[Bowie] Roeg's Man Who Fell to Earth film. New 40th Bluray from 4k Restoration*

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by mr.datsun, Aug 15, 2016.

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  1. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    Mine says First British edition. 60p! It does say "album available on RCA". Never noticed that before.
    Unbelievably I've never seen a blue ray movie. I think CRT was better that LCD though for clarity and colour.
     
  2. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    @oldturkey Did you pick up a copy of the recent Unstoppable Editions book on the making of the film? It's a lovely thing.

    Here's my copy:

    [​IMG]
     
  3. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    Yep - mine's 135. Expensive, but I couldn't miss out on it. It is a beautiful book. Haven't read it yet though.
     
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  4. nathan_h

    nathan_h could be weirder

    The reports of the British blu ray are positive, now that its shipping. I guess I'll pick up the Canadian release when it ships in a week.
     
  5. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    It's a 1976 35mm scope film -- it's not gonna be sharp enough to benefit from 4K. The photographic style from 40 years ago often used a ton of diffusion filters, and Panavision anamorphic lenses were never that sharp to begin with. (I'm dealing right this moment with a project shot the same year, and the filtration and "soft" overall look is killing me. It's the opposite of a pin-sharp picture.)

    But I would bet the mastering could potentially look extremely good, and it might potentially look better than anything else released so far.

    I know your comment was made in jest, but Bolex 16mm cameras were awful -- nasty-looking pictures, very unstable, very soft to me. I have a lot of nostalgia for Bolex cameras, because we used them in film school, but the reality is that it was a crappy camera. I don't think 16mm negative could 2K on the best day in the universe. On a normal day, it'd be a lot worse.
     
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  6. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    That's a good interview with DB on the extras - French TV (according to Pegg 27th June 1977 - just after the Lust For Life sessions and just before Heroes) which I've not seen before. Bowie looking slightly chemically enhanced IMO. Worth the price just for that.

    The lost soundtracks feature is nice, at one point Buckmaster says the track Wheels would have worked really well. Why hasn't he made the tapes available?
    He mysteriously has "no idea where they are - they're in storage somewhere".

    Hmm.

    If I had possession of Bowie's lost TMWFTE ost I would damn well know their exact location and have them in an expensively secure place, well looked after.
     
  7. nathan_h

    nathan_h could be weirder

    I'd like it in 4k as a way to completely preserve all the artifacts of the original film elements without loss of detail. Sort of like hearing the tape hiss on a 24/96 transcription of a 1950s jazz recording. Give me the content in a bucket that bigger than needed. I'm not sure 1080p is enough for all cases. Certainly I have 35mm film stills from the 1980s that have more than even 4k resolution when scanned so I think 4k should be a minimum for preserving old film.
     
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  8. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    I doubt Buckmaster would be in possession of the master tapes. They'll be in Bowie's vault, and I doubt very much that we'll see them anytime soon. My impression is that little useable came out of the sessions, and that Bowie was a bit out of his depth, at that stage in his life, composing for his first major film.

    Roeg made the right decision, IMO, bringing in John Phillips, who I think put together a very interesting soundtrack. I love the way Stomu Yamashta's wonderfully evocative instrumentals rub up against Phillips's country-rock workouts. As a metaphor for Newton's experience in America you couldn't ask for much more.
     
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  9. nathan_h

    nathan_h could be weirder

    It's a more than $200 USD book! I am not familiar with that company but from their web site it looks like they specialize in creating collectibles like training cards. I hope to one day get a chance to see it or read it, but I cannot imagine buying a book that is that expensive, with out being able to see it first.
     
  10. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    On pre-order it was £100, plus £10 shipping. So, roughly $135 USD at today's exchange rate. Still expensive, but trust me, it's a gorgeous book; sumptuous and heavy. Of course, the price has risen to £150 now that they only have a handful of copies left.

    The website is terrible, and doesn't instill confidence, but the end product is essential for anyone with a long-term fascination with the film.
     
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  11. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    I think he's got DAT tape copies not the master tapes, but at least that means it exists. Even if it's not fully realised songs it would be worth a listen as it is the Low embryo.

    The book was too expensive but in an interview with Johnathan Ross the author said once these copies have gone that's it. No reprints. Had to buy it because I love the film so much.
    One book that was ridiculously expensive was Geoff MaCormack's From Station to Station (which I don't have).
    BookNook: Station To Station Geoff MacCormack | Eclectix »
     
  12. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    I agree, the ost is really good especially Yamashta, and somehow it really fits the movie.
     
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  13. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    I have a copy of Genesis Publications' Moonage Daydream book, which started the trend for mega-expensive Bowie books. Sadly, it sustained some damage in the flood that followed Hurricane Katrina, and the outer box was destroyed completely.

    I gave up collecting Bowie material seriously after Katrina. My interest in The Man Who Fell to Earth, however, remains. I'm more of a film buff these days than anything else.
     
  14. oldturkey

    oldturkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gone away.
    Commiserations - collecting is a bit like an illness really and collectors can be easily exploited, but in my opinion there's something about this film that I've always loved. You can just put it on and 2 hours 20 mins just disappears. It's a great movie. Is that book worth £100? If you've just spent £170 on a weeks worth of food shopping which will only end up going down the toilet, I say yes it's worth it.
     
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  15. stepeanut

    stepeanut The gloves are off

    Cheers.

    The 2016 re-release of TMWFTE has, so far, cost me £433.96 -- Tim Doyle poster (plus framing), Unstoppable book, BD box set, soundtrack CD, soundtrack vinyl box set, and two cinema tickets -- but it's only money that I would spend on something else, and this film has been special to me for a long time.

    I'm a big fan of Nic Roeg, and this is one of the few films where Bowie's presence is a major boon. Most of his film performances, and choices, do little for me. Other than TMWFTE, the only one I really care for is The Hunger.
     
    oldturkey likes this.
  16. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I don't agree, but where I would agree is that it doesn't cost that much more to scan in 4K nowadays, so they may as well do it. But I don't pretend there's really any difference for old films. The anamorphic lenses and film emulsions just couldn't resolve that kind of detail -- especially a film like Man Who Fell to Earth, which has a ton of diffusion. Very gauzy:

    [​IMG]
     
  17. Bitrate starved
    [​IMG]
     
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  18. keithdylan

    keithdylan Master of His Own Domain

    Does anyone know if there is a commercial video release with the original U.S. version? I saw online an art-house movie theater was showing it recently, so it still is out there. A friend of mine was in the church scene, but the director's cut uses different shots in that scene, and he is not in that version. If you've ever seen the U.S. version, he's the kid in the red, white and blue suit.
     
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