A Space Adventure (1968, 5 mins): a short Halas & Batchelor animation about the adventures of Bolly and his friends on imaginary planets, featuring animation by Tony Guy, animation director on Watership Down
- Make Believe (1948, 17 mins): Anson Dyer tells 'The Tale of Ronnie Rabbit' in this documentary showing the various stages of making a cartoon bunny
- Newly created optional English descriptive subtitles
- Newly created audio description track for the blind and visually impaired
- Double-sided poster featuring the original UK quad and the 2024 rerelease artwork
- A set of four postcards featuring iconic scenes from the film
- Perfect-bound book featuring writing by Jez Stewart, Catherine Lester, Nigel and Klive Humberstone, Angela Morley, Charlie Brigden, Lillian Crawford, Vic Pratt, Tim Coleman, Caroline Millar Tony Dykes and Michael Brooke
