MovieChat Forums > Storm Boy (1977) Discussion > Will we ever have a blu-ray / wide-scree...

Will we ever have a blu-ray / wide-screen version of this movie?

posted 8 years ago by ketil-albertsen
1 reply | jump to latest

No matter how careful the pan&scan is done: I knew from the very first time I saw this movie that it couldn't possibly have been made in 4:3 format. There's always something missing in the picture: The landscape, the interior. So I wasn't at all suprised to find, at IMDb, that the original aspect ratio of the movie is 1:1.85.

I have been searching for widescreen edition for years, without success. Also, the colors in the DVD version really looks a really old movie.

Is there any hope that we will ever see a high quality restored version of this movie, in 1:1.85 aspect ratio and with restored colors, preferably in BD format?

IMDb has another "Storm Boy" entry, "in progress", so information is not available without an IMDb Pro subscription. I am crossing my fingers that this is a re-issue of a complete restoration of the movie. If that is so, I will place my order the very first day it becomes available!

[–] jdt5000 7 years ago

Good question.....

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) have restored this and many other Australian films. Many of them, including Storm Boy, are not available to purchase in their re-mastered format - it's a disgrace! Check out their awful website if you want more info https://www.nfsa.gov.au. Apparently they will "loan" this film (and others) for various purposes, but the prices are extortionate and I think the copies they have for loan are the old 4:3 version DVD anyway.

The NFSA have posted a 4 minute trailer on You Tube of the restored HD wide screen version and it looks reasonably good and is a huge improvement over the terrible 4:3 DVD currently available which is almost certainly a simple transfer from an old master tape. There are also a few other short clips on You Tube of the restored version, all posted by the NFSA.

Anyone reading this that hasn't seen the movie would do well to avoid the website and videos I mention above as they all contain significant spoilers!