In 1988, “The Navigator – A Completely Bizarre Journey Through Space and Time” not only made waves in its native Australia, where it received numerous awards – such as Best Film at the Australian Film Institute Awards – but also became an internationally acclaimed festival hit , which also caused enthusiasm at the Gothenburg Film Festival, at the Fantasporo Film Festival in Portugal and at the renowned Toronto International Film Festival. And then there are those five minutes (!) standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival! In Germany, the film nevertheless disappeared after the regular cinema release – from which PLAION PICTURES now retrieves it.
The distributor is giving the film its much-anticipated home theater comeback, which should fulfill a long-awaited dream for many sci-fi fans: “The Navigator” will be released on Blu-ray in full uncut on February 16, 2023 – and that’s being celebrated with a collector’s edition in the media book (including DVD and Blu-ray). Alternatively, the film is also available as a VOD, for example on Prime Video:
* / Prime video*
The film will not only be released in HD for the first time, but also for the first time in its entirety on disc! After the film was released on videocassette in its entirety more than 30 years ago for its home theater premiere, the scissors at the end were used for the DVD review many years ago – and a text panel revealing how the story was told was removed continues. When asked, we were assured that the “The Navigator” Blu-ray is based on the original New Zealand master, which was also the basis for Arrow Video’s UK release.
This means that the film will not only be available in optimized and best quality to date, but also in the uncut original version.
That’s what “The Navigator” is about
England, mid 14th century: Plague keeps people in suspense and gradually wipes out the population. But little Griffin (Hamish McFarlane, then Hamish Gough) is haunted by a recurring dream – and along with his brother Connor (Bruce Lyons), he soon sees it as a prophecy that will help him escape the Black Death.
But what do the coffin floating on a lake, the white church with an iron cross, the falling glove, the creature falling from above and the torch falling into the infinite darkness mean? Accompanied by some loyal companions, the brothers set out in search of answers – before suddenly ending up in New Zealand in 1988…
“The Navigator” as Prequel to “Alien 3”
The Australian-New Zealand co-production even caught the attention of Hollywood studios for director Vincent Ward and landed him what is probably his most famous engagement: Denn “The Navigator” was the movie that the producers of “Stranger 3once convinced him to hire Vincent Ward to write the sci-fi sequel. However, creative differences between the filmmakers around Ward and director David Fincher and the studio, which even made history, caused Ward to leave the project before it was completed.
And the cast in front of the camera may not seem familiar at first, but it’s quite exciting: in addition to Bruce Lyons, who otherwise only participated in a handful of TV productions, and Marshall Napier, who even starred in world-famous cult hits like “A Pig Called Babe” and “McLeod’s Daughters”, protagonist Hamish McFarlane has become a highly sought-after man in Hollywood. The kid in “The Navigator” has gone on to become a successful assistant director, having most recently worked on films such as “Meg” and “Shadow In The Cloud” and series such as “The Wheel of Time” and “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” worked. So he remains faithful to the fantasy subject even after 35 years…
Author: Daniel Fabian
Source : Film Starts
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
