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Watership Down
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (11th December 2024). |
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The Film
 "Watership Down" (1978) Taking place in rural England in a wild rabbit warren, one of the rabbits, Fiver (voiced by Richard Briers) has a premonition that their entire community would perish. His older brother Hazel (voiced by John Hurt) tries to inform the chief (played by Ralph Richardson) of the community, only to be struck down as traitors. Hazel and Fiver decide to escape the warren for a safer place, and they are joined by fellow rabbits Bigwig (voiced by Michael Graham Cox), Blackberry (voiced by Simon Cadell), Pipkin (voiced by Roy Kinnear), Dandelion (voiced by Richard O'Callaghan, Silver (voiced by Terence Rigby), and Violet. On their journey to find a new safe haven, they encounter some allies such as Kehaar (voiced by Zero Mostel) the seagull with the injured wing, but also enemies with owls, hawks, cats, and obstacles such as streets, train tracks, and rivers. "Watership Down" was based on the novel of the same name written by Richard Adams in 1972. The story itself is fairly straightforward in a group's journey and the trials and tribulations that follow the, though it was uniquely told the story through the eyes of rabbits and taking place in a modern world. While the book was in English, the rabbits had unique words for things that were manmade, such as for cars and boats, and the novel itself had a glossary for the "Lapine" language for the readers. The book was awarded the 1972 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association and would continue to be a critical favorite of readers and critics, with themes that seemed friendly enough for children while tackling serious topics within. Film producer Martin Rosen was on location in India for a film production where a crewmember recommended the book. He fell in love with it immediately and contacted Adams about getting the rights for adapting it to screen. Various ideas were thought about on how to adapt it to screen, whether having live action rabbits, actors in costume, stop motion animation, eventually being decided as traditional cell animation for the production. Rosen set up the animation studio Nepenthe Productions in England for the production, with animation director John Hubley slated to direct. The locations depicted in the film were inspired by the real Watership Down in Newbury, west of London, where the animators scouted the areas for reference. Unfortunately due to disagreements with Rosen, Hubley left the production early in, leaving the crew without a director. Rosen had some experience producing, but none whatsoever with directing, let alone animation. He took over the role, and the tightly budgeted production with a crew of animators of which many had never worked on a feature length production were set out to create one of the most iconic animated features of all time. For the animation in "Watership Down", simplicity is key. While there is the age old trope of talking animals, this was quite different from Disney productions where the anthropomorphized characters moved and acted sometimes humanly even though they were supposed to be animals. Here the rabbits are rabbits. They walk and run on all fours, they live underground in holes, and eat vegetables that they can scrounge. They also look like rabbits, with no major exaggerations to their features to make them look anything otherwise. The background art is inspired from the real locations, and there is nothing particularly artificial in the scenery. The greens of the grass, the slight greys of the skies, they are shown with light pale tones that are not flashy or distracting. Everything looks like it was based on reality, simply put. Disney's "Bambi" had realistic backgrounds but exaggerated animal characters. "Animal Farm" had exaggerations with both backgrounds and with the animals themselves. There are similarities with those films in some artistic senses, "Watership Down" was more about the characters, the story and the journey. Not to say those films were devoid of those, and not to place "Watership Down" and their artistic team's merits, but the differences are very apparent. The opening sequence does not fit in the particular mold of reality though, as it is a fascinating sequence that is reminiscent of Egyptian Hieroglyphics and cave paintings come to life, explaining the lives or rabbits, their evolution, their sun god, all through exaggerated and visually bold direction. It certainly looks and feels quite different from the rest of the picture, and clearly sets a tone of what is myth and what is reality. The story of the rabbits on a journey to a safe haven can be found all through human history in parallel forms, whether in literature or reality. From Homer's "The Odyssey", Moses leading his people, "Journey to the West", the Pilgrims being ostracized from England and arriving in America, the Jews reclaiming the land in the middle east, the list can go on even longer by including films and video games as well. The common idea is present in "Watership Down", and it is very easy to become completely involved with the characters. When they encounter danger, it is harrowing. When members of their pack are killed, there is mourning. And with that said, one of the boldest moves of the film is its depiction of violence. There are two types of violence shown in the film, and one is of rabbit against rabbit and the other is nature against rabbit. The rabbits on the journey encounter many obstacles, and in cases when humans are shooting with guns, hawks and owls are preying on them for food, the violence is shown entirely off screen. The audience does not see the moment Hazel is shot, they also do not see the moment Violet is snatched and taken away. What is seen in detail is when rabbits are fighting each other, being scratched, bitten and bloodied, as well as when traitors are being punished. The scenes are not the easiest to watch, as much of the film is beautiful, delicate, and cute with the characters and setting. There was some controversy with the violence shown, but would it have been the same reaction if these were humans fighting each other? There are many examples of man on man violence in storytelling as well as in reality, but when the same conditions are depicted with animals, there is more sympathy placed with audiences. It's also interesting that the film like "Bambi" or "Animal Farm" never shows the faces of the human characters at all, with only a voice here and there to show their presence. But the destruction and terror caused by the humans, from the housing construction that Fiver envisions coming true, the cars that whizz by without a thought to stop for rabbits on the road, show that there is much more to the rabbits' story than just the rabbits on a journey. It is not the main showcase but people watching the film will find themselves having to look at their place against nature and their surroundings. "Watership Down" is a fantastic adventure on a small scale, and it's easy to see why both the book and the film have been treasured by so many. Though the two have their differences. The film adapting makes a number of changes, such as cutting a number of characters from the original story, removing a number of plot points of the journey, and not being separated into parts. As the book was over 400 pages, it is impossible to cram every detail into less than two hours without being overcrowded. The film version does add the character of Violet, the only female of the initial escapees, and there are some changes to characters by combining details of a few into one character as well. Another aspect of the film that is memorable is the score by Angela Morley and Malcolm Williamson. The delicate score and music cues are excellent in creating a heartwarming ambiance, and that is also heightened by the lone vocal track "Bright Eyes" which was written by Mike Batt and performed by Art Garfunkel. The production of the film took a good three years from 1975 to 1978 by Nepenthe Productions, with the slow production due to financial issues having a small animation crew. Distribution was another issue as it was an independent production and no major distributor was looking to license it, as it didn't seem commercially very viable. Eventually it struck a deal with CIC in the UK, though Rosen and Nepenthe had to pay for the marketing costs themselves. It was a fair hit in the United Kingdom theatrically when it opened on October 19th, 1978. It would later be released in the United States on November 1st, 1978 and in other countries around the world through out the next two years. It became hits in certain counties, but flops in others, with each country having differing marketing and distributors. This was also the case for the film's song "Bright Eyes", which became a massive hit in the UK, reaching the top of the singles charts, selling over a million copies, and Garfunkel's 1979 album "Fate for Breakfast" reaching #2 on the album chart. While in the US, the song failed to reach the top 100 chart and the album reached only #67 on the album chart. Over the years the book has gone on to be a literary classic and included in a number of school curriculums. The animated film has also become a classic animated feature not just in British animation but in animation as a whole, and has had a healthy life on numerous home video formats. It has been said that Adams did not particularly like Rosen's adaptation of his book, and also had a distaste for Garfunkel's song from the film. There was also friction between the two with legal issues to the ownership, as Rosen claimed he had ownership of all rights to the book and profited from audiobooks and adaptations. In 2020 a court ruled that Rosen had to pay more than $100,000 in damages for copyright infringement to the Adams estate. Richard Adams passed away on December 24th, 2016 at the age of 96. Back in 1996, Adams released "Tales from Watership Down", a collection of short stories with characters from the original book as well as additional mythological stories with the rabbits. In 1999 there was a Canadian TV series of "Watership Down" which lasted for 39 episodes for three seasons. It was into a series again in 2018 by BBC with "Watership Down". While each adaptation has its strengths and weaknesses, it is difficult to top the 1978 feature, which is easily the most memorable and most loved of the adaptations. The BFI initially announced they were releasing the film on Blu-ray and 4K UltraHD formats for an October 2022 release, but unfortunately the release was postponed without explanation. It left fans disappointed, but thankfully it was not entirely cancelled, as two years later the BFI would finally release the film with the new restoration. With this new BFI release, the film has been restored in 4K, and is presented for the first time in the world on the 4K UltraHD Blu-ray format. Note this is a region ALL 4K UltraHD Blu-ray release
Video
The BFI presents the film in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 2160p HEVC with HDR10/Dolby Vision grading. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned at 16-bit 4K resolution on an ARRISCAN motion picture scanner for the restoration. The film has received numerous releases on every home video format available, and has looked very good in every instance. This new restoration goes a step further, bringing new life back to the iconic film. Restoration was undertaken by Silver Salt restoration, which included removal of damage marks such as scratches and speckles, reducing flicker, as well as balancing and restoring colors. The film has had a warm watercolor look with emphasis on lighter colors. From the light blues of the skies to the greens of the countryside fields, they look wonderful throughout. The darker portions such as the night sequences and the underground areas also look great with depth. Detail is strong with the backgrounds as well as the main figures on screen, and most importantly, there is film grain retained in a well managed state to keep its filmic look. There are portions such as the opening and closing credits that look a bit softer due to the optical printing process which is expected. It’s a fantastic restoration from Silver Salt and an excellent transfer to the 4K UltraHD format by the BFI. The film’s runtime is 91:46.
Audio
English LPCM 2.0 stereo English Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo The film was the first animated feature to be mixed and released in Dolby Stereo, and the stereo track is presented here in uncompressed form. There is also an option for a new audio descriptive track, which is in lossy 2.0 stereo. The music cues stand out the most with the subtle left and right stereo panning effects giving life to the feature, especially with “Bright Eyes” sounding warm and full. Dialogue has some panning, though mostly center based. This is not a film that will give the stereo speakers a full workout, but works more in subtle moments. The original magnetic master elements were used for the audio restoration, removing any damage such as hiss or crackle, and the track sounds excellent. Dialogue is clear, music is great, and there are no defects to speak of in this restored track. There are optional English HoH subtitles available in a white font which are easy to read, well timed, and without errors.
Extras
This is a single disc release with the film and some extras on the 4K UHD Blu-ray. The BFI are simultaneously releasing a separate standard Blu-ray release which has the film in HD with identical extras for people that have not upgraded to 4K. (1) Audio commentary with director Martin Rosen and writer/filmmaker Chris Gore (2003) This commentary has Rosen moderated by Film Threat’s Chris Gore discussing the background of the production. Talked about are how Rosen encountered the novel and the negotiation for adaptation, the initial adapting it to screen, changes made for the adaptation to screen, casting choices, the music cues, having to direct an animated film for the first time in his career, the success the film had depending on country by country, and more. Note this was originally recorded for the 2003 Australian Big Sky Video DVD release. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles (2) Audio commentary with animation scholars Catherine Lester and Sam Summers (2024) This new and exclusive commentary has Lester and Summers discuss the film on the techniques and styles used as well as comparisons to other works. Topic discussed are the opening sequence and its significance, similarities to Disney’s “Bambi” in visual style, the character designs, the accents of the characters, differences between the source novel, and more. in English Dolby Digital 2.0 without subtitles "A Conversation with the Filmmakers" 2005 featurette (17:14) This featurette has an interview with director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings recollecting about the film. Talked about are Rosen’s initial encounter with the book, getting the rights for adapting it, the choice for hand drawn animation, the styles, the sound design and foley work, the music choices, CBS being reluctant to release “Bright Eyes” as a single, the unusual situation with the distribution for the film, and the themes of the story. Note this was originally made for the 2005 Warner Home Video DVD release. in 1080p 30fps AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English HoH subtitles "Defining a Style" 2005 featurette (12:06) This featurette includes interviews with animators Alan Simpson, Colin White, Denis Ryan, and Gary Sycamore, voice actor Joss Ackland, plus Toonhound’s Frazer Diamond discussing the film. The animators talk about the visual style of the animals, the backgrounds, the working environment, behind the scenes stories, their favorite scenes, and Ackland talks about the film and his involvement in the production and its legacy. Note this was originally made for the 2005 Warner Home Video DVD release. in 1080p 30fps AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English Dolby Digital 2.0 with optional English HoH subtitles Storyboard Comparison (with Play All) (14:06) - Opening Sequence (3:47) - Nuthanger Farm (4:33) - Hazel Is Injured (2:39) - Efrafa Chase (3:04) Presented here are storyboard comparisons of four sequences of the film, in mandatory picture-in-picture with the black and white storyboards in the lower right side of the screen. The film and audio are from the 4K restoration and the storyboards are presented in high quality black and white stills. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.85:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles Super 8 Version (28:14) Prior to the advent of VCRs for home media in the late 1970s, the Super 8 film format was a way to buy or rent films to watch at home. Unfortunately as it would take multiple reels to fit a single feature film, it was common for some films, especially ones for younger audiences to be issued in abridged versions to less than thirty minutes, and also reformatting the footage to fit the standard 1.37:1 aspect ratio and having it presented with mono audio only. Presented here is the UK Super 8 version distributed by PM Films in the late 1970s, and the condensed version is here as more of a curiosity piece, as it is definitely not the most ideal way to view the film, cutting some significant plot points and sequences, as well as having an ending that is without a denouement. The transfer comes from a 2K scan of a Super 8 print, and the picture quality is fair but a bit rough, with colors being a bit dark and damage marks being visible though not too distracting. Sound is in much worse state, transferred from the Super 8 film’s audio track, with it being crackly and muffled. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.37:1, in English Dolby Digital 1.0 with optional English HoH subtitles Nepenthe Super 8 Footage (2:54) Presented here is home movie footage shot by senior animator Arthur Humberstone during the production of the film, showcasing inside and outside Nepenthe Studios. The footage has added captions to name the animators that appear and has background music to accompany the silent footage. It seems to have been mastered from an analog tape source, and there is a bit of blur and inherent damage marks to be found, though the colors look fairly thick and bold. The music used is “Ektachrome” by Nigel and Klive Humberstone (In The Nursery). in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, Music LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "Designing Watership Down" gallery (4:17) Presented here is a gallery/featurette with conceptual designs, original artwork, animation tests and more from the archives presented with music and without narration. The music used is “Midas Avenue” by Nigel and Klive Humberstone (In The Nursery). in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, Music LPCM 2.0 Treasures from the BFI National Archive (with Play All) (47:35) - "Once We Were Four" (1942) (8:59) - "Rabbits or Profits?" (1969) (15:45) - "Bolly in a Space Adventure" (1968) (5:10) - "Cartoonland: Make Believe" (1948) (17:40) Four short films with rabbit related content from the BFI National Archive are presented here. First is “Once We Were Four”, a nature documentary directed by acclaimed nature filmmaker Mary Field on the lives of a family of rabbits in the English countryside. It shows the bunch as babies and their maturity with whimsical and informative narration accompanying the short, adding voices to the rabbits and explaining about their situations. It showcases the difficulties of life with other animals such as badgers and farmers with guns that could easily lead to their deaths, and as it was a short produced during WWII, there is even the threat of bombs dropping and killing them in a surprisingly shocking sequence. The black and white image is in fairly good condition with good sharpness but features a lot of dust and scratches throughout. The narration is clear as is the music, though there is some hiss and crackle to be heard. “Rabbits or Profits” is an educational short from the Central Office of Information, showcasing how rabbits migrated up north to England and their biology leading to quick multiplication. While it shows the cuteness of the animals, it also shows the issues of myxomatosis disease affecting rabbits, the overpopulation and how it is handled through rabbit hunting and even gas poisoning with cyanide. The colors in this short are slightly faded but are in fair shape. Narration is a little on the muffled side but is fair overall. "Bolly in a Space Adventure" is a Halas & Batchelor animated short with a character named Bolly, who is seemingly an anthropomorphized mouse/rabbit hybrid that meets a group of aliens and travels with them to space. Though it would seem like Bolly would have had a series of shorts, the character never made an appearance in any form ever again. The colors are quite bold in this short’s transfer, though there are some damage marks to be found on the image. The sound is in better shape, though the music portions seem a little flat. Finally, “Cartoonland” is a fascinating short by Anson Dyer Studios, which is a live action and animation hybrid that is a showcase of how animation work is made featuring a newly created character named Ronnie Rabbit. The short creatively features the process from creating the characters, creating stories, animation tests, creating colors (though ironically the short is in black and white) and featuring the power of cigarettes to help with the creative process, something that wouldn’t fly today. The black and white image is quite poor here, with a faded image that is not quite sharp. The audio is the most muffled of all the vintage shorts, so it is sometimes hard to hear the dialogue and narration. Thankfully there are HoH subtitles here, as well as on the other shorts. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in English LPCM 1.0 with optional English HoH subtitles Trailers and TV Spots (with Play All) (6:14) - Original Theatrical Trailer (3:42) - Restoration Trailer (1:29) - TV Spot 1 (1:29) - TV Spot 2 (0:30) Presented here are the original lengthy UK CIC theatrical trailer, the newly created 4K restoration trailer by the BFI, plus two American TV spots. It’s fascinating to compare as the original trailer and the TV spots have darker colors and much more pronounced film grain and muffled dialogue, while the 4K restoration trailer showcases how bright and beautiful the animation is. All trailers and TV spots are transferred from film sources. The trailers are in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio while the TV spots are in 1.33:1. The restoration trailer has lossless 5.1 audio while the original trailer and TV spots have uncompressed mono audio. The restoration trailer has been embedded below, courtesy of the BFI. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.85:1 / 1.33:1, in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 / English LPCM 1.0 with optional English HoH subtitles Book The first pressing includes a 76 page book. First is an essay by Jez Stewart, curator of animation at the BFI National Archive and author of “The Story of British Animation”, detailing the film’s production. The next essay is “Rabbits and Children: Approach with Caution” by Catherine Lester, lecturer in film and television studies at the University of Birmingham, who looks at the darker aspects of the film and story and the controversy with the violence and horror featured. Next is “Kinship and Cocoa: Watching Watership Down in the Anthropocene” by writer and teacher Caroline Millar on her thoughts on the film through different viewings over the years. Then there is “‘My Heart Has Joined the Thousand, for My Friend Stopped Running Today” by writer and film critic Tim Coleman on the story seen through stages of grief. Next is a heartfelt piece on late animator Arthur Humberstone, written by his children Nigel and Klive Humberstone. “How the Music Score for Watership Down Came Together” written by the film’s composer Angela Morley and her thoughts on the process and the outcome, which can also be found on her website now run by her estate. Film critic Charlie Brigden contributes the essay “Is It a Kind of Dream? Creating Bright Eyes” which looks at the creation of the iconic song from the film. Then there is “Richard Adams: The Man Who Simply Saw Rabbits” by writer and researcher Lillian Crawford on the author, his life, and works. There are also full film credits, special features information, transfer information, acknowledgements and stills. The film carries over many of the previously released extras from various DVD and Blu-ray releases, though not all of them have made the transition. The North American Blu-ray from Criterion in 2015 featured two newly conducted interviews, one with Rosen and one with filmmaker and fan Guillermo del Toro, plus an optional picture-in-picture feature length storyboards comparison. While most releases on DVD and Blu-ray featured just four scenes including this BFI release, the Criterion release was for the entire film, and in addition the storyboards for the opening sequence were drawn in color and presented in color, as opposed to black and white as they are shown on this BFI release and other previous releases. The Criterion featured the 2005 “Defining a Style” featurette, but for some reason did not include the “A Conversation with the Filmmakers” featurette from the same period. The German Concorde Blu-ray from 2016 featured the Criterion 2015 interviews plus the two featurettes from 2005, but only had storyboards from four scenes like this BFI release. Even with a few vintage extras not being included, this BFI release is absolutely packed. Other notable clips: A 1974 BBC News report on the book An ITV News report on the book's 50th anniversary A clip of Guillermo del Toro's interview found on the US Criterion Blu-ray release The trailer for the 2018 "Watership Down" series
Packaging
The limited edition release has the 4K disc packaged in a keep case, housed in a slipcase which also holds the book, a double-sided poster featuring the original UK quad and the 2024 rerelease artwork, and a set of four postcards featuring images and sketches from the film.
Overall
"Watership Down" is a fantastic adaptation of the beautiful yet harrowing story, with delicate animation that continues to fascinate audiences over many generations. The BFI's 4K release is fantastic, with a great transfer, and having a nice selection of new and vintage extras. Easily one of the best releases of the year. BFI Shop link (4K UltraHD) BFI Shop link (Blu-ray) Amazon UK link (4K UltraHD) Amazon UK link (Blu-ray)
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