The Big Picture

  • Director Tarsem Singh is endeavoring to bring The Fall to a wider audience, as the film is currently difficult to find through legal means.
  • Singh has promised to aggressively pursue a new release of the film, ensuring that it is distributed in high quality and at an affordable price.
  • Singh has reached out to Criterion, a home video distributor specializing in unique cinematic works, but they have not responded favorably to his request.

After years of waiting, Tarsem Singh is taking action to get The Fall in front of more eyes. The 2006 classic, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and stars Lee Pace and Catinca Untaru, is notoriously difficult to view nowadays. It's currently unstreamable and unable to buy or rent from all major outlets like Google Play or Amazon, making it borderline impossible to watch through legal means without spending an arm and a leg. It seems like the perfect candidate for a 4K re-release from physical media outlets like Criterion, but even that hasn't happened yet. Speaking to Collider's Steve Weintraub for his big return film Dear Jassi, Singh detailed the hold-up on getting The Fall to 4K at last.

With this year's TIFF just around the corner, Singh promised that he's going to aggressively pursue a brand-new release of the film for audiences to enjoy rather soon. "I will solve that within two weeks of TIFF," he said. "I've finally decided that at this current time, it's been waiting for long enough." The main issue is finding a home for the film that will distribute it, ensure it's in the highest quality possible, and won't cost hundreds to see. "We’ll try to find an outlet for it because everybody tells me that to see it, it costs like $300 on a Blu-ray and not good quality. I swear to you, I'll follow that up maybe by TIFF, but hopefully a week after TIFF, all my attention will go to that. I'll get it done."

The Fall is a unique piece bringing to life the imagination of a young girl named Alexandria (Untaru). After being paralyzed during a stunt for his first film, Roy Walker (Pace), a performer during the days of silent films in 1920s Los Angeles, befriends the girl in the hospital and tells her a fantastical tale of five heroes who join forces to battle an evil ruler. She then begins imagining everyone around her as characters in the story, making for a visually impressive and emotional ride. For Criterion, which specializes in preserving unique and important cinematic works, The Fall seems like a perfect fit for their collection. When asked if his team reached out to the home video distributor, however, Singh said:

"We have. It was the strangest thing, they kind of have not responded to it. The kind of stuff that I like, it’s that kind of a film. It's very polarizing. People think it's the best thing, or they think it's the biggest piece of shit in the world, and both are okay with me…Somehow, in this particular one, whenever we've approached everybody– I did tell the lawyer and everything after this particular one, 'I will have a chat, and we'll find an outlet for it.' But Criterion doesn't seem to think it's their kind of film, which is bizarre."

What Can Fans Do to Get The Fall in 4K?

While it's frustrating for Singh to be seemingly blown off by the one company that made the most sense, the director isn't close to giving up. "I'm trying really hard," he added, telling anyone eager to see the film to "Write to Criterion and let them know. They just kind of ignored me for about a year, and I just thought, 'I'll move on because people are wanting to see it.'"

In a perfect world, Singh would also love to get The Fall onto streaming platforms or VOD services to make it even easier for audiences to access. "It's just countries like Japan and all reach out individually and say, 'Can we have it?' And we've been able to solve that, but right now, I’d love for it to stream in some way," the director said. Before that, however, he'll return to TIFF to debut his first feature in eight years with Dear Jassi alongside other massive titles like Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron, Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins, and Craig Gillespie's Dumb Money.

Stay tuned here at Collider for more on The Fall as Singh fights to finally get the film in 4K. Check out the trailer for the film below and look for more from our exclusive interview soon.

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