Snapshot – Indicator Series (4k UHD)

Theatrical Release Date: Australia, 1979
Director: Simon Wincer
Writers: Chris de Roche, Everett De Roche
Cast: Chantal Contouri, Robert Bruning, Sigrid Thornton, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Denise Drysdale, Vincent Gil

Release Date: March 25th, 2024 (UK), March 26th, 2024 (USA)
Approximate Running Times: 92 Minutes 37 Seconds (Theatrical Cut), 92 Minutes 37 Seconds (Director's Cut)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10 (Theatrical Cut), 2.35:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC (Director's Cut)
Rating: 15 (UK), NR (USA)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English (Both Versions)
Subtitles: English SDH (Both Versions)
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: £24.99 (UK), $49.95 (USA)

"When naïve hairdresser Angela (Thornton) is persuaded by her model friend Madeline (Contouri) to try glamour modelling, she dreams of escaping her humdrum life and the clutches of her over-protective mother. Instead, she is thrust into a decadent world of jealousy, exploitation... and death." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4.5/5 (Snapshot Theatrical Cut), 4/5 (Snapshot Director's Cut)

Here’s the information provided about the transfer, "Snapshot was scanned in 4K from the original 35mm negatives, preserved at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA0 of Australia, by Fixafilm. Picture restoration and color correction work were carried out by Renasci Films in the UK. Thousands of instances of dirt were removed, scratches, stains and other imperfections eliminated, and damaged frames repaired. No grain management, edge enhancement or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any way.”

Snapshot comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 92.4 GB

Feature: 57.8 GB (Theatrical Cut), 28 GB (Director's Cut)

The theatrical cut looks excellent, and when it comes to the footage that these two versions share, it is comparable. The director’s cut has footage taken from a lesser source, and it is in a different aspect ratio. Flesh tones look healthy, colors look very good, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look. When compared to Snapshot’s previous home video release, this new transfer is a marked improvement in every way.

Audio: 5/5 (DTS-HD Mono English - Theatrical Cut, DTS-HD Mono English - Director's Cut)

Each version comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English, and both versions come with removable English SDH. Both audio tracks sound excellent; the dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced, and range-wise, they both sound robust when they should.

Extras:

Extras for this release include image galleries: original promotional material (169 images), behind the scenes (127 images) and dialogue continuity script (99 images), TV spot #1 (25 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), TV spot #2 (26 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), original theatrical trailer (3 minutes 41 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer under the title The Day After Halloween (1 minute 6 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), The Day After Halloween opening credits (2 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an appreciation by the academic and Australian cinema specialist Stephen Morgan titled The Trans-Pacific Mode (10 minutes, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), a special effects sequence audio commentary with stuntman Grant Page (2 minutes 14 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio interview with director Simon Wincer (16 minutes 35 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), ‘Not Quite Hollywood’ Interviews from 2008: actress Sigrid Thornton (12 minutes 28 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), producer Antony I Ginnane (12 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), actress Lynda Stoner (45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), Simon Wincer (6 minutes 45 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), screenwriter Everett De Roche (2 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), cinematographer Vincent Monton (2 minutes 47 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), assistant director Tom Burstall (2 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Antony I Ginnane titled Producing Snapshot (27 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Simon Wincer, Antony I Ginnane, Sigrid Thornton, and Vincent Monton, moderated by Mark Hartley for the theatrical cut, an archival audio commentary with Antony I Ginnane, and archivist Jaimie Leonarder for the theatrical cut, an archival audio commentary with Antony I Ginnane, and horror hostess Katarina Leigh Waters, and an 80-page booklet with cast & crew information, an essay titled Making Waves written by Ian Barr, an archival interview with Simon Wincer titled Simon Wincer on snapshot by Peter Bradley and Scott Murray, an exclusive extract from producer Antony I Ginnane’s unpublished memoirs titled Memories of Snapshot, an archival interview with Everett De Roche by Paul Davis, an archival interview with composer Brian May by Ivan Hutchinson, and information about the restoration.

Summary:

Directed by Simon Wincer, whose diverse filmography includes Dark Forces, D.A.R.Y.L., Quigley Down Under, and Free Willy, Snapshot's alternate titles are The Day After Halloween and One More Minute.

A beautician gets her big break when one of her clients gets her work as a model. Unfortunately, with fame comes an unwanted admirer who watches her every move and terrorizes her.

Don’t let Snapshot's alternate title, The Day After Halloween, mislead you. Obviously, Snapshot has no connection to the Halloween film series. Also, it is not just when it comes to the title that Snapshot differs from the aforementioned Halloween film series. The Halloween films belong to the horror film genre, while Snapshot is part of the psychological thriller genre (particularly its final act). The first two acts often come off as a soap opera that tries its darndest to mix things up. With a few well-placed red herrings.

After a circular opening that foreshadows the finale, the narrative then shifts backwards to when the trouble for the protagonist all started to happen. Unfortunately, after a strong opening sequence, the first act gets bogged down. And some character development is welcome; there is not much else that occurs during this lethargic opening act. Thankfully, things pick up considerably by the middle act, and by the time the final act has rolled around, things finally come into focus.

When it comes to the performances, the cast is all very good, especially Sigrid Thornton (The Man from Snowy River) in the role of Angela. She does a great job of capturing Angela’s deteriorating state of mind. Hugh Keays-Byrne (Mad Max), in the role of an eccentric photographer obsessed with photographing death, delivers another performance of note.

From a production standpoint, Snapshot is a film that maximizes its limited resources. Strengths are a well-executed premise, and the narrative does a good job of building tension. The stylish visuals heighten the mood, and Brian May’s (Patrick) delivers another superlative score. Ultimately, despite its lack of substance and logic, Snapshot somehow ends up being an enjoyable romp that fans of the type of thrillers that Brian De Palma is most known for should thoroughly enjoy.

Snapshot gets an excellent release from Powerhouse Films, highly recommended.

Note: This release is a limited edition of 10,000 numbered units (6,000 4K UHDs and 4,000 Blu-rays) for the UK and US.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer