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The Kelly Reichardt Collection [Blu-ray]

 

Meek's Cutoff (2010)                                  Wendy and Lucy (2008)

                            

Old Joy (2006)                                     River of Grass (1994)

 

NOTE: Old Joy is compared to the Criterion Blu-ray HERE

 

 

This essential collection brings together for the first time on Blu-Ray the three films that helped establish Kelly Reichardt as one of the most important auteurs of American independent cinema: OLD JOY (2006), WENDY AND LUCY (2008) and MEEK'S CUTOFF (2010). Also included as a Bonus Feature is her remarkable debut film, RIVER OF GRASS (1994), never previously available in the UK. Other Bonus Features include audio of a masterclass given by Kelly Reichardt at Oxford University in 2014, the short stories by Jonathan Raymond upon which OLD JOY and WENDY & LUCY are based, and a booklet written by long-time Reichardt collaborator Larry Fessenden.

 

Box Cover

   

CLICK to order from:

 

Distribution

Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Subtitles

English, None

Features

Release Information:
Studio: Soda Pictures

Edition Details:


Meeks Cutoff
• Making of (9:36)
• Theatrical Trailers of Old Joy (2:27), Wendy and Lucy (1:33), Meek's Cutoff (1:48) and Night Moves (2:17)

Wendy and Lucy
• Kelly Reichardt in Conversation while film runs (1:20:14)
• Train Choir (18:35)
• Theatrical Trailers of Old Joy (2:27), Wendy and Lucy (1:33), Meek's Cutoff (1:48) and Night Moves (2:17)

Old Joy
• River of Grass (1:15:26 in 480i)
• Old Joy (short story - text screens)

• Theatrical Trailers of Old Joy (2:27), Wendy and Lucy (1:33), Meek's Cutoff (1:48) and Night Moves (2:17)

Blu-ray Release Date: August 25th, 2014

 

Blu-ray Package

 

 

Comments:

NOTE: These Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

Firstly, the 4 films are divided on the 3 Blu-ray discs as follows:

Disc 1) Old Joy + River of Grass

Disc 2) Wendy and Lucy

Disc 3) Meek's Cutoff

NOTE: Old Joy is compared to the Criterion Blu-ray HERE

Firstly, I'm a huge Kelly Reichardt fan (I loved Meek's Cutoff). This was a great idea by Soda Pictures in the UK, putting this collection together and including the, less-available titles. This gal is a cinematic force and I was thrilled to watch these films. Executive producer for the three main feature films is director Todd Haynes (Safe) - also Reichardt's friend. I am keen to see her Night Moves when it comes to disc.

Video: Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy and Meek's Cutoff are in 1080P on three single-layered Blu-ray discs - with the latter compared to the US version (also reviewed HERE). Not much of a difference. Kelly's debut feature River of Grass is included in 480i. These are all competent transfers - modest but supportive bitrates and the features retain nice textures and true colors without digital manipulation. The image presentation are more directly relational to the production budgets than any fault in the transfer. I was pleased, primarily to see the films, and then in HD showing the most authentic theatrical visuals as possible. I have no complaints.

Ditto for the audio - this is independent cinema with only Meek's being on the larger scale. Score's are not an issue and the vérité aura is supported with the lossless transfers. Meek's and Wendy and Lucy have 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master options with the earlier production not offering much in the way of necessary separation. Old Joy is liner PCM and you can hear some of the outdoor sounds quite well.  They 3 main features have optional English subtitles (see samples below) - including the extra River of Grass - and all three Blu-ray disc are region FREE. NOTE: My screener discs are and I assume the commercial product will be as well.

Okay, on the Meeks Cutoff disc is a 10-minute Making of piece (same as the one on the Oscilloscope Laboratories, US, Blu-ray) and, as every disc has theatrical trailers of Old Joy (2:27), Wendy and Lucy (1:33), Meek's Cutoff (1:48) and Night Moves (2:17). The disc with Wendy and Lucy has an interesting option to listen to a conversation with Kelly Reichardt, recorded at St Anne's College, University of Oxford, on May 29th, 2014 (moderated by Dr. Andrew Klevan) - as the film, Wendy and Lucy, irrelevantly runs although Meek's Cutoff is discussed most of the time. You can navigate through the text of Train Choir - Jon Raymond's short story Wendy and Lucy's screenplay (also penned by Raymond) is based on. The disc with Old Joy has Reichardt's debut River of Grass (1:15:26 in 480i) and, click-thru, text screens for the story Old Joy.

Pretty sweet package, IMO - although I'd have loved more extras but the 1.5 hour conversation with Reichardt is cool. I was very keen on both Meek's Cutoff and Wendy and Lucy - I need to watch Old Joy again. River of Grass shows so much promise from this important filmmaker! This package is very strongly recommended - whether you already own Meek's Cutoff or not! One of my favorite boxsets of the year to date.  

Gary W. Tooze

 

 


Sample Menus


 


CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon train of three families has hired mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a shortcut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the coming days, the emigrants face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in one another's instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as a natural born enemy.

 

 

Bitrate:

  Oscilloscope Laboratories Soda Pictures

Runtime:

1:42:41.071

1:42:29.685

Disc Size:

41,350,161,108 bytes

24,193,436,175 bytes

Feature Size:

33,398,028,288 bytes

21,751,437,312 bytes

Video Bitrate:

34.98 Mbps

22.99 Mbps

Chapters:

19

10

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 3880 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3880 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

DTS-HD Master Audio English 2020 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2020 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

 

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
 

1) Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

1) Oscilloscope Laboratories - Region FREE - Blu-ray TOP

2) Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray BOTTOM

 

 

 


 

 

Old Joy director Kelly Reichardt crafts this intimate tale of Wendy, an alienated Indiana woman who packs up her car and sets her sights on Alaska, but finds herself stranded in a small Oregon town with no money and only her faithful dog, Lucy, to keep her company. When Wendy realizes that there's nothing keeping her in her home state of Indiana, she makes the decision to relocate to Alaska and seek out work at the local fish cannery. With her four-legged friend Lucy in the passenger seat next to her, Wendy stops off to get some rest in a small Oregon town. The following morning, when Wendy attempts to start her car, the engine fails to respond. But this is only the first in a series of snowballing events, because as Wendy waits for the local garage to open she heads to the supermarket to pick up some dog food for Lucy. Opting to shoplift the puppy chow since she doesn't have much cash to speak of, Wendy subsequently finds herself in the local jail thanks to an overzealous employee. By the time Wendy pays her fine and gets back to the supermarket, Lucy is gone. Unfortunately the dog pound doesn't open until the following morning, and after receiving some help from a kindly local, Wendy gets some particularly bad news about her car.

 

Bitrate:

Runtime:

1:20:14.810

Disc Size:

24,756,570,785 bytes

Feature Size:

21,053,681,664 bytes

Video Bitrate:

27.99 Mbps

Audio:

DTS-HD Master Audio English 1664 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1664 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit
Kelly Reichardt in Conversation (as the film runs): LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Old Joy is writer/director Kelly Reichardt's long-awaited follow-up to her revered but underseen 1994 feature debut, River of Grass. (She directed a couple of shorts in the interim, including Ode, a Super-8 film inspired by the song "Ode to Bill.") Daniel London and cult folksinger Will Oldham star in the film as two old friends who go on a camping trip to a hot springs in the Cascade mountain range of Oregon. London's Mark is the responsible one with the modest house, the wife (who resents his gallivanting off), the dog (who comes along), and the baby on the way. He listens to Air America, and makes all the right liberal noises. Oldham's Kurt is the free-spirit type with the untamed facial hair and the junker car that looks more lived-in than vehicular. Kurt suggests the trip, and they take Mark's car. Kurt has the directions to the place, and they get lost ("I think we're somewhere...in the area") and spend the night at a garbage-strewn campsite, where they discuss their lives, and Kurt laments the apparent dissolution of their friendship. In the morning, they have breakfast in a diner, and Mark apologizes to Tanya (Tanya Smith) over the phone, explaining that he'll be home later than expected. In the daylight, they find the hot springs, and spend the afternoon quietly unwinding. Reichardt co-wrote Old Joy with Jonathan Raymond, adapting his short story, which was originally written as a collaboration with photographer Justine Kurland. It was shot (on Super-16) by Peter Sillen and features a soundtrack by Yo La Tengo. The film was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art for inclusion in the 2006 edition of New Directors/New Films.

 

Bitrate:

Runtime:

1:13:15.015

Disc Size:

24,392,381,078 bytes

Feature Size:

17,122,369,536 bytes

Video Bitrate:

27.99 Mbps

Audio:

LPCM Audio English 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit

 

NOTE: Old Joy is compared to the Criterion Blu-ray HERE

 

 

 
 
 
 
 

 


Box Cover

   

CLICK to order from:

 

Distribution

Soda Pictures - Region FREE - Blu-ray



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