Voyage of Time (2016) - overseas versions

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by inderweltsein

Two reasons:
-they did not anticipate the first release would go beyond borders, so the first print is OOP (or almost)
-also from my search the first print used the market distribution services of Sony Pictures, while this one is distributed directly by the publisher (that is why the title is still OOP at some competing companies.. as they might be less efficient than Sony), so probably the Sony service contract expired and this is why on the same date February 12, many other titles were re-published.

Usually, a re-release like this is because the first print was a limited edition, and the second print is a cheaper version, but this time this seems to be only a matter of contract (and maybe also of a too little number of copies for first print)

So this will exactly be the same one, except the barcode number. If you wish, you will scan us your backcover to confirm

Thanks! I'm assuming you have the first edition French disc?

[bytor]

Does anyone know anything about the Lumiere version of this from the Netherlands? I can't find any info about what size of disc it's on or the bitrate.

[Bluyoda]

This is my review of the German edition:
Bitrate is about 25mbps
It saddens me that it has only got a limited release. This should be in everyone's collection. It tells the story of creation --> the voyage of time in absolutely breathtaking imagery, with sublime cinematography, stunning visual effects, and home video shots of people. I know it's not for everyone, like my wife, she fell asleep, but she only likes cartoons and action films (sigh). I, on the other hand, absolutely loved every bit of it (aside from the human elements). It's Malick's trademark mediation on nature.

PQ: 4/5. I am being generous here, as although most of the transfer is quite proficient, there are at least a dozen instances of banding, about half of them pretty severe, and the rest rather faint, and one distracting instance of macroblocking in one of the cosmos shots, as well as two or three fade in with banding, and the black level is perhaps one degree above total black during the beginning sequences, but later becomes perfect black. The "home" video elements are of terrible "quality", but the majority of it is IMAX camera quality. Super fine grain, and exemplary detail, with beautifully balanced contrast, and natural vividness.
This would truly benefit from a UHD release in DV. I'd buy it in a heartbeat, that's a given.
AQ: I turned it up by 10 notches on my Oppo-BDP 203. The sound is very enveloping, with lovely surround activity during many of the nature and cosmos scenes. The music could have been more powerful IMHO, as in Tree of Life, but it was fine. Overall, 4/5

Highest recommendation from me, if you like something different, thought-provoking, and meditative, and masterfully composed shots that will leave you speechless and in awe of the splendor that is this

How much better is the Japanese release?

[Franc Zaic]

Originally Posted by Bluyoda

This is my review of the German edition:

PQ: 4/5. I am being generous here, as although most of the transfer is quite proficient, there are at least a dozen instances of banding, about half of them pretty severe, and the rest rather faint, and one distracting instance of macroblocking in one of the cosmos shots, as well as two or three fade in with banding, and the black level is perhaps one degree above total black during the beginning sequences, but later becomes perfect black.

All your criticisms are evident exactly as you say in the French release as well. The bolded part above is especially egregious and takes me out of the film during a crucial sequence. It certainly didn't look like that in the theater -- obviously a disc problem.

[bytor]

I received the Lumiere version and it's on a BD-50 with an average bitrate well into the 30's. I didn't notice any compression issues or banding with the 1.85 stuff, looks amazing.

[UltraMario9]

Originally Posted by bytor

I received the Lumiere version and it's on a BD-50 with an average bitrate well into the 30's. I didn't notice any compression issues or banding with the 1.85 stuff, looks amazing.

Does it have the same features as the German and French discs?

[bytor]

Originally Posted by UltraMario9

Does it have the same features as the German and French discs?

I don't have those discs but the Lumiere one just has a 5 and a half minute bonus thing with Dan Glass.

[CelestialAgent]

I can't believe this hasn't been picked up on here. One Big Soul posted about The Mother of Us All: Terrence Malick's Voyage of Time by Paul Maher Jr. being published in the fall (cover looks great), about the evolution of the project from the 70s onward.

The page also had this to say in comments about a disc release.

There are of course reasons behind the current messy state of things which unsurprisingly we can't go into detail about here but eventually, when things will get sorted out, we will get a whole new version of Voyage. The one TM intended to make.

That [IMAX] one was done for the producers who thought school classes would go into theaters (which didn't happen). Malick prefers a version without narration.

Maher Jr. had this to say:

I thought I'd clear up a couple of things. The book is about the evolution and science behind the film, Voyage of Time, something that Mr. Malick feels strongly enough about to cooperate and permit me access to the production crew, primary sources used in the making of the film, and scientists who were consulted across the spectrums of the astrophysical/natural/and microbial realms depicted in Voyage of Time. All of this material still stands no matter which iteration the film has taken or will take in the future. As far as a domestic release of VoT, this has been in the works for a while, and delayed not only by COVID but also the filming and post-production of the latest untitled film about the Gospels. In time, VoT will surely be available in America and, as usual, will be worth the wait.

[Dubstar]

^ I'm wondering if Malick is redoing the 90 min. version that he talked about at the Q&A I was at, where he was contemplating removing all Cate Blanchett's dialogue and let the music, sound, compliment the imagery solely.

here's said cover of the forthcoming book:

[James Luckard]

At this point, a complete seamless branching version of this film would be almost like those infinitely expanding cellular images in the film itself.

I love that this film, completely overlooked by 99.999% of the world, is one that Malick is so passionate about that he has created more versions than any of us can keep track of. It almost feels like performance art, like the creation of the film and its infinite variations are the real artwork, a bit like Gus van Sant's Psycho.

I kind of adore this.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

At this point, a complete seamless branching version of this film would be almost like those infinitely expanding cellular images in the film itself.

I love that this film, completely overlooked by 99.999% of the world, is one that Malick is so passionate about that he has created more versions than any of us can keep track of. It almost feels like performance art, like the creation of the film and its infinite variations are the real artwork, a bit like Gus van Sant's Psycho.

I kind of adore this.

I'd think it'd be a bit weird to branch the 3.6:1 AR version, but hey I'm all for it maybe as a separate bonus feature. Last count, I think there are four different versions of the movie.

I think, and yet I can't find it at the moment, that the movie was graded and mixed in Dolby Vision/Atmos; at one point there was a poster that noted this. I want a 4K UHD edition that can fully bring out the vision and music to it's zenith.

[alexroubaix]

Would love a 1.85 release of the IMAX version with and without narration. I absolutely hate the ugly SD footage (the frame rate conversion from 29.97 to 23.98 is abysmal) in the longer cut. I also thought the super-widescreen aspect ratio was ridiculous. Why do super-wide when it was being shown on an IMAX?

[BluCollector13]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

I can't believe this hasn't been picked up on here. One Big Soul posted about The Mother of Us All: Terrence Malick's Voyage of Time by Paul Maher Jr. being published in the fall (cover looks great), about the evolution of the project from the 70s onward.

The page also had this to say in comments about a disc release.



Maher Jr. had this to say:

I really hope so. Been waiting four years now for "Voyage of Time" to see some sort of release in America. At this point, I'd be fine with "Life's Journey" going to Netflix.

[Dubstar]

I wonder what the hold up is with the Maher Jr. book is ...

its' still listed as "forthcoming"

https://www.officialpaulmaherjr.com/published

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

I wonder what the hold up is with the Maher Jr. book is ...

its' still listed as "forthcoming"

https://www.officialpaulmaherjr.com/published

It's probably connected to Voyage of Time's American distributor going out of business right after the film's exceptionally limited theatrical release.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

It's probably connected to Voyage of Time's American distributor going out of business right after the film's exceptionally limited theatrical release.

this movie has been hounded by every possible problem along the way, and for a "book" release to get screwed as well .... that's maddening.

[eledoremassis02]

CDJapan has it backorderd so I took the chance to buy it
https://www.cdjapan.co.jp/product/GABSX-1752

[paulmaherjr]

Originally Posted by Dubstar

I wonder what the hold up is with the Maher Jr. book is ...

its' still listed as "forthcoming"

https://www.officialpaulmaherjr.com/published

Hello - a brief update - part of the hold-up is accessing a print of the film that will provide me with high-resolution stills. COVID has impacted the availability of personnel to facilitate this request in a preferable time line. However, it is imminent and once the copy becomes available, the book will be prepared for publication.

[paulmaherjr]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Until anyone else chimes in with more detailed info, I'll say that all 3 appear to have the longer 90 min cut with the Cate Blanchett narration. The French and German are most likely Region-locked, but the Japanese costs 3x as much. If you're region-free, the German looks best. If you're Region A, the Japanese is likely your only choice, until we have people testing the French and German discs properly to confirm.

There is one distinct difference between the Japanese release and those from Europe, and that is the inclusion at the very beginning of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Malick asked for this excerpt to be burned into the print before the film commences with Blanchett's narration. However, the Japanese distributors broke with the director's wishes by having the passage read out loud instead of displaying it on the screen. The passage is the opening of the Ching (and the source of my book's title):

"The way that can be told is the eternal Way. The word that can be spoken is not the eternal Word. Unnamed, It is the source of heaven and earth. Named, It is the Mother of all things."

The "humanity" sequences shot with the Harizenumi camera can be better appreciated under this quote because they carry with them, by selection among many hours of lo-fi footage, the theme of the "mother" in all of its incarnations, symbolic and literal.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by paulmaherjr

There is one distinct difference between the Japanese release and those from Europe, and that is the inclusion at the very beginning of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. Malick asked for this excerpt to be burned into the print before the film commences with Blanchett's narration. However, the Japanese distributors broke with the director's wishes by having the passage read out loud instead of displaying it on the screen. The passage is the opening of the Ching (and the source of my book's title):

"The way that can be told is the eternal Way. The word that can be spoken is not the eternal Word. Unnamed, It is the source of heaven and earth. Named, It is the Mother of all things."

The "humanity" sequences shot with the Harizenumi camera can be better appreciated under this quote because they carry with them, by selection among many hours of lo-fi footage, the theme of the "mother" in all of its incarnations, symbolic and literal.

Glad to know that. I have the French disc, so I assume I have the correct version, as Malick intended?

It's awful that a distributor would do that and go against the wishes of a genuine artist, we're not talking about a disposable comedy or Liam Neeson action movie programmer or something here. Malick's movies are true works of film art and should be treated that way.