Age of Consent Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Norman Lindsay's Age of Consent")

directed by Michael Powell

Australia 1969

Based on Norman Lindsay's controversial autobiographical 1935 novel, Age of Consent is the story of an artist (James Mason), grown tired of producing art for wealthy Americans, who moves to the wilds of Australia s Great Barrier Reef where he meets Cora (Helen Mirren), a teenage girl who inspires him and becomes his muse as well as the object of his desire.

The penultimate film from the great Michael Powell (Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, Peeping Tom) Age of Consent explores the obsessive nature of an artist approaching the twilight of his career. Misjudged and mis-handled on its initial release (when the distributor removed key scenes and re-scored the film), Age of Consent is now regarded as one of Powell's key works.

Posters

Theatrical Release: May 14th, 1969

Indicator (Powerhouse) initial slate of Blu-rays

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Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Review: Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: or buy directly from Indicator: or a 'Standard' Blu-ray edition released in March: or directly from Indicator: and the film was previously available in a double feature, with Cactus Flower, from Mill Creek, on Blu-ray:
Distribution	Indicator Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:39:27.878	1:46:30.967
Video	Studio Cut: Disc Size: 46,656,045,929 bytes Feature Size: 23,956,847,616 bytes Average Bitrate: 27.52 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video	Director's Cut: Disc Size: 46,656,045,929 bytes Feature Size: 25,573,940,928 bytes Average Bitrate: 27.44 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Studio Cut
Director's Cut
Audio	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1043 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1043 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit) John Player Lecture and Guardian Interview: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps DTS-HD Master Audio English 1044 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1044 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 24-bit)s
Subtitles	English (SDH), none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Indicator Studio Cut: Disc Size: 46,656,045,929 bytes Feature Size: 23,956,847,616 bytes Average Bitrate: 27.52 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Director's Cut: Disc Size: 46,656,045,929 bytes Feature Size: 25,573,940,928 bytes Average Bitrate: 27.44 Mbps Dual-layered Blu-ray MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • The John Player Lecture with Michael Powell: The Beauty of the Image (1971): archival audio recording of the celebrated filmmaker in conversation with Kevin Gough-Yates at London s National Film Theatre (1:25:05) • The Guardian Interview with Michael Powell (1986): archival audio recording of the filmmaker in conversation with Sheila Whitaker at the National Film Theatre (1:46:01) • Audio commentary with film historian Kent Jones (2009) Ian Christie on Michael Powell and Age of Consent (2018): the respected academic and author of • Arrows of Desire: Films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger discusses Powell s life and work Making 'Age of Consent' (2009, 16:41): Kevin Powell, composer Peter Sculthorpe and editor Anthony Buckley recall the turbulent production and release history of the film • Martin Scorsese on Age of Consent (2009, 5:12): the acclaimed director discusses the impact and legacy of Powell s film • Helen Mirren: A Conversation with Cora (2009, 12:20): the award-winning actor reflects on one of her earliest and most memorable film roles Down Under with Ron and Valerie Taylor (2009, 10:03): a conversation with the celebrated underwater photographers • Original theatrical trailer (2:18) • The Boy Who Turned Yellow (53:59) Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material • New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing • Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Samm Deighan, an overview of contemporary critical responses and historic articles on the film • UK premiere on Blu-ray • Limited Edition of 3,000 copies Blu-ray Release Date: November 26th, 2018 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments

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

Indicator's Blu-ray is 1080P and offers two presentations of the film: The Film Foundation's 2005 restoration of the original 106-minute Director's Cut; and the 99-minute 1969 theatrical version seamlessly-branched. Colors are strong with rich hues and detail is consistent with fine grain supported. I think this Blu-ray provides a very film-like presentation with no heavy marks or speckles. It's at Indicator's usual high standards.

The audio is transferred in a DTS-HD Master 1.0 channel track (24-bit) in the original English language. The film doesn't require much in the way of aggression or extraneous effects - some at the horse race - and the dialogue is easily discernable. The score is by Stanley Myers (Take a Girl Like You, The Wilby Conspiracy, Eureka, Cimino's The Deer Hunter, Roeg's Insignificance, Harold Becker's The Boost, Pete Walker House of Mortal Sin and Frightmare, etc.) on the 'International' version and Peter Sculthorpe on the 'restored' version. Indicator add optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray disc.

We get a boat-load of extras starting with an audio commentary with film historian Kent Jones from 2009 (which my have initially been on an Umbrella DVD), plus we have the option to listen to an hour 25-minute of The John Player Lecture with Michael Powell: The Beauty of the Image from 1971 archival audio recording of the celebrated filmmaker in conversation with Kevin Gough-Yates at London's National Film Theatre while the film runs or almost the full length of the film with The Guardian Interview with Michael Powell from 1986 - an archival audio recording of the filmmaker in conversation with Sheila Whitaker at the National Film Theatre. New is Ian Christie on Michael Powell and Age of Consent where the respected academic and author of Arrows of Desire: Films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger discusses Powell's life and work - running 38-minutes. Making 'Age of Consent' runs over 1/4 hour from 2009 and has Kevin Powell, composer Peter Sculthorpe and editor Anthony Buckley recall the turbulent production and release history of the film. Martin Scorsese on Age of Consent is also from 2009 and runs 5-minutes as the acclaimed director discusses the impact and legacy of Powell's film. Helen Mirren: A Conversation with Cora is over 12-minutes of the award-winning actor reflecting on one of her earliest and most memorable film roles. Down Under with Ron and Valerie Taylor is a 10-minute conversation with the celebrated underwater photographers. There is an original theatrical trailer and The Boy Who Turned Yellow running shy of an hour from 1972 - Powell and Pressburger’s final collaboration, made for the Children’s Film Foundation. There is an image gallery of promotional photography and publicity material and the package contains a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Samm Deighan, an overview of contemporary critical responses and historic articles on the film It is limited to 3,000 copies.

Age of Consent is Powell's return to his work's prevalent theme of the artist (expertly portrayed by Mason) revaluating his life and accomplishments with some mid-life crisis, discovery, some beautiful idyllic scenery and hints of the upcoming decade's sexual liberation. Of course it's brilliant and shows Powell's power as a filmmaker and storyteller. Essential. The Indicator is a wonderful Blu-ray package giving a stellar HD presentation and a commentary, the lecture, interviews and liner notes booklet. Absolutely recommended!