What I think of the new PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK 4K Blu-ray...
Vložit
- čas přidán 5. 05. 2023
- Here are my initial thoughts on the new Picnic at Hanging Rock 4K Limited Edition set from Second Sight Films.
You can buy the 4K Limited here - amzn.to/3M1moHD
Any purchases via the above link help support the channel at no additional cost to you. Thanks :) - Krátké a kreslené filmy
If you're looking for some film recommendations, watch my recent video on 32 of my favourite films here - czcams.com/video/e3OJ_HXfl10/video.html
not surprised that theres a lot of special features, its probably the most studied Australian film, if you grow up here you will most likely study it in high school or uni, my high school even had an assignment where we had to film an alternate ending!
I remember going there in 1985 in the town of Mt Macedon about 70ks North of Melbourne it has an Otherwordly feel and during the filming John Jarratt who played Albert said strange things did happen during filming he said a thunderstorm appeared from nowhere its a fascinating place to visit but it does an energy that cant be described.
Regarding the restoration looking different from the last one, Peter Weir would probably explain it the same way Wong Kar Wai did when he was accused of revising the look of his films: "No man ever steps in the same river twice, for he is not the same river and he is not the same man. So I invite the audience to join me in starting afresh, for these are not the same films, and we are not the same audience."
Just watched it, not seen it before, but I thought the HDR was drop dead gorgeous.
Amazing film.
Such an nice commentary again. I was planning to buy a new limited edition of this movie from Second Sight, but now I´m reconsidering this after listening your comments. Please go on with your channel. I really enjoy your calm but still enthusiastic viewpoints and very gentlemanly style.
Great review pal, I strongly agree with your sentiments. The film still looks better than previous versions, it would just be perfect without the noticeable DNR in places, and in some scenes it's either not used, or I couldn't tell it had been. So it's definitely flawed but not egregiously so. Thanks 👍
Unfortunatelly most cinematheques and film museums now stopped showing 35mm copies, now you can't even compare with the originals just with the digital restorations. There's just the momories for those who are old enough or lived in a big city with a good cinematheque in the recent past. Say until the early 2010s.
The Criterion 4k is coming soon, wonder if it will be the same?
Illuminating information, thanks for that. Revisionism is indeed a problem. It’s nothing new (the original Star Wars trilogy being the most popular victim, again and again) but with the releases of more and more classics on 4K we see more cases where studios/producers, DoPs or directors try to “optimize” their vision of a film, often concerning the picture quality (use of DNR or changes of the colour grading). Second Sight’s package of the Limited Edition of PICNIC is beautiful but TBH it’s getting more and more difficult for me to justify spending 50 or 60 Pounds/Euros/Dollars for just one movie in a fancy package. Thankfully Second Sight offers you a choice. In this case I went with the standard edition for half the price. Yes, it’s not as gratifying to open a parcel with just a standard 4K case but since I could afford to add The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (again standard edition) I will survive. Hopefully.
Great review, thank you! Just curious - why do you prefer the Director's cut over the theatrical? I'm deciding on whether or not to wait for the Criterion 4K or buy the Second Sight version.
I hope the 4K UHD version of the Hitcher is splendid 🤞
I thought it was gorgeous but I don't have a strong history with the film. I probably wouldn't have noticed the DNR, color timing change or fake grain unless someone pointed it out. It's for the most part very detailed and the color timing works really well for the film. It may not be accurate to the original print but Peter Wier approved the transfer so there's that for good or bad.
Thanks for this Elliot. Can I ask which resources you use to find the information you talk about? Maybe it could be a video in itself?! Cheers
A lot of information about the restorations come from the discs themselves and listings on the labels’ websites. Regarding those early reviews, there are a few sites and forums I keep an eye on. Perhaps I will do a video on it. Cheers :)
A must see movie. The soundtrack is mesmerizing and brilliant.
We saw this on Netflix recently. Because we follow you I hope you can relate to the fact we are fans of films, eclectic and otherwise. However, we found the film not to our taste driving us to frustrating boredom. Perhaps it is the style or pacing that bothered us, but we really had a reaction of "that's it?" at the end. We certainly don't need films with a lot of explosions, noise and nonsense, but we found the story a bit too spread out between characters. The last 20 minutes we found frustrating. We understand why the ending, but it just didn't interest us.
I doubt Elliot will give you grief. Some people might. But that’s the beauty of movies, music, books, etc. They’re not for everyone. It would be a boring world indeed if everyone liked the exact same things. Heck, I haven’t even seen the movie yet!
I found out the the photographer of this movie went to a brides shop, brought some lace etc and then dyed it yellow, then shot the whole movie with this over the lens to give it a dreamy look.
I'd never even heard of this movie before I saw this release announced. Based on reviews it seems like a movie I would enjoy, though I haven't read too many so as not to spoil it. It did however seem like I wouldn't be able to pick this up, since Zavvi stopped shipping to Sweden and Second Sights own website's shipping was just way too much for my wallet. Eventually found it at Rarewaves for a good price and good price shipping. Never bought from them before, and it hasn't arrived yet, though I have been told it's been shipped. Hopefully it get here in one piece, I just love these collectors editions that Second Sight does. I don't want too many to saturate the market and strain my wallet, but I hope they do another one of this size of some interesting movie before too long.
Is the movie on the standard Blu Rays the same 2023 transfer as the 4K discs? Or is it simply a previous transfer?
Hi Elliott, do you think second sight will do a disc recall and send replacement discs??
No I don’t think so. These issues are not disc authoring issues, they are part of the restoration itself. As the filmmakers have signed this all off, I think this is how the films will look for the foreseeable future. Cheers!
I like this release. If it was done by anyone else apart from the director then there's a case for being disappointed. But it was, its his film, his vision. Is it 'revisionism'? Possibly, however it's up to him how he wants his film to look. Perhaps I'm more of a cinephile than a videophile. I love this film, it's one omy all-time favourites and it still looks spectacular.
Second Sight performed the restoration - it was just approved by the director.
@@benpascall4297 Approved by the director. My point.
@@stevenburgess2856 "If it was done by anyone else apart from the director....It's up to him how he wants his film to look." But he didn't do the restoration or decide how it would look. He just approved it, maybe because he needs/wants the money. Looking so noticeably different in 2 different approved versions calls into question exactly how the director wanted it to look.
can’t help thinking about this Simpsons moment:
Lisa: “Wait! Don't be fooled. She's just a regular Malibu Stacy with a stupid, cheap hat. She still embodies all the awful stereotypes she did before!”
Mob of girls snd Smithers: “But she’s got a new hat!”
so are you taking into account here that Director and cinematographer employed a draped veil technique over the lens when filming some scenes in this? it created the ethereal dreamy look and whose restoration is closer to their intention Criterion or Second Sight? There was gate judder on the Criterion version this is not present on the Second Sight I suspect Weir actually liked the DNR effect as it seemed to emphasise the dreamlike quality on this - and the more warm colours is an improvement on the blue tint again present in parts of the Criterion version.
Yes indeed. I know that they shot with some sort of nylon stocking over the lens, which does diffuse an image but not in the same way as digital noise reduction
Well! I can suspect many things. But I rather like to know if Weir actually like to have digital Noice reduction on this movie that taking aways the small details that are in a movie.
we need screenshots!! 👀
Elliot, do you mean the 4k restored image appeared "washed out"
No, I was referring to the older HD master which has a muted colour palette to my eyes in comparison to the new 4K. Thanks for watching :)
@@ElliotCoen Thanks, I'll duck out and get it, when it appears on the shelves
@@alexlanning712it’s been out since Monday.
@@benpascall4297 Thanks Ben, it'll take a little longer out here, in OZ
bottom line...two dramatically different presentations of the film, both "director approved".
with out a clear explanation as to WHY this variance exists creates a real problem for all "director approved" restorations in my mind.
thanks for the honest review!
Imo this release is far superior to Criterion’s. Second sight are the best in the business right now
Are the critics of this "restoration" comparing it to a pristine 35mm print?? If not, other than the DNR which I assume must be obvious to anyone, how do they know the color grading is not authentic? I sincerely would like to know!
Well! It's not being adressed in this video. A d from what I have been seeing is this. Critics and a littel film nerd like me are disscusing that there are 2 version (this and Criterion) whit 2 diffrent color pattern that have been approved by the director Peter Whire. So how is this possible. That is the question.
Why this costs 20 quid more than their Texas Chainsaw Massacre I do not know
I’m not too sure. Could be licenses or extra content cost!
@@ElliotCoen Yeah I guess with the two books that probably bumped costs up a bit. I’m torn with this release, I do love the film but haven’t seen it since it was on telly in the late 80s or 90s, so have not seen any subsequent home releases. I may just opt for the standard edition 4K in this instance.
That’s what I did, went for the standard one. TCM, Babadook, Dawn of the Dead all justified the extra cash, but this one just feels like too much of a stretch.
I would rather view what the producers originally created,not a modernised version.
Can't really disagree with any of this. The physical package is faultless. The raft of extras on-disc is extensive. The audio is great. The only niggle I have is the ultra-obvious DNR. It's blatantly processed even at a casual glance. It doesn't completely ruin it for me, but it does leave you pining for an unaltered picture because the underlying master is in great shape. The colour grading, I prefer for the same reasons stated in the review, the warmer colours lend themselves extremely well to the photography.
From what SS have said, the "look" of this edition of the film comes directly from Peter Weir, it's exactly as he intended it to now look.
I think you are getting DNR confused with soft focus, which is the way the film was shot. Using bridal veils to fifths light which scatters the highlights into the mids and blacks, giving a dreamlike quality. Stills photographers use this too. It can be a smear of Vaseline, breathing on the lens before taking the shot or stretching a stocking over the front element. The way this film is shot is essential to the look and feel of it. If everything was in razor sharp detail it would not have the same effect. Try not to confuse this type of photography with DNR it’s really annoying (not just you, a lot of people mistake this effect).
I understand that it was shot that way but DNR is certainly present and visible too. You can even tell comparing two different shots in the same night scene - the lighting is the same in both shots but the faces go from smooth to overly smooth. You can see that two areas of the image at the same focal length exhibit different levels of smoothness which wouldn’t occur naturally, as far as I know
@@ElliotCoen , I will certainly look out for that next time watching it, but I honestly couldn’t see anything amiss with this release. Maybe my telly’s not big enough! 😂 its a 42” plasma (not 4K obviously) and I thought it looked great.
Bit of a patronising comment, assuming that he doesn’t know the difference between soft-focus & DNR. Also “try not to confuse this type of photography with DNR its really annoying” is even more patronising, especially when many others have commented on the DNR on this release.
@@nathanthomas5133, didn’t mean to be patronising, but I have seen many comments about DNR when a film has soft focus or diffused shots (usually on female faces) some people thinking that every shot should be pin sharp! Hope Elliott didn’t take the comment the wrong way. Cheers
Well! Have littel trust in peopel that making comments in a very snobby why where they are telling someone that they know better. And then so is it no prof that they are something more then an amatuers on their own yutbue-channel
I hate those Second Sight HUGE packings, unncessary, takes a lot of space and very expensive to import to USA, is sad.
That’s a fair point. The packaging is a pro for some and a con for others. Cheers :)
@@ElliotCoen they start with sizes like the limited Arrows, I start buying them, those looks all the same size, good! but now they change to that huge bibbles!!! so I stop to buying them, I'll go for the standard (boring).
@@JohnSmith-zl8rzSecond Sight are a UK based company, so importing to the states wasn’t the first thing in their mind when they produce these editions.
I disagree. On the TCM set for example, the 190 page book was amazing and I would have bought that if it was for sale separately
@@benpascall4297 Even if I live in UK not buy that, take a lot space on the shelves, that's why I love Indicator, slim limited editions, only big when are box sets. Huge boxes for just one movie is a waste of space and money.
About the 190 pages also a waste, I want buy a movie, not a book!!! If I want a box, I'll buy it separately.
@@JohnSmith-zl8rz it’s only a waste if you don’t read it and don’t value. So it’s a waste to you but not other people. If people didn’t buy these sets they wouldn’t go to the effort of putting them together.
The standard editions are your route.
Peter Weir has lost his mind
Such a wonderful film. It's a shame Peter Weir would direct the horrible "Dead poets society".
I can understand not loving it, but "shame" & "horrible" seem a little strong.
Can you do a video on 4K Ultra HD as its own thing? Which films are selected for 4K UHD release and why? Should there be more done? How long is the process? Has it breathed new life into physical media? Does the home viewer get a better deal over streaming? The region free element opens up new markets to the international viewer. Is this the latest fad until 8K is a thing? I’ve got so many DVD 📀 releases > Blu Ray 📀 > 4K UHD and while I welcome the improvement I resent buying limited editions at the time only to see them become obsolete. Thanks 🫡
8k is already dead - people weren’t interested in the TVs. The human eye can only see so much detail.
Discs will likely become obsolete one day, but collecting physical media is a process of curation as much as it is having the ‘current’ best quality format.
@@benpascall4297 Curation definitely 👍 Especially when there is only one available format for a particular inclusion to your collection. I started collecting DVDs 📀 in 2001 with the belief that I had to curate the collection because things would be lost to Father Time. My belief throughout has only become vindicated as time has worn on…these different formats, though improved with each paradigm shift, shed a plethora of wonderful films and programmes with each upward grade. I’m only sorry I got rid of so many DVDs 📀 when I moved house 🏡 Streaming services whilst being heralded as a game changer only show the rubbish films and poor sequels. All of the top films and TV 📺 need to be bought still. And they only keep films 🍿 and TV 📺 shows on for a period before they’re lost forever either due to lack of interest, censorship or rights issues.
Physical media with forever be king 👑
I’ve held off getting the SE because of the price, which I feel is steep. You have provided some reassurance, Elliot, but I’m still not rushing at this. Yours is the first review I’ve seen, so I shall hope for more. I’d wondered about the Criterion, but won’t go down that route now. I felt the Three Colours Trilogy was expensive, but this is another step up on that. I do really like Picnic… which has haunted me since seeing it upon release. Peter Weir’s non-Hollywood films don’t get the attention they deserve (apart from this one). Thanks for discussing the issues here, several of which I was unaware of until you did.