Me and a few other generous members have been putting money towards a 4K scan of FACE OFF from 35mm, a copy that is in very good shape and that can finally show us how the film looked originally in theaters and yes, it’s pretty different from any home video release. Most noticeably, the lack of heavy DNR seen on BluRay and HD-DVD to the point that close-ups of the actors’ faces look like wax statues with rubber ears (very much like the faces seen in the infamous BD of Predator), one would never guess that Nic Cage had a 5 o’clock shadow when he finds himself in jail, but there it is on the 35mm, in its whole grainy glory. Comparison shots also show a different color palette in many parts of the movie and a radically different use of light. It seems like the home video releases were also zoomed/cropped to some extent compared to theatrical release.

Here’s some examples of the theatrical look compared to HD releases

35mm / HD-DVD

(whole gallery here https://postimg.org/gallery/2kbxkbtni/63897c6b/ )

We have the rare opportunity to scan it with professional equipment for a very cheap price all included, this means there won’t be further expenses involved afterwards… and we are barely 100 euro away from the goal. W’re kinda short on time to make this happen so anybody feeling generous and wanting to help us out feel free to contact me in private for a donation. Any little helps.
There’s a tight deadline on this print because it has to be returned to its owner. If the money isn’t raised by the end of the month we loose the opportunity to have it scanned!

The files will be passed on to PDB who’s gonna take charge of the project once the scan is complete (thanks PDB!) and eventually release it the way all preservation projects get released, but in the immediate future a direct BD-25 release will be made available very shortly after the scan (limited to those who donated). We only have so much time, thanks in advance for your help.

Edit: THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN ABANDONED due to the scanner disappearing on us.