10 Walkabout

[Subbuteo]

Firstly, he said "one of" and secondly, are you disagreeing? I'd like to hear that story.

Nicely put. For me, the film itself is the evidence for sidehacker's opinion, and I'd also be more interested in hearing a case against.

Mbalson "one of" referred to Insignificance being a less regarded film in Roeg's canon and not the second point of his post which I commented on...
I am not disagreeing with sidehackers opinion, just think it's a strong opinion and clearly some support his statement.

[vogler]

considering how it's probably one of the best photographed films ever.

Roeg has always been a real favourite of mine and I have always been struck by the beautiful cinematography in Walkabout.

Isn't Insignificance one of Roeg's "lesser" works. I was led to believe that everything he did after Bad Timing was far different both in theme and technique.

I would say everything after Insignificance. I think Eureka is a wonderful film although it is obviously flawed. It's pure Roeg though, and features some of his wildest sequences. Insignificance is also an excellent film I would say. I thoroughly recommend these two but after this I am not so keen on his work.

[Solaris]

I disagree that Insignificance was Roeg's last really good film; I think the hugely underrated Two Deaths is his best film after Bad Timing.

Walkabout does deserve a new edition; a new anamorphic print and new extras would be fantastic. This, in my opinion, is Roeg's best film (although Don't Look Now is very close).

[daniel p]

I can't believe I waited this long to finally watch Walkabout last night. Some of you thought it didn't refine cinema the same way as 2001 did. Well it did for me. I would love to add the film to my collection but it's one of Criterion's oldest releases. Does anyone know if Criterion's working on the rerelease?

Could you please elaborate on how it 'refined cinema' for you?
I thought it was a great film, but it had nowhere near the profound effect that 2001 had on me. Although 2001 took me 2 viewings to love it, maybe I should give Walkabout a second go...

[Michael]

I was merely defending Walkabout which I think deserves as much glory as films that obviously refined cinema, such as 2001 and Citizen Kane to name a couple of examples. It forced me to look at cinematography and editing in a new way which is something to say for a well seasoned film nut like myself. Even though I was already familiar with Roeg (Don't Look Now and his work with Petulia - both among my favorite films of all time), Walkabout was a splash of ice water in my face. I'd elaborate better if I had seen it at least twice however the way Walkabout expresses its deep mystical thoughts and emotions through piercingly beautiful cinematography and editing is completely new and unique - just as revolutionary as films like L'avventura/L'eclisse, a sprinkling of Bergmans and of course 2001.

[sidehacker]

I would say everything after Insignificance. I think Eureka is a wonderful film although it is obviously flawed. It's pure Roeg though, and features some of his wildest sequences. Insignificance is also an excellent film I would say. I thoroughly recommend these two but after this I am not so keen on his work.

Alright, thanks. Even though Roeg is my favorite director, I've been very cautious when approaching his post-Bad Timing stuff. This is mostly due to Track 29, which I thought was quite bad.

[Matt]

New DVD and Blu-ray edition announced.

[HistoryProf]

Permit me to dance around my living room for a few minutes as I celebrate this long awaited announcement!

So excited for this extra in particular:

Gulpilil—One Red Blood (2002), an hour-long documentary on the life and career of actor David Gulpilil

Mr. Gulpilil has had one of the most fascinating cinema careers in film history....I hope he adds his voice to the doc too.

[Person]

Ah! I am glad to see that one of my favourite films is finally receiving an optimal presentation on home video. The extras sound interesting, too. Nice cover, also!

[ianthemovie]

Didn't Criterion mention something about preparing a new commentary for this re-release way back in 2008 when they first announced that they would be putting it out on BluRay? I'm too lazy to go back and find that email, but I seem to remember them saying something about that. In any case, I'm sorry to see that there won't be one. This film is so thematically and visually complicated that it's deserving of a nice scholarly commentary track.

[Jeff]

Didn't Criterion mention something about preparing a new commentary for this re-release way back in 2008 when they first announced that they would be putting it out on BluRay?

The email only said, "our Blu-ray release of Walkabout will be an all-new edition, featuring new supplements as well as a new transfer; we will also release an updated anamorphic DVD of Nicolas Roeg’s outback masterpiece at the same time."

The actual release, by the way, is coming just over two years after that email was sent.

[ianthemovie]

That's disappointing. I guess that was just wishful thinking on my part...

And you don't need to remind me about how long it's been since they sent that email--I've been anxiously waiting the whole time. Walkabout will actually be the last of those titles they first announced to get released. Needless to say, I was very happy on Friday.

[roeg]

Will this new edition have English subtitles?

[mikkelmark]

Will this new edition have English subtitles?

Think it will. Doesn't all criterion DVDs/blu-ray's have English subtitles? Atleast all that I own have.

[swo17]

The only times I would be concerned about a new Criterion disc not having English subtitles are during the English language portions of predominantly foreign language films.

[perkizitore]

Speak for yourself Mr, there are many deaf and foreigners out there.

[swo17]

I meant that if I were hard of hearing, the only time I might worry that a new Criterion disc wouldn't have English subtitles when English is being spoken is if the film were predominantly spoken in a foreign language. (For instance, I don't believe the English portions of Playtime are subtitled.)

[Finch]

Robert Harris gives the BR a ringing endorsement.

[cdnchris]

Blu-ray grabs:

Grab 1
Grab 2
Grab 3
Grab 4
Grab 5
Grab 6

[HistoryProf]

am I seeing EE on the horizons?

[cdnchris]

In some scenes it's apparent.

[wllm995]

Very positive review at Blu-ray.com:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Walkabout ... view/9841/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[TMDaines]

Another underwhelming CC Bluray. The edge enhancement on here is very apparent: http://www.criterionforum.org/caps/hires/00002297.png

[cdnchris]

New DVD
Blu-ray

And for comparison's sake: Original DVD

[Finch]

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/walkabout.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Gary makes no mention of the edge enhancement (not a deal breaker for me; I still think this looks like a very good transfer). Still, how come that other than Chris no reviewer seems to have picked this up?