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Snapshot AKA One More Minute AKA The Day After Halloween AKA The Night After Halloween (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Powerhouse Films Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (28th May 2024). |
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The Film
 Chantal Contouri (Thirst), Robert Bruning (Ned Kelly) and Sigrid Thornton (Prisoner: Cell Block H) star in Snapshot, a tense Australian thriller that marked the feature debut of director Simon Wincer (Harlequin, Free Willy). When naïve hairdresser Angela (Thornton) is persuaded by her model friend Madeline (Contouri) to try glamour modelling, she dreams of escaping her humdrum life and the clutches of her over-protective mother. Instead, she is thrust into a decadent world of jealousy, exploitation ... and death. Produced by Antony I. Ginnane (Patrick), co-written by Everett De Roche (Roadgames) and scored by Brian May (Mad Max), Snapshot – released internationally under the titles One More Minute and The Day After Halloween – is a classic of Ozploitation cinema.
Video
Nothing special, at times nonsensical, but entertaining thriller has been sold as a slasher epic down the years and it's alternate US retitling - The Day After Halloween - doesn't help. It's all very nicely shot and performed with mostly pretty good direction from Simon Wincer (in his theatrical feature directorial debut); he went on to Hollywood with the likes of Quigley Down Under (1990), Free Willy (1993) and The Phantom (1996). Very much a product of it's era and of producer Anthony Ginnane's output with one foot in respectability, one foot in exploitation. From the booklet: Snapshot was scanned in 4K from the original 35mm negative, preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) of Australia, by Fixafilm. The film’s audio was captured from the original sound negative by the NFSA. Picture restoration and colour correction work were carried out by Renasci Films in the UK. Thousands of instances of dirt were removed, scratches, stains and other imperfections eliminated, and damaged frames repaired. No grain management, edge enhancement or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way. The image is generally excellent when derived from the negative with plentiful fine grain which the encode handles with aplomb leaving the image filmic and richly detailed. There is some softness in scenes involving opticals typical of movies made on film. Colours are vibrant throughout but especially in the club scenes; I haven't seen such vivid reds and blues in a naturalistic film for quite some time, ditto greens; flesh tones are ruddy. Black levels and contrast are solid allowing everything to feel three dimensional with a nice contrast ratio. Occasional highlights (and skies) show signs of being mildly blown out but that's down to how the film was shot I suspect. Shadow detail is present, I saw no signs of unintended crush. It's a strong, vivid, filmic transfer and I loved the visual aesthetics of this film ('A'). (The 13 minutes of scenes removed from the original edit to tighten the film up are presented approximately in 1.66:1 and occasionally zoom boxed and feature more muted colour, although reds still sing. Contrast is little flatter and there's more crush and the image is obviously much softer and less detailed. That said they's been cleaned up and presented on their best behaviour given the source and there are no artefacts.) 1080p24 / AVC MPEG-4 / BD50 / 2.39:1 / 104:50, 92:27
Audio
English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (48kHz, 16-bit) Subtitles: English HoH The mono track is solid for what it is with very occasional mild distortion and hiss if played very loud, but at normal viewing levels it's a good, robust track. Dialogue is clear, Brian May's melodramatic score is well handled in the mix. The hard of hearing subtitles are as good as can be ('B').
Extras
(1.) Audio commentary on the theatrical cut by director Simon Wincer, producer Anthony I. Ginnane, actor Sigrid Thornton, cinematographer Vincent Monton and moderator Mark Hartley (2017) (2.) Audio commentary on the "Director's Cut" by producer Anthony I. Ginnane and moderator Katarina Leigh Waters (2012) (3.) Audio commentary on the "Director's Cut" by producer Anthony I. Ginnane and film historian Jaimie Leonarder (2018) Track one is preceded with the following onscreen text: The following audio commentary was produced for a previous home video presentation. Unfortunately, as the original mix was mistimed, some of the participants' comments run slightly out of sync with the onscreen action. As we have not been able to access the original, unmixed recording, it has unfortunately not been possible to correct the problem. We hope that this historical error does not affect your enjoyment of this otherwise informative and insightful commentary track. This track (from the 2017 Vinegar Syndrome release) has a slightly hollow quality as if it's recorded in an echoey booth. However, it's very easy to listen to and covers a wide range of topics as one would expect from the participants. Casting, acting, cinematography (those blues and reds!), attitudes to homosexuality, critical reactions amongst many other topics all get a fairly detailed look-in. I didn't particularly notice that some of the comments didn't always jibe with the onscreen action. Track #2 dates from the 2012 Scorpion DVD and focuses on producer Ginnane's point of view and is done to the longer original edit. Track #3 is from 2018 and features Ginnane again. Both have moderators who do a sterling job of guiding Ginnane through the film and there is some obvious crossover between the two but each has plenty that is unique for fans to savour. All three are presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono (48kHz, 255Kbps). "Producing Snapshot: An Interview with Tony Ginnane" 2017 interview (27:56) An excellent interview with the veteran producer starts by recounting the success of Patrick (1978) and how it led to Snapshot (1978). From there he takes us through the boom in Oxploitation films and thence the production of the film. Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (48kHz, 192Kbps). Not Quite Hollywood Interviews (Play All - 39:24): - "Sigrid Thornton: Angela" (12:26) - "Anthony I. Ginnane: Producer" (12:30) - "Lynda Stoner: Actress" (0:45) - "Simon Wincer: Director" (6:45) - "Everett De Roche: Screenwriter" (2:02) - "Vincent Monton: Cinematographer" (2:47) - "Tom Burstall: Assistant Director" (2:07) Another collection of interviews done circa 2006-08 for Mark Hartley's excellent documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild Untold Story of Oxploitation Cinema (2008). Most of the subjects are informative as anyone who's seen Hartley's film will know. They're well aware that they were making a piece of highly commercial cinema and there are plenty of matter of fact anecdotes and fondness for the final film. The exception is with actress Stoner, the initial casting choice for the lead role, who refused to do nudity and she seems to have had a less than happy relationship with Ginnane. 1979 Audio Interview with Simon Wincer (16:35) Vintage interview with director Wincer from around the time of the film's initial release discussing it's disappointing performance and speedy conception and making. Presented with black screen and in lossy English Dolby Digital mono (48kHz, 192Kbps). "Elements of Danger: Fire Stunt Co-ordinator Grant Page on Staging the Finale of Snapshot" 1979 interview (2:14) "The Trans-Pacific Mode: Stephen Morgon on Snapshot" 2024 interview (10:00) The Page interview is very brief and focusses on the fire stunt at the end of the film and the tricky nature and safety issues. Set to clips from the film, specifically the fire scene. The Morgan interview covers the film and where it sits in the history of Aussie cinema and specifically amongst other 1979 Australian films. Also the two versions and how the film led to other Ginnane films. 1080p24 2.39:1 (Page), 1.78:1 (Morgan) with lossy English Dolby Digital mono (Page) stereo (Morgan) (48kHz, 192Kbps). The Day After Halloween Titles (2:28) American distributor Brandon Chase, producer of Alligator (1980) and The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), was instrumental in getting the film cutdown from 105 minutes to 92 and retitled in The Day After Halloween to cash-in on the success of John Carpenter's box office smash Halloween (1978). This is the opening of his version. Presented in 1080p24 2.39:1 with lossy English Dolby Digital mono (48kHz, 192Kbps). Trailers and TV Spots: - "Snapshot" Theatrical Trailer (3:41) - "The Day After Halloween" Theatrical Trailer (1:06) - TV Spot #1 (0:25) - TV Spot #2 (0:26) Vintage promos presented in 1080p24 Image Galleries: - Snapshot Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (170 images) - Snapshot Image Gallery: Behind the Scenes (128 images) - Snapshot Image Gallery: Dialogue Continuity Script (99 images) A whopping collection of excellent images in HD. 80-page liner notes book with a new essay by Ian Barr; an exclusive extract from producer Anthony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs; archival interviews with director Simon Wincer, screenwriter Everett De Roche, and composer Brian May and full film credits The usual superb hardcopy companion to the film covering different perspectives starting an excellent new essay from Barr and more from the key filmmakers.
Packaging
Not sent for review.
Overall
One of the less well remembered and well known Australian commercial films from the late '70s gets the deluxe treatment from Powerhouse Films in the UK (with a concurrent US release from them as well). Both in UHD BD and BD editions. The 4K wasn't provided for review but I'm sure the increased resolution and HDR will mean my rankings can be boosted for the image. Presentation of image and sound is topnotch with a wonderfully filmic transfer and solid mono. Extras are thoroughly comprehensive bringing together material from all previous releases on DVD and BD. An essential disc for fans for cinematic horror and thriller titles and obviously of Australian cinema ('A').
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