
Though I had seen WATERSHIP DOWN many years ago, it was quite an experience to watch it again where I am with my life now. I couldn't shake thoughts of the film for days after watching it. I know that a lot of people say things like this, but it doesn't happen all that often to me lately. I watch too many movies these days so my brain doesn't tend to dwell on them for too long once I've watched them (for the most part). This was different though. Maybe as I near middle age, I have become much more sensitive to anything that is a meditation on mortality. It truly is one of the great animated films ever made and that can't be understated. Thankfully this Criterion disc looks excellent and will not be a disappointment to fans.
Special Features:
This Criterion Collection disc has a number of nice supplements:
-"Guillermo del Toro On WATERSHIP DOWN" - This new 12 minute interview with del Toro is as wonderful and insightful as you would hope it would be. I am always inspired and transfixed by the way he is able to articulate his thoughts on the films he loves. Like Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright, Guillermo is one of the great "passionate film talkers" out there and he is a pleasure to listen to. In this interview he discusses seeing WATERSHIP DOWN for the first time when he was young and how it affected him and changed his view of animation in general. Intelligent and fascinating stuff. See the clip below:
This Criterion Collection disc has a number of nice supplements:
-"Guillermo del Toro On WATERSHIP DOWN" - This new 12 minute interview with del Toro is as wonderful and insightful as you would hope it would be. I am always inspired and transfixed by the way he is able to articulate his thoughts on the films he loves. Like Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright, Guillermo is one of the great "passionate film talkers" out there and he is a pleasure to listen to. In this interview he discusses seeing WATERSHIP DOWN for the first time when he was young and how it affected him and changed his view of animation in general. Intelligent and fascinating stuff. See the clip below:
-"Passion Project: Martin Rosen on WATERSHIP DOWN" - This new 17 minute interview with director Rosen is quite enlightening. He talks about being a literary agent and coming across the book and being absolutely floor by it. Apparently he was so moved that he decided he wanted to do something with it, despite having no experience in animation at all (and not realizing the difficulty of this material). So in the interview he goes on to discusses the trials and tribulations of constructing and designing the film, finding the right people to work on it and figuring out the process by which an animated movie like this is made (and can be improved). I always think it's neat to hear stories of filmmakers undertaking something as challenging as this and finding a way to get it done and done well.
-"Defining a Style" - This 12 minute featurette is from 2005 and contains interviews with some of the films main animators and background artists. It's a neat detailing of some of the processes behind the scenes on an animated film such as this. Though we've all seen some of these processes outlined on occasion, this short featurette is quite interesting and informative. Actor Joss Acklund was interviewed for this as well.
-This disc is also equipped with a storyboard mode (which you can turn on and off in the features menu) wherein you can see the animation team's storyboards and concept art pop on screen while you watch each scene.
This Criterion Collection disc can be found at Criterion's website as well as other retailers.
This Criterion Collection disc can be found at Criterion's website as well as other retailers.
1 comment:
Great write up! NIMH is one of my favorite animated movies hands down. I remember liking Watership Down as a kid, then I watched it again as an adult and was kind of shocked how dark it really was. No wonder none of my friends had seen it when they were kids.
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