THE NAVIGATOR: A MEDIEVAL ODYSSEY (1988)
Label: Umbrella Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG
Duration: 91 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Vincent Ward
Cast: Bruce Lyons, Chris Haywood, Hamish McFarlane, Marshall Napier, Noel Appleby, Paul Livingston, Sarah Perise
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988) is a strange bit of arthouse cinema that combines dark fantasy/sci-fi with a medieval quest adventure, opening in 14th century during the time when the dreaded black death was sweeping through Europe. It's during this dire time we happen upon a small mining village, where a young boy named Griffin (Hamish Gough) is beset by unsettling images, visions of a sort that he doesn't quite understand, concerning a seemingly bottomless pit and a foreign looking church spire.
His older brother Conner (Bruce Lyons) has been travelling through parts unknown, and has been missing for several weeks, but his unexpected return home is most welcomed, celebrated by the whole of village. However, he brings dark tidings with his return, offering a warning that the Black Death is on the move and will soon reach their tiny village. Young visioneer Griffin believes that his visions hold the key to his village's survival, saying that if they dig deep into mine for copper ore, forge it into a holy cross and plant it atop the spire of the church in his vision before dawn that the village will be spared the plague. Conner reluctantly agrees to lead the expedition into the mine, his hopes bolstered when they discover a strange drilling mechanism foretold by Griffin in his vision. Digging deep into the mountain they mine raw copper, and eventually break on through into a new smooth walled tunnel, which somehow transports the fellowship to New Zealand in the year 1988!
None of the men have ever never been to the city before, so they're not even aware they're in the wrong time period, left to improbably assume the strange sights and sounds of the modern 80's city are all normal city-things, so they proceed on their quest. First they must find a foundry to smelt and and forge their copper ore into a proper holy cross, and then to seek out the church steeple of Griffin's visions, and to get it done by the break of dawn they split up into two groups.
Now in most films I think this is where the fish-out-of-water comedy would come into play, and surely there is some humor, but it arises from the situations, not from corny comedy writing. The fellowship face strange new challenges like the crossing a busy multi-lane highway with speeding modern vehicles, navigating trains, and an encounter with a submarine, not to mention just the overwhelming intensity of the starry lit vistas of a contemporary city.
The film is artful and visually compelling, the opening scenes set in the 14th century are shot in high contrast monochrome, only turning to color when the quest arrives in contemporary New Zealand circa '88, and returning to black and white when they return to their own time. The idea of the reality of time travel is left of open to interpretation I think, it's never really said at the end whether what has transpired was truly a bit of sci-fi or a good bit of storytelling on the part of the boy prophet, and I like the ambiguity of it all.
Audio/Video: The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. This is a film that switches from monochromatic to color throughout the film, opening with some very striking black and white cinematography of a 14th century settlement located high in the snow covered mountains on the edge of lake, look. Grain is well-managed if a bit heavy in a few scenes, looking like it was shot in 16mm. When the film switches to color the modern city environments are bathed in blue and golden hues, offering some nice depth and colors throughout, it's a very attractive looking film.
Audio comes by way of an English DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo track that is well-balanced and clean, exporting the excellent score from composer Davood A. Tabrizi with good fidelity, optional English subtitles are provided, and it definitely helped during some of the dialogue with the thicker kiwi accents.
Extras include a 39-min interview with the director that goes into the origins of the story, the production, casting the film and how certain shots were achieved, it's a solid talk. We also get a 2-min trailer for the film plus a gallery of images that includes movie posters, home video releases, stills, behind-the-scenes shots and press clippings. Interestingly the Umbrella website advertises an audio commentary with Actor Paul Livingston and Production Designer Sally Campbell, but it is not listed on the wrap for this release and nowhere to be found on the disc.
The single-disc release comes housed in an over sized Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of reversible artwork featuring a new illustration by Umbrella's in-house designer Simon Sherry, the reverse side featuring the same artwork minus the unsightly ratings logo, the same artwork is excerpted for use on the disc itself.
Special Features:
- Path of the Navigator: Vincent's Odyssey - An Interview with Director Vincent Ward (39 min)
- Trailer (2 min)
- Image Gallery (13 min)
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey (1988) is a compelling slice of 80s arthouse cinema, a visually striking film that offers a bit of medieval adventure fantasy tinged with sci-fi. The Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment looks terrific and the interview with the director is a solid extra, this should please both fans of the film or the newly curious.
