Possession (1981) 4K UHD (1 Viewer)

[titch]

One of the most singular cult movies I've ever seen - the 1981 movie Possession, starring Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani - has been announced for release in October on 4K UHD from the Australian company Umbrella Entertainment. It's been released before on blu-ray 10 years ago by boutique labels Second Sight in the UK and by Mondo Vision in the US, but they've went out of print fast. This is the first 4K UHD release.

I discovered Umbrella Entertainment quite recently, when Peter Weir's The Last Wave was announced on 4K UHD from them. They ship worldwide and are priced similar to Arrow Video and Second Sight. Both The Last Wave and Possession are coming with both stand-alone 4K discs, as well as collector's editions filled with books and stuff.

I've pre-ordered and will be very interested to see the quality. It's impossible to gauge from the Youtube trailer what the 4K UHD will look like, as the Youtube trailer is completely grain-free.

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You can find huge selection of DVDs & Blu-Rays. Specialising in Australian Classics and Ozploitation movies.

shop.umbrellaent.com.au

 

[jayembee]

I'm definitely interested in this. I just recently got the Eureka set of three Andrzej Żuławski films, though I haven't had a chance to watch them yet. I'm mostly intrigued by On the Silver Globe.

 

[jayembee]

Apparently, a 4K of Possession is also coming from Second Sight. The listing for it at The Other Site at the moment just says "Late 2023" for a release date. Since they did a Blu-ray 10 years back, it wouldn't surprise me if a 4K upgrade is in the works. I haven't seen anything at Second Sight's website to suggest a forthcoming UHD, though there is a news item about it from last week on The Other Site.

Assuming that Fidelity in Motion is doing the encode for this hypothetical SS release, I'm now curious about whether Umbrella's release is a separate encode, or if they licensed FiM's. No shade to Umbrella, but I'm inclined to wait for a release from SS.

 

[Bryan^H]

Nice. I can finally upgrade my ancient DVD double feature.

 

[titch]

Apparently, a 4K of Possession is also coming from Second Sight. The listing for it at The Other Site at the moment just says "Late 2023" for a release date. Since they did a Blu-ray 10 years back, it wouldn't surprise me if a 4K upgrade is in the works. I haven't seen anything at Second Sight's website to suggest a forthcoming UHD, though there is a news item about it from last week on The Other Site.

Assuming that Fidelity in Motion is doing the encode for this hypothetical SS release, I'm now curious about whether Umbrella's release is a separate encode, or if they licensed FiM's. No shade to Umbrella, but I'm inclined to wait for a release from SS.

Second Sight are indeed a top-tier boutique label, with only the occasional wobble (Picnic At Hanging Rock, but the master given to them had DNR and artificial grain added by the Polish restoration team at the director's request). Umbrella Entertainment is a completely independent Australian company and The Last Wave and Possession are among their first 4K UHD releases, so it'll be interesting to see how they turn out. Price-wise, they'll cost the same as a Second Sight release.

 

[titch]

I can divulge that the 4K UHD, which is based on a 4K restoration from the original camera negative in 2020, completely supersedes the US Mondo Vision blu-ray from 2014. The colour on the blu-ray was terribly oversaturated - like someone had pushed the colour button up to 11. Contrast was also way too heavy on the blu-ray and the picture looked murky and details were completely crushed in the blacks. The picture is also considerably sharper on the 4K UHD, no digital noise reduction apparent. Watching Possession again, I thought that this would make a great double-bill with Wings Of Desire

The two first 4K UHD discs commissioned exclusively by Umbrella Entertainment, The Last Wave and Possession, are a very good start for the label. Ordering from their website was hassle-free and shipping to Norway took three weeks.

 

[jayembee]

Is it an FiM encode? I'm trying to decide whether to get the Umbrella release or wait for Second Sight.

The two first 4K UHD discs commissioned exclusively by Umbrella Entertainment, The Last Wave and Possession, are a very good start for the label. Ordering from their website was hassle-free and shipping to Norway took three weeks.

Yeah, my copy of The Last Wave took the same amount of time to get to East Coast US.

 

[titch]

Is it an FiM encode? I'm trying to decide whether to get the Umbrella release or wait for Second Sight.

No information on the disc or cover about who coded the master. Only that it is "director-approved".

 

[ElZedHaitch]

I can divulge that the 4K UHD, which is based on a 4K restoration from the original camera negative in 2020, completely supersedes the US Mondo Vision blu-ray from 2014. The colour on the blu-ray was terribly oversaturated - like someone had pushed the colour button up to 11. Contrast was also way too heavy on the blu-ray and the picture looked murky and details were completely crushed in the blacks. The picture is also considerably sharper on the 4K UHD, no digital noise reduction apparent. Watching Possession again, I thought that this would make a great double-bill with Wings Of Desire

The two first 4K UHD discs commissioned exclusively by Umbrella Entertainment, The Last Wave and Possession, are a very good start for the label. Ordering from their website was hassle-free and shipping to Norway took three weeks.


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So Umbrella's Possession 4K is actually SDR? I'm getting a bit annoyed how Umbrella never really divulge their 4K info.

Super Mario 4K is SDR
Weird Al 4K was SDR (Shout's has DV)
Talk to Me 4K (No Dolby Atmos, but US 4K has it).