Mysterious Object at Noon Blu-ray offers solid video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
A film crew travels from the Thai countryside to Bangkok, asking the people they encounter along the way to continue a story about a handicapped boy and his teacher.
For more about Mysterious Object at Noon and the Mysterious Object at Noon Blu-ray release, see Mysterious Object at Noon Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on November 17, 2020 where this Blu-ray release scored 3.5 out of 5.
Martin Scorsese has been curating the World Cinema Project for well over a decade, and the result has been a veritable cornucopia of
international films that in some cases Scorsese's efforts have helped save from the ravages of time (and vinegar syndrome). As of the writing of this
review, the World Cinema Project is closing in on fifty restorations that they've undertaken, allowing fans to view films that, as even Scorsese himself
states in some of the introductions included in this set, have been woefully underappreciated and rarely seen. This second volume of films aggregates
six interesting
offerings that have at least some subtextual cross connections at times, but which serve as yet another example of what an incredible job the World
Cinema Project does in bringing films of undeniable merit to a wider audience.
Mysterious Object at Noon is the only film in this set that I've personally already reviewed, courtesy of a UK release of the film put out by
Second Sight a few years ago. For those interested in a "plot" recap (as misleading as that term might be for this film), I refer you to my
Mysterious Object at Noon Blu-ray review of
that version.
Mysterious Object at Noon is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.60:1. As
with all of the films in this set, there are some preliminary text cards describing the restorations, including some information which is also repeated in
the insert booklet. The following is from the insert booklet, and omits some more generalized comments about The Film Foundation's World Cinema
Project, and other collaborators:
Mysterious Object at Noon is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.60:1. This digital transfer was created in 3K resolution on an
ARRISCAN film scanner by the Austrian Film Museum, using a 35 mm duplicate negative with burned in subtitles deposited at the film museum by
director Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This negative had been struck from the 16 mm camera reversal element, now lost. Painstaking work was
undertaken to remove dust, scratches, and other visible marks while keeping the look and inherent defect of the original 16 mm camera reversal
material intact. The subtitles were sharpened and corrected when necessary. Color correction was carried out at LISTO laboratory in Vienna; the
35mm optical soundtrack negative was transferred at L'Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna; digital sound restoration was performed at Technicolor Ltd. in
Bangkok. Restoration was carried out in close collaboration whith Apichatpong and completed in June 2013.
The above verbiage is more or less the same that accompanied the UK Blu-ray release by Second Sight, though the insert booklet accompanying the
Second Sight release contained a glut of additional information which I offered verbatim in my Mysterious Object at Noon Blu-ray review of that edition. I highly recommend those interested to read
that review at least for that additional information, but also because, aside from the slightly different aspect ratio, this is very similar if not downright
identical to the Second Sight release in terms of clarity, grain structure and some of the anomalies on display.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounded to me virtually identical to the surround track on the Second Sight release. I'm frankly not sure this film
really "needed" a surround repurposing, but there is at least a marginal opening up of the soundstage when Weerasethakul and his crew are marauding
through various outdoor environments. Dialogue (if it can appropriately be termed that) is generally clear, though occasionally some of the background
clamor in the outdoor material can slightly mask individual moments. The Second Sight release also offered an LPCM 2.0 track. Per the above
verbiage, there are burnt in subtitles in this presentation.
The fact that Apichatpong Weerasethakul took home the Palme d'Or in 2010 may be as indicative as anything as to how much his reputation has grown
since the advent of Mysterious Object at Noon. There's truly nothing quite like this film (at least in my personal viewing experience), and so
on that level alone some devoted World Cinema enthusiasts will probably want to at least check this thing out, even if it doesn't immediately go on to
the "rewatch as soon as possible" pile. There has obviously been enormous effort undertaken to restore the image quality here, but those heroic efforts
have only been able to do so much with what Second Sight on their release stated was a "suboptimal survival status" for the film. The Second Sight
release is region free, and so those interested in this film may want to check out that version, since technical merits are largely interchangeable and
that release had some additional supplements. With caveats noted, and with an
understanding that this is certainly not a film for everyone, Mysterious Object at Noon comes Recommended.
Blu-ray Bundles/Box Sets with Mysterious Object at Noon (1 bundle)
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British label Second Run will add to its Blu-ray catalog Apichatpong Weerasethakul's film Mysterious Object of Noon. The release will be available for purchase on April 11.
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