![]() ![]() The one and only area where I felt that there is still some room for improvement is density, but what is already there is very strong and convincing. The release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K remaster that I like a lot. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Henri Safran's Storm Boy arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment. Many of the locations from South Australia - The Coorong and Mundoo Island in particular - quite easily could have turned out to be serious distractions because they offer plenty for a cinematographer to impress, but instead nature's beauty emerges as if it is part of a low-budget documentary.Ī lovely chamber score from Michael Carlos evokes the simplicity and beauty of Francis Lai's work from the same period. Geoff Burton's lensing is appropriately casual and serene. As a result, the film produces plenty of sincere contrasts that make its story very attractive and moving. For example, when the boy and the pelican go for a walk on the beach it is just an ordinary event and when a decision is made that the two must be separated the world does not suddenly stop so that the viewer can really grasp its significance, the two just move on and life continues as before. However, instead of giving the film a Disney-esque appearance Safran goes in the exact opposite direction and creates a casual atmosphere that makes the boy's relationship with the pelican look incredibly authentic. (It is precisely why a Hollywood remake would be insufferable). The original material for it comes from Colin Thiele's popular novel and it is so straightforward that it actually presents endless opportunities for melodramatization of the worst kind. This sincerity of this film is its greatest strength because it has a dramatic effect on everything, from the quality of the acting to the manner in which the beauty of the area where it was shot is captured by the camera. At first, it seems like the good times would last forever, but then a series of events threaten to permanently separate Mike and Mr. Percival even manages to earn the admiration of the old man and eventually he allows him to become part of the family. Percival, returns and becomes Mike's best friend. When the pelicans become so big that they begin consuming most of the daily catch, Mike is told that it is time to release them.īut one of the pelicans, Mr. They grow up fast and after awhile Mike begins teaching them how to help when he and his father are getting ready to fish. At first the old man dismisses Mike's plan, but when he commits to doing everything that the baby pelicans need to survive, he changes his mind. After the carnage, Mike, who has been hiding in the dunes, picks up three baby pelicans and brings them home so that he can raise them with his father. A local aboriginal hunter named Fingerbone (David Gulpilil) scares them off, but not before they leave a big pile of dead bodies. One day, a couple of drunkards arrive in the area and begin shooting at a giant flock of pelicans. It is a difficult, almost primitive life, but they have gotten used to it. They fish together and make ends meet with the money they are paid after they sell their catch. Ten-year-old Mike Kingley (Greg Rowe) lives with his father (Peter Cummins) in a secluded coastal area somewhere in South Australia. Percival's incredible performance during the big storm at the end of the film, becomes possible. This is the hard part - building the trust. Pelicans are extremely intelligent creatures and they can do some astonishing things if they feel that they can trust people. But this film changed my mind and actually made me do quite a bit of research on pelicans and their habitat, and what I learned surprised me a lot. I always thought that they were just too exotic, the kind of birds that need a very unique environment where they could feel at home. And for no particular reason, really, it is simply something that never crossed my mind. I have seen real pelicans but prior to viewing Henri Safran's film Storm Boy I never imagined that they could be trained as pets. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage trailers for the film archival documentaries Carl Schultz's adaptation of Colin Thiele's novel, "Blue Fin"l and more. Henri Safran's "Storm Boy" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment. ![]()
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