The Blair Witch Project producer Michael Monello has stated a new Blu-ray edition of the film that will restore the filmmaker’s complete vision is on the way from Second Sight.
While The Blair Witch Project and its sequel will be released as a double pack from Imprint later this year, it is thought to be based on the same old transfer. It’s a subject that Monello is understandably quite riled up about.
The Blair Witch Project to be complete once more
“For 25 years, Artisan/Lions Gate have been content to put out a version of this film that is NOT how the filmmakers intended it to look, with broken motion and film grain over video,” Monello said. “Now that we have an actual filmmaker and producer-approved version coming out, I think I’ve earned the right to dump on a release of the transfer that Artisan did without consulting us. If they want to cash grab dump it in the market, I can’t stop them, but I’m not going to shut up about something I worked so hard on being released with a shoddy transfer and the same old extras.“
Monello continued by laying out what would be featured in the Second Sight version of the film.
“It hasn’t been announced yet, but there is a NEW version of the original film coming out in October with exclusive new content. and for the first time ever the film will look the way it was intended to from the beginning. Back in 1999, Artisan never consulted us on the transfer and they… I believe the technical term is ‘fucked it all up’ and neither they or Lions Gate ever fixed it. Not even for the Blu-Ray release. The version coming will stand as the only version that represents the filmmakers complete vision for the film.“
In a later Reddit post, Monello added further details and revealed he wouldn’t be receiving a penny from his work on the latest transfer. The post is pretty extensive and explains what was wrong with the home video transfer originally created. You can read it here.
25th anniversary soured by animosity
As The Blair Witch Project reached its 25th anniversary, much animosity has bubbled to the surface over the treatment of those involved in it. The cast revealed they had felt disrespected by Lionsgate and had missed out on residuals and fair financial compensation. Recently, they sought to claim some back and set up a filmmaking grant. Original stars Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, and Michael Williams were all involved in the proposal
Leonard was bemused when Lionsgate and Blumhouse used his image to promote the revival of The Blair Witch Project, even though none of the cast had been told about it.
”At this point, it’s 25 years of disrespect from the folks who’ve pocketed the lion’s share (pun intended) of the profits from OUR work, and that feels both icky and classless.” said Leonard at the time.
Hopefully, the Second Sight version of The Blair Witch Project will be officially announced soon. I’m excited by the idea of seeing the film as intended after all this time and intrigued by what new exclusive features are involved.
