New to physical media from today, courtesy of Second Sight, is The Blair Witch Project Limited Edition Blu-ray boxset. This chunky, two-disc set includes a copy of the iconic horror film, along with a wealth of special features and supplementary material (more about those in a moment), and is an impressive set for an equally impressive film.
A film you’ve seen countless times before, right? Well, if you’re a horror fan you certainly should have, but for everyone else, let me fill you in on some key details, to help catch you up.
Written, directed, and produced by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez, and starring Heather Donahue, Michael Williams, and Joshua Leonard, The Blair Witch Project is a supernatural horror movie about three students who go missing in the woods. In October 1994, Heather, Michael, and Joshua enter a wooded area in Burkittsville, Maryland to film footage for a documentary, but they fail to leave and are never seen again.
Five years later, their footage is discovered, spliced together and released to the general public. This footage details the trio’s final days in the woods, including the terrifying events leading up to their disappearance.
Originally released in 1999, it’s fair to say The Blair Witch Project was a phenomena upon making its debut. Entirely fictional, but positioned as a found footage film depicting ‘real’ events, the movie blurred the lines between reality and fantasy.
Heather, Michael, and Joshua didn’t really get lost in the woods, but the film did a fantastic job of making people believe they did. Over the course of 81-minutes, The Blair Witch Project sold a very convincing lie, audiences lapped it up, and it became a huge hit!
In fact, audiences lapped it up so much the movie made a whopping $248.6 million at the worldwide box office. It also inspired a string of other found footage movies (Paranormal Activity, Cloverfield, etc), and led to a couple of (not-so-impressive) sequels.
But let’s not dwell on the sequels, it’s the original that is in the spotlight here. The Blair Witch Project is a superb little horror, which popped up at the tail-end of the ’90s, and if for any reason it has passed you by, then you had best take a look for yourself.
Now, if you do consider yourself a fan of The Blair Witch Project (like I do), this new release from Second Sight is a must-have purchase. Not only does it include alternate cuts of the film, it also features plenty of juicy bonus material, including the excellent Curse of the Blair Witch Project docu-film, which is also worthy of your time.
Want to know everything that comes with the set? Of course you do, so feast your eyes on the following:
Disc 1 includes:
- A new Second Sight Films restoration of the theatrical and festival cuts of The Blair Witch Project, taken from the Hi8 videotapes and 16mm film elements (supervised and approved by the producers and directors)
- The original exhibition theatrical cut from the 35mm transfer master
- New audio commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
- Directors’ and Producers’ audio commentary
Disc 2 includes:
- The Blair Witch Project documentary – a new feature-length Second Sight Films production
- The Blair Witch Project: Analogue Horror in a Digital World
- Deleted scenes including previously unseen video and 16mm footage
- Alternate endings
- Curse of the Blair Witch docu-film
- Cannes 1999: Archive directors interview
- Trailers
In addition to the above, this limited edition release also includes:
- A sturdy cardboard slipcase featuring new artwork by Timothy Pittides
- A hefty 184-page hardback book with archive production materials and new essays
- Heather’s Journal
- Three collectors’ art cards
The Blair Witch Project Limited Edition Blu-ray boxset is priced at around £44.99 and is LIMITED EDITION in every sense of the words. As such, if you want a copy for yourself you had best act fast as it won’t stay on shelves for long.
However, should this be a little out of your price range, a standard edition Blu-ray is available for £22.99. The standard edition comes with all of the special features across the two discs, but doesn’t include any of the supplementary material (art cards, book, etc).
But if you can pay that bit extra, then do so. The Blair Witch Project Limited Edition Blu-ray boxset is a swish little thing, which gives this excellent movie the treatment it so rightly deserves.
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