The Criterion Collection

“We finally have nirvana,” exclaims legendary film restorer Robert Harris, writing for Home Theater Forum about the new Criterion Blu-ray special edition of Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout. After citing the number of home video incarnations of this Australian outback that have come out over the years, Harris, certainly an expert in his field (his credits include major restorations of Vertigo, Spartacus, and Lawrence of Arabia), says, “Criterion’s newly minted Blu-ray appears to my eye as if viewing a pristine 35 mm print.” Of course, none of this would matter much were Walkabout not such a spectacular movie to begin with, and Harris calls it “an art film in the truest sense of the word” and “a film that has beautifully stood the test of time.” As he concludes, this is not only “a perfect Blu-ray” but also “a magnificent piece of cinema.”

Read more reviews of the release, also available in a DVD edition, from Entertainment Weekly’s Chris Nashawaty (“lyrical and intoxicating”), Paper’s Dennis Demody (“fascinating and visually beautiful”), Slant’s Joseph Jon Lanthier, the Seattle Post Intelligencer, Turner Classic Movies, and DVD Talk.