Bill Morrison: Selected Films 1996-2014 Blu-ray

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"Bill Morrison: Selected Films 1996-2014"

Directed By Bill Morrison
1996-2014

The Film of Her (1996)       City Walk (1999)       Ghost Trip (2000)
Decasia (2002)       The Mesmerist (2003)       Light Is Calling (2004)
Outerborough (2005)       Porch (2006)       Highwater Trilogy (2006)
Who By Water (2007)       Spark of Being (2010)       Release (2010/2011)
Just Ancient Loops (2012)       Re: Awakenings (2013)       The Great Flood (2013)
Beyond Zero: 1914-1918 (2014)       Back to the Soil (2014)

Over the past twenty years, Bill Morrison has built a filmography of more than thirty striking and original works which have been presented in cinemas, museums, galleries and concert halls worldwide. Making use of rare archival footage, which has often been decayed by the passing of time, Morrison explores the power of film as a medium which is evocative of memory and gives rise to a sense of collective mythology. Morrison's exquisite and timeless films are scored by the cream of the US underground / avant-garde music scene, including Dave Douglas, Henryk Górecki and Bill Frisell.

Posters

DVD Reviews

DVD Review: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

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BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Runtime	2:30:23 + 2:34:43 + 2:35:05 plus extras
	Blu-ray One	Blu-ray Two	Blu-ray Three
Video	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,578,963,299 bytes Feature's Size: 44,925,668,736 bytes Video Bitrate:33.76 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 23.976 fps Contains: The Film of Her (12 mins) City Walk (6 mins) Ghost Trip (23 mins) Decasia (67 mins) The Mesmerist 916 mins) Light Is Calling (8 mins) Outerborough (9 mins) Porch (9 mins)	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 43,997,960,535 bytes Feature's Size: 43,411,734,144 bytes Video Bitrate: 33.12 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 23.976 fps Contains: Highwater Trilogy (31 mins) Who By Water (18 mins) Spark of Being (67 mins) Release (13 mins) Just Ancient Loops (26 mins)	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,770,252,027 bytes Feature's Size: 41,461,176,192 bytes Video Bitrate: 31.87 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 23.976 fps Contains: Re: Awakenings (18 mins) The Great Flood (78 mins) Beyond Zero: 1914-1918 (41 mins) Back to the Soil (18 mins)
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Disc 1 Blu-ray Bitrate:
Disc 2 Blu-ray Bitrate:
Disc 3 Blu-ray Bitrate:
Audio	Decasia and Release offer both audio options, but the rest are all the LPCM (bottom) • DTS-HD Master Audio 3153 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3153 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) • LPCM Audio 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Features	• Bill Morrison: The Film Archaeologist (2013, 9:01) • Special packaging with extensive 60-page booklet Chapters: 17 + 19 + 20 Blu-ray Release Date: May 4th, 2015

Comments:

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

ADDITION: BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray (May 2015): I think I recall reading that this is the first time that many of these films will be available in Europe and aside from Icarus Film's, Region 'A', Blu-ray of Decasia, reviewed HERE and also compared below - this is the first time that I know that so many have Bill Morrison films been compiled together in 1080P!

My general overview is that I think the BFI video appearance is truly amazing in this package of 3 dual-layered Blu-ray discs with very high bitrates. The comparisons with Decasia goes to the BFI as it is tighter and brighter than the US transfer. You can see how it is kind of unusual to champion the image quality when there are such 'decayed' nitrate visuals throughout the films - shifting each frame to a different artistic fractal, BUT I am suggesting that this makes it even more important for the impact on the viewer's senses when the video has such superior layered contrast, crisper lines and it even exports a 'scope' feeling despite almost all the films being in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Color as seen in Porch and Spark of Being are usually passive from faded negatives but it often has that 'Polaroid' pastel appearance. The super-wide ratio split screen of Outerborough and mirroring effect in Release look exceptionally impressive in the higher resolution. They are hypnotic (the production company is, actually, called 'Hypnotic Pictures') - these celluloid hybrids of an age gone by producing a new expression of sheer beauty. There are experimental works, documentary-style, and Avant-garde - all wrapped up in one mesmerizing package. I was blown away.

Firstly, all the films offer a linear PCM audio transfer 2.0 channel mono at 2304 kbps. However, Decasia and Release - both also have the option for a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at an intense 3153 kbps. This is pretty special and the audio can be as refreshing as the imagery. There are scores by people like David Lang, Michael Gordon, composer / guitarist Bill Frisell featuring rock, country, jazz, the blues, experimental music and, for example; several detuned pianos and an orchestra playing out of phase with itself. It carries its own magic and the lossless renderings sound fabulous with the two surround tracks carrying intensity and depth beyond what I would have imagined. There is no dialogue in any of the films (a few text screens) so there is no requirement for subtitles. The three Blu-ray discs are Region 'B'-locked.

The only digital supplement is on disc one - the 2013 entitled Bill Morrison: The Film Archaeologist. It is a 9-minute docu-piece from the Louisiana channel. It is interesting as an overview - but too short to fully give a just examination of the artist - interviewed, here, by Christian Lund. The package also contains a hefty 60-page booklet with writings by Lawrence Weschler, Alex Ross, Gareth Evans, Geoffrey Himes, Sukhdev Sandhu, Steve Dollar and others, plus some photos, notes on the composers, Disc listings and more.

When you want to relax - REALLY want to relax - this is a perfect thing to - turn the lights down, site comfortably - and watch. Wow. Unique, rich, poetic and once exposed - irresistible. Very strongly recommended!