Second Sight Films (UK)

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#526 Post by L.A. » Tue Aug 25, 2020 12:01 pm

**MARTIN UPDATE**
We appreciate everyone’s patience with our release of this one. We wanted to check material from various sources and this has been very difficult over the past months due to locations and access. We are hoping to move forward again shortly and aim to release early 2021. More details to follow...

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jsteffe
Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 9:00 am
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#527 Post by jsteffe » Wed Aug 26, 2020 7:31 pm

jsteffe wrote:
Fri Jul 03, 2020 11:57 am
I'm looking forward to Second Sight's Blu of WALKABOUT. Based on the screen captures (which you always have to take with a grain of salt), it looks as if they were able to get more detail *and* color information going back to the negative in 4K. The greens are more vibrant, whereas they are limited in the older Criterion transfer. I'll need to see it in person ultimately, but so far it looks very promising. My only wish is that they could release a 4K UHD someday!
I received my pre-ordered copy in the mail, and it's a wonderful edition! I don't think the DVD Beaver screen caps fully capture the effect of the new restoration. It looks to me as if they have taken some care to reproduce the look of Seventies film stock, especially the distinctive reds. The image is very sharp and detailed, with copious grain. It will take some time for me to delve into all the supplements, the package as a whole is beautifully designed.

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#528 Post by Adam X » Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:15 am

Do the greens look more convincing than in the DVD Beaver caps? The colour all round looked a bit weird, but especially green.
ie. the trees & grass looked wrong, nothing like they do in Australia.

If it’s as positive as you make it sound, then that’s good news.

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jsteffe
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#529 Post by jsteffe » Thu Aug 27, 2020 12:03 pm

The color grading is certainly different from the older Criterion Blu-ray. That transfer has more of a "normal" white balance, but it can be brownish and the blacks are crushed in places. The image is more contrasty. The greens are darker, but they also look weak to me. It looks dated now.

The new restoration has more color information overall, not surprisingly. It does have a different look, especially in the greens and reds. It looks to me as if they were trying to replicate Seventies film stocks. The approach is similar to what Criterion took for Midnight Cowboy. That restoration was controversial here, and I was initially skeptical myself, but it was approved by the cinematographer, Adam Holender. In fact when I spoke to Holender he was emphatic about being unhappy with the color on the older MGM transfer compared to the new restoration. (Walkabout has a different cinematographer, of course - Roeg himself.)

I can't claim that the new color grading for Walkabout is definitive, but it looks like a reasoned choice. It's not one of those cases where a LUT gives a yellowish or greenish push to the entire film, as we have seen with some other restorations. I think it works and am very happy with the restoration.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#530 Post by L.A. » Thu Aug 27, 2020 12:51 pm

Excited about Walkabout. Also Peter Weir’s The Last Wave out from Umbrella Entertainment next week. Very super.🥃🧊

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rapta
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
Location: Hants, UK

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#531 Post by rapta » Thu Aug 27, 2020 1:59 pm

I love Walkabout and it's probably my favourite Roeg film (of which I've seen to date, still a few crucial blind spots) so I'm very much looking forward to this new edition arriving. I went from being curious, to being excited when they announced not only was it a brand new restoration, but the amount of care they went into the extras and literature. Honestly have been impressed with Second Sight more and more in recent years and this is my favourite title so far!

PS: Peter Weir is someone the UK labels need to get onto soon. Several of his films need decent editions, and some could do with upgrades too. The Last Wave would be a good start, or The Cars That Ate Paris. Witness would be even better!

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
Location: NYC

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#532 Post by hearthesilence » Thu Aug 27, 2020 2:02 pm

Re: the DVD Beaver caps, Second Sight's presentation looks clearly superior to me, and it even looks like the master created for Criterion's disc was de-grained. Check out the actual grains of sand in the screencaps - the sand looks more like a spotted tile compared to the impressive detail on the Second Sight disc.

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Adam X
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:04 am

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#533 Post by Adam X » Fri Aug 28, 2020 11:53 am

I've no doubt the disc looks better than the Beaver caps (as is pretty much always the case these days), but the colour for me just looks a bit unnatural. I suspect not having older versions to compare to would make it a lot easier to digest. It's a really nice package, and I agree with rapta on their care over the physical product. They announced two delays due to receiving stock in a condition they weren't happy with.

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Rayon Vert
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#534 Post by Rayon Vert » Fri Aug 28, 2020 4:24 pm

Do we know if a Criterion update is in the works?

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domino harvey
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#535 Post by domino harvey » Fri Aug 28, 2020 4:41 pm

I’m sure Criterion is not exactly falling over themselves to release it a fourth time

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#536 Post by Calvin » Fri Aug 28, 2020 4:59 pm

A 4K restoration credited to Criterion was shown at The Reel Thing last year, so they probably will.

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DeprongMori
Joined: Fri Apr 04, 2014 1:59 am
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#537 Post by DeprongMori » Fri Aug 28, 2020 5:40 pm

Rayon Vert wrote:
Fri Aug 28, 2020 4:24 pm
Do we know if a Criterion update is in the works?
It’s not going to be on 4K UHD HDR from Criterion, so it would be a lost opportunity anyway.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#538 Post by dwk » Fri Aug 28, 2020 8:05 pm

DeprongMori wrote:
Fri Aug 28, 2020 5:40 pm
Rayon Vert wrote:
Fri Aug 28, 2020 4:24 pm
Do we know if a Criterion update is in the works?
It’s not going to be on 4K UHD HDR from Criterion, so it would be a lost opportunity anyway.
I disagree. I think, barring releasing a Roeg boxset, the only way they will bother re-releasing it will be on UHD. There is a reason that it was an early DVD release and an announced launch title for Blu-ray (even though it took a year before it was released) and that is that Walkabout is something that Janus owns, likely is a strong seller, and they will have forever to make their money back on it when it is released on a new format. (Essentially the same reason that Zombie and Maniac were the first two UHDs for for Blue Underground.)

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#539 Post by dwk » Tue Sep 08, 2020 1:22 pm

Dawn of the Dead has been pushed back to November 16th.

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dwk
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 6:10 pm

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#540 Post by dwk » Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:10 am

Looks like those outside the UK that pre-ordered Dawn of the Dead at Base will be having their orders cancelled
Non-EEA Fulfilment

We have been experiencing an increasing number of legal challenges and other issues with our shipping of orders outside of the European Economic Area (EEA). Our suppliers transact with us on the basis that goods will only be sold within the EEA.

These issues have been compounded by: Covid-19 related delivery constraints and costs, an increasing number of lost parcels, local taxation changes, and customs delays. All this has led our Board to take the decision that, with immediate effect we will cease taking orders for countries outside of the EEA.

From the 1st October, we will cease to ship orders outside of the EEA. Any orders that are still outstanding will be cancelled.

We regret we have had to take this action and apologise for any inconvenience we have caused you.

Kind regards

Base.com

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swo17
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#541 Post by swo17 » Mon Sep 28, 2020 10:45 am

And you can't currently order it in the U.S. from Amazon UK

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tenia
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#542 Post by tenia » Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:03 am

I just hope there won't be another delay pushing this into 2021.

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The Elegant Dandy Fop
Joined: Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:25 am
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#543 Post by The Elegant Dandy Fop » Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:25 am

DiabolikDVD took preorders for the set for a single day, then pulled it off their site. This unusual preorder method was announced in advance. They said anyone who preordered should be getting it, but didn't want to get into specifics on why they took so few preorders. Is there something unusual about why this release isn't shipping anywhere? Who owns the UK rights? I helped book a screening of this years ago and actually remember cutting a check directly to George Romero as he personally owned the rights here in the US.

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swo17
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Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#544 Post by swo17 » Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:34 am

The Elegant Dandy Fop wrote:
Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:25 am
Is there something unusual about why this release isn't shipping anywhere?
Just COVID, I'd say. It still seems to be shipping from Zavvi, though it's not cheap there

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perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#545 Post by perkizitore » Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:36 am

Rubinstein

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Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#546 Post by Finch » Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:31 pm

Guess that when Martin eventually gets released, I'll have it shipped to my Edinburgh flat and ask my tenant to forward it on to wherever I'm going to be by that point (could be Washington or Berlin).

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perkizitore
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 3:29 pm
Location: OOP is the only answer

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#547 Post by perkizitore » Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:01 pm

Finch wrote:
Mon Sep 28, 2020 7:31 pm
Guess that when Martin eventually gets released, I'll have it shipped to my Edinburgh flat and ask my tenant to forward it on to wherever I'm going to be by that point (could be Washington or Berlin).
I guess Trump isn't leaving anytime soon,so see you in Berlin!

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Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#548 Post by Finch » Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:04 pm

He'll be leaving as long as Biden wins the popular vote by a 5% margin or higher which would put 270 electoral college votes out of Trump's reach. We're not packing suitcases for Europe unless there's a stunning reversal in Trump's fortunes and even then, not until early 2021.

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L.A.
Joined: Thu May 28, 2009 7:33 am
Location: Helsinki, Finland

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#549 Post by L.A. » Fri Oct 02, 2020 8:45 am

**DOG SOLDIERS news** We are currently looking at a February release date. We will be evaluating materials and options and will confirm full release details by beginning of December at which time pre-order will be available.

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Re: Second Sight Films (UK)

#550 Post by Calvin » Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:00 am

Second Sight have revealed Julia Ducournau's Raw as an upcoming title. No additional details as of yet, but I'm a big fan of the film so I'm glad to see that Second Sight are giving it their attention with their recent run of form.

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