Rapa Nui (1994) coming from Warner Archive

[whiteberry]

Coming to Blu-ray October 31st

NEW 2023 1080p HD Master from Preservation Elements

RAPA-NUI (1994)
Run Time: 107 Minutes
Subtitles: ENGLISH SDH
Audio Specs: DTS HD-MA 5.1 Surround
Aspect Ratio 16x9 2.39:1 Letterbox
Product color: Color
Disc Configuration-BD 50

Includes the Original Theatrical Trailer

Cast: Jason Scott Lee, Esai Morales, Sandrine Holt

An island paradise becomes a scarred paradise lost in the spectacular South Seas adventure Rapa-Nui, co-produced by Kevin Costner, and directed by Kevin Reynolds. Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) and Esai Morales (La Mamba) play boyhood friends turned fierce rivals in this tumultuous tale of love and war. Each loves the same woman (Sandrine Holt of Black Robe) – and each intends to win her in marriage by competing for the island leadership in a genuine tribal contest.

Rapa Nui - Original Theatrical Trailer - YouTube

[anim8r79]

I am so thankful this is coming to Blu-ray! Only need Strange Days and The Abyss and that should do it for me for DVD upgrades.

Thank you Warner Archive!

[SpaceBlackKnight]

"Preservation Elements" sounds like Warner doesn't have the OCN or an IP (since it was a pickup for them) and that they reside with Icon/AMBI.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by SpaceBlackKnight

"Preservation Elements" sounds like Warner doesn't have the OCN or an IP (since it was a pickup for them) and that they reside with Icon/AMBI.

I don't see Icon or AMBI listed on the film's credits. I see RCS and Majestic. Google tells me RCS was an Italian company and Majestic a UK company. Does Ambi now hold rights to RCS titles and Icon now hold Majestic?

[SpaceBlackKnight]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

I don't see Icon or AMBI listed on the film's credits. I see RCS and Majestic. Google tells me RCS was an Italian company and Majestic a UK company. Does Ambi now hold rights to RCS titles and Icon now hold Majestic?

Majestic Films had international rights and Icon later assumed them upon purchase of said catalog. AMBI has US rights to the Icon catalog while overseas are still controlled by Icon direct. This is Warner in the US and since it was a mere pickup and seemingly lack preprint elements, its safe to say Icon have the OCN or whatever since it was primarily produced by Majestic.

[kong73]

lol Funny, at the end of August I made a post asking when this film was getting a blu ray release and look, here it is. When I made the post someone scolded me for posting it in the wrong place lol

[MifuneFan]

This has been delayed to Nov. 14th

[Rizor]

I'd forgotten all about this movie! It used to air a lot on cable in the mid 90s when I was a kid. Might be fun to revisit.

[Resident Evil Labs]

Never seen this, how is this? Looks very interesting

[dissolute_dog]

Originally Posted by Resident Evil Labs

Never seen this, how is this? Looks very interesting

I'd say it's definitely worth watching, especially on the new Blu-ray available! Like the earlier posts said though, Warner Archive didn't have access to the original camera negative for this movie, so they just had to make a restoration from "preservation elements". So this Blu-ray's video quality is sadly not the best that the format can offer for a 90s movie shot on film, but it's still a huge improvement over anything else previously available, and will probably remain the best-available transfer we'll see in our lifetimes for this film on home video.

The movie itself definitely doesn't deserve the critic reviews back then that said it's one of the worst movies ever made or something. Granted, the movie is not a masterpiece by any means: some of the directing, editing, writing, acting, and maybe even music in some parts could have been done better and more elegantly, but it's still a very underrated and interesting movie to me!

I'm no expert on the Rapa Nui people, but from what I gather, the movie's story loosely follows their legends about their island's history, the moai statues, and how their island lost most of its trees. The legends explain a history across hundreds of years, but the movie basically just condenses it down into a Hollywood story that plays out within one year of the characters' lives. xD

I think the best way to follow the plot is as a story about how far people will go to get what they want, and about the consequences of their actions. There are 5 particular characters to notice (without any real spoilers):
1) the island chief - He's an old man becoming more and more ill, and he's very afraid about his future. So he is forcing a lower-status tribe to build bigger and bigger statues, desperately trying to please the ancestors/gods.
2) the lead architect for the statues - He's also an older man who is forced to question the value of his life's work building all these moai.
3) the chief's grandson (Jason Scott Lee) - He's the movie's main character. He's like the island prince basically, but he's in love with a woman from the lower-status tribe and wants to find a way to marry her.
4) the grandson's best friend (Esai Morales) - He's from the lower-status tribe and must work as a laborer on the statues. He's also in love with the same girl. Combined with his increasing anger about his own tribe being oppressed by his best friend's tribe, their friendship faces a crisis.
5) the woman (Sandrine Holt) - She finds herself becoming more and more isolated from her own tribe and bullied by other women for having a romance with a man from another tribe. Because of the prince's higher status also, people doubt the sincerity of her feelings, and she will be forced to prove her feelings.

The movie was shot mostly on location from what I understand, so we get some really nice views of the island scenery and landscape. There are also some really cool cinematography moments scattered throughout the movie, like a shot during the opening credits where ocean waves are filmed in silhouette, from an angle that makes it look like the waves are rising above the sun itself.

As Roger Ebert also said himself, it also needs to be stated that this is a movie with dozens of bare breasts --- or maybe even hundreds! xD And Sandrine Holt looks fantastic in the first half of this movie, especially on Blu-ray. xD

[Trekkie313]

Why does everyone focus on the boobs? Do they get off to National Geographic?

[dissolute_dog]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

Do they get off to National Geographic?

It's not National Geographic.

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

Why does everyone focus on the boobs?

I wouldn't say they do. The majority/bulk of text in reviews and discussions on the movie have been about other aspects of the film. Many will mention the nudity among their text, but it's something worth mentioning anyway because, as a matter of fact, it does feature an amount higher than the vast majority of other movies have shown across the industry's history, even if it is used in a naturalistic and (mostly) non-sexual context in this story.

Plus, not everyone will feel comfortable seeing nudity in movies even if it is non-sexual, so it's an aspect of the movie that should be mentioned in advance. Still, if people find it nice to see some of the women in the movie, that's normal and human also. It's definitely healthier than people liking to watch violence and gore. xD

[Gieferg]

Just watched it, after 25 years from my first watch - great, underrated movie, looking good on blu-ray. Very happy with the purchase even if I had to import it from US to Europe for the price (with shipping) of two regular new BDs.

As for nudity - unfortunately the owner of the best pair of boobs

[Show spoiler]end up being closed in dark cave, not being seen for something like 70% of the running time

[sandman slim]

Bumping the thread to point out the price drop. Down to $7.99 on Amazon, had an additional 10% off coupon when I checked out.

[Stray_Dog]

Wow! This has been M.I.A. for a long time..