The Darkening 25th Anniversary Restoration
| The Darkening 25th Anniversary Restoration | |
|---|---|
| |
| Production | Privateer 2: The Darkening |
| Type | Cinema Cut |
| Run Time | 1h7m56s |
| Date | 1996 |
The Darkening 25th Anniversary Restoration is a cinematic cut of footage from Privateer 2: The Darkening. It was released by director Steve Hilliker on May 20, 2020 on YouTube. The footage has been edited down from the game but where available it is of much higher quality than the original.
- Download: priv2_hilliker_remaster.mkv
Introduction
YouTube Description
25 years ago I directed live action film sequences for the first interactive movie in Europe. Originally it was called 'The Darkening' but became better known as 'Privateer 2 The Darkening' for Electronic Arts. We had a great cast including Clive Owen, John Hurt, Christopher Walken, David Warner, Mathilda May, Brian Blessed, Jurgen Procknow, David McCallum, etc.
Recently I discovered that all the master tapes were sadly destroyed many years ago. Using only my surviving domestic Digital 8 copy (rescued from the loft) which was recorded from a 2nd generation Beta SP I have used DaVinci Resolve Studio Super Upscale 'AI 'software to save and regrade what I can. Obviously this can never match the original masters.
As most of the cast and crew never saw a single frame of the original (they weren't gamers!) and there was no press screenings or premiere of the footage I thought it was fitting after all these years to try and put something together. I haven't included any gameplay, only movie footage with one interactive 'short' pathway.
Pure Nostalgia - I had a great cast and crew! So this is especially for them and any one else who is interested in what we got up to on four stages at Pinewood during those very hot months of April and May 1995!
