Info: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly - 4k nightmare — Page 6

OK, I made a test using two clips from Mondo and 4K BDs, of the same scene of the last screenshots posted here (thanks to doombot).

During the comparisons between 4K and Mondo (magnified from 4x up to 8x) I noted a strange thing: sometimes the 4K has less details in part of the image, while more in another... sort of out of focus... plus, in a shot, the image "moves" up, down, left and right a lot more than Mondo, where the image is not perfectly steady, but with much less "movement"... add to this the fact that Mondo has few frames more - like 4 out of 1000, not so much, OK, and they are frames at the beginning and/or ending of a shot, but if it's the same for the whole movie, summed up we are talking of almost one MINUTE lost!!!

Regrading results: not too bad, but not perfect either; in some shots the color grading matches almost perfectly the Mondo, while in others there are visible artefacts, "thanks" to the ColourMatch script that is "stupid" and doesn't cope well with different cropping between the two versions... at the end, I'm not happy with it as it is now; it needs a lot of further testing and subsequential adjustements that frankly I don't know if I'll be able to achieve.

Then, I had a stroke of genius... my brain said: "Because we want the Mondo BD color grading, but the 4K BD seems to have a better resolution, what if..."

As the Mondo has a quite good resolution, IMHO only ruined partially by compression artefacts and lack of fine grain, I thought to "enhance" it a bit, then "slap" a grain plate on top of it... result? Take a look and let me know what do you think:

Mondo BD Vs Mondo BD enhanced +grain plate applied (from compressed file @30mbps)
http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/78813

Am I completely fool?!? Waiting for you pro or cons feedbacks!

If you want to watch the clips (Mondo BD "as is" and Mondo BD enhanced +grain plate applied), let me know and I'll post the links here.

http://youtu.be/3uoM5kfZIQ0?t=42s

Enhanced = improved a bit... IMHO, of course! (^^,)

For example, third picture in the screenshot comparison; take a look at Tuco's trousers on the right; you could see strange green lines - that supposedly shouldn't be there - in the Mondo BD, probably due to compression, while they are almost eliminated in the enhanced version, retaining the same details... always IMHO of course, that's why I need your feedebacks!

Feallan said:

http://youtu.be/3uoM5kfZIQ0?t=42s

Frankly, my own work is vastly superior to that... now you could see, in the eye of the actors, the whole troupe behind the camera mirrored in the sclera, the fine details of the fabric of their dressing and in the next release also what they thought... (^^,)

Links to test clips:

Mondo BD

Mondo BD enhanced + grain plate

Warning: second clip is shorter, as it was made to be in sync with the 4K; if you need an avisynth script to let have both the same frames, let me know.

A question: am I the only one who noted that 4K resolution is inconsistent?

Yoo_Too, here you are a less sharpened version:

http://s9.postimg.org/4pb94wje5/gbu_mondo_spo_Rv_1b.png

What do you think about this?

Also, I discovered that I mistakenly use some 1280x720 images for the screenshot comparisons instead 1920x1080 - thanks, Postimage! - so the best way to make a comparison is to watch the test clips.

I would personally prefer no enhancements whatsoever. Just the 4K source regraded to match the Mondo colours. Somebody's idea of 'enhancing' the original source is what got us into this mess in the first place. ;)

That would be asking for trouble.

Finally got my copy in the mail, hope to check out the new transfer in person later tonight. That Italian IB is stunning, and like I thought does not have the heavy oversaturated feel that is supposedly correct on the new transfer. Again, I have never GBU look like this, and not even the 35mm MGM extension which had alternate color from what is on video. IIRC it seemed like a modern lit version of the Mondo-just imagine that transfer with the brighter more washed out look of the old MGM BD. If anyone could find images of the extended MGM 35mm that might help us a bit.

What is supposed to be taken into account is the fact that each lab and each country has its own methodology and thus the prints will always look different from one another. We've gone all through this with Eastman vs. IB, US vs. UK on Star Wars, and if anything when coming from the o-neg, vintage prints are used as a general reference--not an absolute unless the intended look was specified that way by all involved.

Every single restoration of Leone's work has produced a different look, no matter which film it is. Here, it seems the intent was to faithfully represent a 1966 Tech IB print, but then that idea was taken overboard by casting an unnatural saturation over everything.

If anything comes of that print poita, I can be counted in along with others for a fistful.

Good news about your track Hutt, with all the blips between video versions of these films it seems like that would be a big amount of work. BTW, how are you doing the reinserted scenes? I always thought the most appropriate thing to do would have been to use the Italian mono with English subtitles as did the original R1 DVD's supplements.

I really need to be importing some titles...why oh why did they have to go with region locking on BD?

Lil Brutto said:

I'm more than willing to chip in dollars but not without any details. If the asking price is USD $1800 then I need to know exactly what I'm buying.

 The seller is very forthcoming with screenshots and information about the film, what would you like to know?

I can put you in touch directly with the seller if you like.

The seller is in Italy, there is no vinegar smell or warping, there is no fading (it is an IB TECH so I wouldn't expect there to be) it has the mono Italian soundtrack.

It looks to be in good condition for its age. As is usual the beginning and end of each reel is a bit scratched up, but the samples I have seen look like a print in good condition. The colour is certainly gorgeous and would be perfect as a reference to check against/regrade the BD release.

Going on the edge codes it is a 1971 print, so I think it is the original theatrical release, I'm not an expert on this movie, so perhaps someone else will know.

There are a few splices, but not too many.

The postage will be around another USD$200-$250 or so.

I can scan 35mm IB Prints @ 4K.

If there is someone in Italy on the forums that could help with the transactions, that would be great.

Drop me a PM.

There has been an offer from a known forum member here, who lives in Italy to help with the transaction, so that is very much appreciated, it will make it a lot easier and safer.