The found footage horror classic The Blair Witch Project is returning to Blu-ray with a new release from UK company Second Sight, and it’s set to be a first-of-its-kind offering.
The 2-Disc Limited Edition set includes a new Second Sight Films restoration from the Hi8 videotapes and 16mm film elements, supervised and approved by the Producers and Directors, which presents The Blair Witch Project as it was meant to be seen for the very first time.
The Blair Witch Project production designer Ben Rock explains over on Twitter, “If you’re a fan of The Blair Witch Project, this edition is a first of its kind. The original sources have been re-digitized including a first-ever proper transfer of the 16mm. And there’s a new doc by Jed Shepherd interviewing all of us who made the film.”
“The version you’ve seen was transferred (hi-8 & 16mm) to BetaSP in 1997, edited in standard def, output to 35mm from SD, and that was the 35mm print. The DVD and Blu-ray besides this new edition was a video transfer from that 35mm print. This is the best version,” Rock adds.
Here’s the full rundown for the REGION B release from Second Sight Films…
Special Features
- A new Second Sight Films restoration from the Hi8 videotapes and 16mm film elements, supervised and approved by the Producers and Directors
- 2-disc edition includes restored and remastered Original Theatrical Cut and Festival Cut plus original-release version
- The Blair Witch Documentary: a new feature-length Second Sight Films production
- New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
- Directors’ and Producers’ audio commentary
- Deleted scenes including previously unseen video and 16mm footage
- The Blair Witch Project: Analogue Horror in a Digital World by Mike Muncer
- Curse of the Blair Witch
- Alternate Endings
- Cannes 1999: archive Directors interview
- Trailers
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Timothy Pittides
- 184-page hardback book with archive production materials and new essays by Stacey Abbott, Becky Darke, Adam Hart, Craig Ian Mann, Mary Beth McAndrews, Dr. Cecilia Sayad, Pete Turner and Heather Wixson
- Heather’s Journal
- 3 collectors’ art cards
The Limited Edition release from Second Sight will be unleashed on November 11.
You can also grab a Standard 2-Disc Edition, detailed here.
“Three film students head into the woodlands of Maryland in search of the Blair Witch, a local legend that has haunted the town of Burkittsville for centuries, as part of a documentary project. They were never seen again. This footage is all that remains of that fateful excursion.”
Heather Donahue, Michael C Williams, and Joshua Leonard star in 1999 game-changer The Blair Witch Project, which was directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez.
