A few words about...™ Easy Rider -- in Blu-ray

The late 1960s were an "interesting" time, not only in regard to domestic and world affairs, but also in many ways concerning the upheaval and reawakening of our motion picture industry.  For those who didn't live through it and survive it, the best source for information is probably Peter Biskind's book, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls.

Here's the segue.

Speaking of Easy Rider, Columbia is about to release their Blu-ray of the the little low-budget film (1969), which almost single-handedly rocked the industry and opened doors for a new form of filmmaking.

Columbia did preservation and restoration on the film about a decade ago using the best analogue techniques, but now with a firm hand on digital, the work has been redone starting from scratch.

Easy Rider is generally a very sharp, highly resolved film for the era, with spot-on color and densities and proper grain structures.  I use the word generally because some of the film, which will be obvious, was shot in 16mm.  Two entire reels have also been gone for decades, and have been replaced anew by scanning the separation masters at 4k.  The difference between the overall look, textures and feel of this new Blu-ray when compared to the now ten year old standard definition version is nothing short of breathtaking.

How many readers can identify the dupe reels?

With audio now in Dolby TrueHD, the sound also has been upgraded.

While I'm aware that this may become boring for some readers, I must once again make note of the fact that this is (based upon the extant film elements) yet another letter perfect transfer from Columbia / Sony, which continues as the only studio with this kind of track record for Blu-ray.  There are no concerns for pre-orders here.

Everything about this release comes Highly Recommended.

RAH
 

Does anybody knows if this arrives in a digibook, just like Dr. Strangelove did? I'm probably one of the few who likes those, but they look great to me.

It is.

If only every other studio were so "boringly" predictable...

Thanks for the information, sir  .

I'd also have to agree to Ken's statements. It does become boring (not in the least because I've said it too often ) but it's true.

Can someone for fun PM me, or post here if its not to boring, some of the other perfect Sony/Columbia Blu Rays?

HA! I knew it! Always when I was watching my standard definition Easy Rider DVD, I noticed that some sequences had a stronger colour saturation and blue/reddish borders around highlights and other bright objects. When I watched it again a few months ago, I told myself: hmmm, those scenes were probably made from seperation masters, since they have a strange technicolor look and the color layers seem to be slightly misaligned.

Thank you, Mr. Harris! Good to know they have been fixed for this release.

Some titles which I have reviewed recently include SILVERADO, SUGAR, STARMAN, A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT -- all excellent BD transfers. The only people who complain about Sony BD transfers are folks who don't like to see any film grain.

I just received the review copy of EASY RIDER yesterday but I won't get to it for a couple of weeks because I have some box sets to review first.

I'm thinking that for my future reviews, when I get to the video section I should just write "It's a Sony. Enough said." That would save me some time!