82 / BD 20 Ikarie XB 1

[Bikey]

"I’d highly recommend getting this Blu-ray upgrade. The new 4K restoration and HD transfer deliver a significant improvement in image quality, and the additional special features are absolutely worth having. If you’ve not seen the film then this is the perfect opportunity to discover this visionary slice of cinematic science fiction and see it in the best shape it’s been seen since it made its first appearance in Czech cinemas."
Cine Outsider revel in the Blu-ray glory of IKARIE XB 1

Available at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Zezy9B
And at our website: http://www.secondrundvd.com/release_ikarieBD.html

[swo17]

Available at Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Zezy9B

Until those three copies from third-party sellers sell out

[Bikey]

We're experiencing (a still infuriatingly unexplained) issue with Amazon on this title, but rest assured there's plenty of stock so third party sellers won't sell out any time soon.

IKARIE is also available through our own website: http://www.secondrundvd.com/release_ikarieBD.html

[Bikey]

Some (still unexplained) issue meant that our IKARIE XB 1 Blu-ray was not available through UK Amazon Prime.
Pleased to report it's now back up and on sale again through Prime at Amazon UK

[Bikey]

""Here is a treat from the excellent Second Run label [...] If you've an interest in sci-fi, Ikarie XB1 is a revelation"
IKARIE reviewed at Songlines Magazine

[Altair]

I was lucky enough to see this in the cinema recently as part of the tour of the 4k restoration - I think it goes without saying that if you can see this on the big screen, do, because the wide screen cinematography in particular looks glorious and the greyscale is to die for. I found the film itself fascinating because it is so many things at once: an elaborate episode of Star Trek, a commentary on Socialism, and a cerebral reflection on space travel. Not all the subplots work of course; the 'crew member going mad and threatening the mission' part was a little predictable, but the sequence where they find the abandoned spaceship is full of wonderful imagery. And the ending proceeds to cast a retrospective glow on to the whole film and helps elevate it to a superior plane. I will be sure to pick it up on BD.

Question: I've seen Ikarie XB 1 often compared to the Soviet science fiction film Planeta Bur and that too looks like a lot of fun - are there any decent releases of it?

[MichaelB]

The BFI hinted at one years ago, but it sadly never happened - and since it was in connection with their now long-finished sci-fi season I suspect the project's long dead.

[pretzel logic]

Posting to get info from the company, as indicated on its website. A soundtrack reviewer speculated they utilized a Music & Effects audio track. A blu-ray review mentioned the music sounded louder than previous releases, so maybe that's the reasoning. The soundtrack release of IKARIE initially claimed to be sourced from Zdenek Liska's personal tapes, but has effects and no dialog. Unfortunately it was severely edited, so it's hard to be conclusive. If the original music recording doesn't exist, the next best thing would be a complete Music & Effects track with effects properly mitigated, not a hack editing job. So my question is did 2nd Run use an M&E track? If so, is it available?

[MichaelB]

Based on my experience of handling Czech National Film Archive masters, I'd imagine it's extraordinarily unlikely that Second Run was given anything other than the film soundtrack. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever encountered a separate M&E track on anything other than a master supplied by a major studio (where such things are fairly routine).

[pretzel logic]

I wanted a factual answer from the company, but they never replied. I thought their rep here was member Bikey but he didn't reply to my private message, although he's been on the site.

[MichaelB]

Having handled several Czech National Film Archive masters, none of which had anything other than the film's basic soundtrack, I'd be very surprised if Second Run could usefully add anything to the information I've already given you. I've never encountered a separate M&E track on anything other than a master from a major Hollywood studio, and I'd be very surprised indeed (understatement) if Second Run had been separately furnished with one.

In other words, if you're after a detailed answer about the provenance of the track, you need to contact the Czech National Film Archive, as they're the only people who'd reliably know.

[pretzel logic]

Having handled several Czech National Film Archive masters, none of which had anything other than the film's basic soundtrack, I'd be very surprised if Second Run could usefully add anything to the information I've already given you. I've never encountered a separate M&E track on anything other than a master from a major Hollywood studio, and I'd be very surprised indeed (understatement) if Second Run had been separately furnished with one.

In other words, if you're after a detailed answer about the provenance of the track, you need to contact the Czech National Film Archive, as they're the only people who'd reliably know.

I appreciate you sharing your experience in the first post, but surely Second Run can speak for themselves about their own releases, otherwise what's the point of this forum (or their website).
From my consumer's point of view, it sounds like you're suggesting that Second Run is more of a distributor, and is probably given limited information about whatever material they are including in their video releases. Is this correct?

[MichaelB]

I am 99.9% certain that my very close friends at Second Run won't be able to add any more info on top of what I've already provided.

And they do indeed not do their own in-house restorations, which would be way beyond their budget as they cater for a niche market with a vengeance. And they don't need any more information from the rightsholder other than "here's a download link to our master", as all relevant info will have been embedded in its metadata.

But the information that you're after won't be, because it's not the kind of thing that would have been provided—hence my recommendation that you contact the Czech National Film Archive directly, as it's vanishingly unlikely that you'll glean anything else here.

[Bikey]

With sincere apologies for not responding to your message pretzel, I can reiterate what MichaelB has already stated. We were not supplied a separate M&E track for our IKARIE re-issue, just the film soundtrack.