Watership Down

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

WATERSHIP DOWN
A film by Martin Rosen

Released on Limited Edition UHD and Blu-ray, iTunes and Amazon Prime on 25 November 2024 (previously listed as 11 November)

See the new trailer here.

Newly restored in 4K, with a premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October, Watership Down, long unavailable to buy, is released by the BFI in Limited Edition UHD and Blu-ray formats on 25 November. Each presentation contains identical special features including a new audio commentary, a vintage audio commentary, four scenes with accompanying original storyboards, postcards, a perfect bound book and more.

An apocalyptic vision prompts a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation. Richard Adams’ timeless novel is brought brilliantly to life as Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig tackle the brutal realities of the English countryside – and mankind’s devastating impact upon it – as they lead their colony to the utopian Watership Down. Featuring an acclaimed voice cast (including John Hurt, Richard Briers and Denholm Elliott), a powerful score by composer Angela Morley and the hit single 'Bright Eyes' sung by Art Garfunkel, Watership Down is a thrilling tale of adventure, courage and resilience that continues to enthral new and old audiences alike.

Special features
• UHD: Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Blu-ray: Restored in 4K and presented in High Definition
• New audio commentary by film and animation scholars Catherine Lester and Sam Summers (2024)
• Vintage audio commentary by director Martin Rosen and writer and filmmaker Chris Gore (2003)
• A Conversation With the Filmmakers (2005, 17 mins): director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings discuss the production history of the film
• Defining a Style (2005, 12 mins): key animators and background artists discuss their work
• Storyboard comparison (2024, 15 mins): four scenes with accompanying original storyboards
• Super 8 version (1978, 28 mins): original UK Super 8 digest release
• Nepenthe Super 8 footage (c1977, 3 mins): shot by Arthur Humberstone, a senior animator
• Designing Watership Down (2024, 4 mins): a film of materials related to Watership Down courtesy of The Arthur Humberstone Animation Archive
• Treasures from the BFI National Archive (1942-1969, 48 mins): a selection of archive gems, including films by Mary Field and Halas & Batchelor, related to the themes or personnel of Watership Down
• Trailers and TV spots
• Double-sided poster featuring the original UK quad and the 2024 rerelease artwork
• A set of four postcards featuring images and sketches from the film
• 80-page perfect-bound book featuring writing by Jez Stewart, Catherine Lester, Nigel and Klive Humberstone, Angela Morley, Charlie Brigden, Lillian Crawford, Vic Pratt, Tim Coleman, Caroline Millar, Tony Dykes and Michael Brooke

Product details – UHD
RRP: £34.99 / Cat. no. BFIB0004 / PG
UK / 1978 / colour / 92 mins / English with optional descriptive subtitles and audio description / original aspect ratio 1.85:1 // UHD100: 2160p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo (48kHz/24-bit)

Product details – Blu-ray
RRP: £29.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1473 / PG
UK / 1978 / colour / 92 mins / English with optional descriptive subtitles and audio description | original aspect ratio 1.85:1 // BD50: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit)

[nicolas]

This is a lovely edition as seen in these from pictures from a BR user: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... stcount=81

After taking a look at the disc, I felt a sigh of relief that this fantastic new transfer (16-bit 4K OCN scan and Silver Salt restoration) saw the light of day after all. It’s a drastic improvement to the Criterion across the board. The film’s now more detailed due to the new scan and encode, it’s much better graded, HDR is very tastefully and beautifully applied, the film is now stable and doesn’t have the Telecine wobble that’s present on the Criterion master.

I’m not the biggest fan and collector of animated films, but I did see another gorgeous restoration this year which serves as an interesting comparison - Gandahar by René Laloux, which was released by Le chat qui fume in France. They also released the film OCN-restored with HDR and their approach was more to emphasize a "pop" look with brighter colors and highlights rather than a more subtle grade to represent the film’s filmic roots more faithfully. I was impressed how Gandahar looks on my TV but the BFI made the right decision when approaching Watership Down. It feels like someone’s projecting these images live and there’s essentially nothing distracting.

I’m mentioning essentially because there are tiny blocking artifacts I observed in Fidelity’s encode, namely with some of the highlights in moments where grain is thicker and the HDR grade is at its "hottest". The vast majority of viewers aren’t noticing this and even the pixel peepers shouldn’t worry but it’s there if you look for it. See at minute 06:57 for an example near the fence where detail isn’t as strong as in the foreground. Again, nothing to worry about. This is still very much a Fidelity encode.

Audio sounds very good to me. BFI also commissioned an audio restoration from the original magnetic tracks. The score in particular sounds very lively whereas the narration is a little more muffled but that can also be heard in Criterion’s mix, which I also think is really good.

Subtitles are included and have full stops.

Please enjoy your copies - it’s truly an outstanding release. If you have the Criterion and are aware of its poor encoding, definitely consider an upgrade.

[rapta]

This is a lovely edition as seen in these from pictures from a BR user: https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php? ... stcount=81

After taking a look at the disc, I felt a sigh of relief that this fantastic new transfer (16-bit 4K OCN scan and Silver Salt restoration) saw the light of day after all. It’s a drastic improvement to the Criterion across the board. The film’s now more detailed due to the new scan and encode, it’s much better graded, HDR is very tastefully and beautifully applied, the film is now stable and doesn’t have the Telecine wobble that’s present on the Criterion master.

I’m not the biggest fan and collector of animated films, but I did see another gorgeous restoration this year which serves as an interesting comparison - Gandahar by René Laloux, which was released by Le chat qui fume in France. They also released the film OCN-restored with HDR and their approach was more to emphasize a "pop" look with brighter colors and highlights rather than a more subtle grade to represent the film’s filmic roots more faithfully. I was impressed how Gandahar looks on my TV but the BFI made the right decision when approaching Watership Down. It feels like someone’s projecting these images live and there’s essentially nothing distracting.

I’m mentioning essentially because there are tiny blocking artifacts I observed in Fidelity’s encode, namely with some of the highlights in moments where grain is thicker and the HDR grade is at its "hottest". The vast majority of viewers aren’t noticing this and even the pixel peepers shouldn’t worry but it’s there if you look for it. See at minute 06:57 for an example near the fence where detail isn’t as strong as in the foreground. Again, nothing to worry about. This is still very much a Fidelity encode.

Audio sounds very good to me. BFI also commissioned an audio restoration from the original magnetic tracks. The score in particular sounds very lively whereas the narration is a little more muffled but that can also be heard in Criterion’s mix, which I also think is really good.

Subtitles are included and have full stops.

Please enjoy your copies - it’s truly an outstanding release. If you have the Criterion and are aware of its poor encoding, definitely consider an upgrade.

My copy of the Blu-ray is on its way, very excited as this is a favourite of mine. Will potentially upgrade to the 4K UHD eventually but not in a hurry as I don't plan on buying a new projector anytime soon. Was so happy they managed to get this sorted again after initially cancelling it (was going to be one of my first 4K purchases in fact, as initially was announced as a Dual Format release only).

As for Gandahar, I do wonder if Radiance might release it as they have teased animation, or perhaps Eureka will upgrade from their now-OOP DVD edition. I think Time Masters is coming from Criterion at some point, so possibly for the UK as well (unless one of the above managed to license it before them).

[black&huge]

Debating if I should get this bfi 4k or wait for a potential Criterion upgrade

[ryannichols7]

Debating if I should get this bfi 4k or wait for a potential Criterion upgrade

extremely unlikely Criterion would equal or top this edition. BFI seem to have pulled out all the right stops on the digital presentation, and their extras blow Criterion's out of the water. this isn't a Seven Samurai situation where it's kinda a draw, there's a pretty clear winner this time. and my copy is coming in the mail on Monday

[therewillbeblus]

For the life of me, I can’t discern 4K upgrades in animated films

[beamish14]

For the life of me, I can’t discern 4K upgrades in animated films

Robot Carnival (1987) is a night and day difference. Just stunning

[ryannichols7]

For the life of me, I can’t discern 4K upgrades in animated films

Ghost in the Shell and Snow White have been the biggest winners to me so far. you can see the literal hand strokes in the animation with the HDR. I'll admit CGI (so Wall-E) haven't been that big a jump to me, noticably, but anything hand drawn definitely has. I really look forward to an eventual Sleeping Beauty upgrade, or dream of Fantasia

unfortunately so many titles aren't gonna be "big enough" to get the upgrade, hence me basically mentioning Disney exclusively in this post

[beamish14]

For the life of me, I can’t discern 4K upgrades in animated films

Ghost in the Shell and Snow White have been the biggest winners to me so far. you can see the literal hand strokes in the animation with the HDR. I'll admit CGI (so Wall-E) haven't been that big a jump to me, noticably, but anything hand drawn definitely has. I really look forward to an eventual Sleeping Beauty upgrade, or dream of Fantasia

unfortunately so many titles aren't gonna be "big enough" to get the upgrade, hence me basically mentioning Disney exclusively in this post

The Black Cauldron is the big Disney one that I’m hoping for. No transfer has ever used the OCN, which was filmed in 65mm and used the incredible detail afforded by the studio’s amazing multiplane camera

[nicolas]

For the life of me, I can’t discern 4K upgrades in animated films

Do you have Criterion’s BD of Watership Down? I have it and the new master & encode are huge improvements. You should definitely see the advantages on your OLED

[Farley Flavors]

The Black Cauldron is the big Disney one that I’m hoping for. No transfer has ever used the OCN, which was filmed in 65mm and used the incredible detail afforded by the studio’s amazing multiplane camera

Strictly speaking, it used an 8-perf 35mm system called Technirama.

[ryannichols7]

For the life of me, I can’t discern 4K upgrades in animated films

Ghost in the Shell and Snow White have been the biggest winners to me so far. you can see the literal hand strokes in the animation with the HDR. I'll admit CGI (so Wall-E) haven't been that big a jump to me, noticably, but anything hand drawn definitely has. I really look forward to an eventual Sleeping Beauty upgrade, or dream of Fantasia

unfortunately so many titles aren't gonna be "big enough" to get the upgrade, hence me basically mentioning Disney exclusively in this post

The Black Cauldron is the big Disney one that I’m hoping for. No transfer has ever used the OCN, which was filmed in 65mm and used the incredible detail afforded by the studio’s amazing multiplane camera

considering how well Disney handled the 4Ks of their classic titles so far (much to everyone's surprise), that would be pretty incredible. just hope it isn't too much for them, but truly ...it's not like restoring it and putting it out would be more than a drop in the bucket for them