Following the discovery of the original 16mm film of Atom Heart Mother from the 1971 Hakone Aphrodite shows and subsequent restoration, Pink Floyd will be releasing in Japan (and looking like it's Japan only) an expanded edition of Atom Heart Mother with a bonus Blu-Ray. All the details are up on Ron's website, Brain Damage: Pink Floyd news :: Brain Damage - Special Japanese-only Pink Floyd Hakone/Atom Heart Mother release Just announced as a special edition, being sold only in Japan (presumably due to licensing/release agreement), is a very interesting package celebrating the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd's pair of concerts at Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Hakone, Japan - the band's first in that country. The background to the release is this: an original 16mm film of Atom Heart Mother from the 1971 Hakone Aphrodite shows was recently discovered. A long time was spent digitizing, restoring and remastering, and to mark the 50th anniversary of the '71 Hakone Aphrodite event, a special edition (a two disc set of a CD and Blu-ray) of Atom Heart Mother will be released on August 4, 2021 in Japan. The Blu-ray disc contains the restored footage of Atom Heart Mother, showing the band on stage performing the song, and travelling around Japan, together with some additional bonus footage of Pink Floyd's crew, setting up the show, dealing with issues, etc., which hasn't been seen before. The pack comes with a 60-page photo book with never-seen-before photos, a reproduction programme, flyer, poster and ticket reprint which all looks great! More details can be found at PinkFloyd.jp, although if you can't read Japanese you'll need to use Google Translate or similar. Orders can now be placed through various links found at sonymusicjapan.lnk.to/PF_gjb including Amazon Japan, HMV, Sony Music Store, and others. We suspect that most, if not all, of these retailers will happily ship the item worldwide, although in certain countries customs duties or import taxes will be levied, so please be aware of this and check before ordering. If you want to see a quick comparison of a short part of the footage, comparing the newly restored film with what many of us will have been familiar with for many years, here's something that Sony Music Japan have put together:
I have to say that the first time I saw this my heart skipped a beat with the hope of a brand new surround mix on Blu-ray. The hi-resolution original stereo mix would be nice too. But hey, I’ll still order it for the restored film and the cool packaging.
Does the whole PAL/NTSC thing come into play here at all? Are we confident USA blu-ray players will play this? Probably a stupid question, but a really stupid outcome could happen if I don't ask.
so is the blu ray just of them playing the Atom Heart Mother song and then some behind the scenes stuff and that's it? so maybe a 40 minute long blu ray, and no bonus tracks on the cd? it seems cool, but also seems quite expensive for the very little that you're getting as far as what comes on the blu ray...
I assume this footage is not on The Early Years box. There were so many versions of "Atom Heart Mother"...
$72 to get it from Amazon Japan to the U.S. dang, as cool as it seems, i will definitely need to pass...
On Vol 5: ’71 Hakone Aphrodite Open Air Festival, Hakone, Japan, 6–7 August 1971 "Atom Heart Mother" – 15.11
While I was hoping for SACD reissues of all Pink Floyd's stuff, it looks like this kind of release is about the best we can expect.
There are plenty of sources on the internet to get a region free blu ray player. However, that is not the end of the analysis. First, you need to be sure your TV can toggle between PAL and NTCS. Mine, a 2006 era LG tube set (one of the last), can; ergo, I have kept it. (And, I like the picture - softer than a modern flat screen and easier on my eyes.) Next, you have to ask yourself whether you want to hack your main blu ray player to make it region free. Personally, I would not do that - I kept my Oppo 105 strictly for music. Just buy a cheapie region free blue ray player for discs like this. Keeps it simple. Others may have different approach.
Does rather solve the liner notes issue when they're written in a language (I presume) Dave and Roger can't read
Wish there was a James Guthrie or Alan Parsons remix of the actual album ... (I also wish that there were unicorns that fart jellybeans ... )
US Blu-ray players should be able to play the film, since Japan and the US share the same region code. It's also possible the Blu-ray disc is region-free. More info can be found in the link below. Region Codes for Blu-ray Discs | Sony USA