Fundamental Collection

Fundamental Collection catalog - updated 2017-05-14

spine number - title - release date

#001 - Alien (1979) - 2017-04-18
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/205713

#002 - Aliens (1986) - 2017-04-19
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/205714

#003 - Alien³ (1992) - 2017-04-20
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/205715

#004 - Alien: Resurrection (1997) - TBA
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/205716

#005 - The Thing (1982) - 2017-03-01
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/201928

#006 - Halloween (1978) - 2017-03-07
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/202787

#007 - Minority Report (2002) - 2017-03-11
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/203166

#008 - The Arrival (1996) - 2017-04-01
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/205656

#009 - Waterworld (1995) - 2017-04-05
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/205702

#010 - Timeline (2003) (open matte) - 2017-04-13
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/207997

#011 - The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) (open matte) - 2017-05-09
comparison: http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/209196

ABOUT

The Fundamental Collection, a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films, has been dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality, avoiding revisionism that plagues many of the latest releases.

Our commitment is to publish the defining moments of cinema for a wider audience, tired of watching their preferred movies with revisioned colors, wrong aspect ratios, excessively degrained, or listening to modified audio mixes.

Each film is presented uncut, in its original aspect ratio, as its maker intended it to be seen, and eventually we include also an open matte version, when this improves the overall entertainment. Every time we work on a film, we track down the best available video and audio sources in the world, use state-of-the-art hardware equipment and selected software capable of reproduce as closer as possible the colors of the chosen reference, and we add the best audio original mixes, in different languages, with their related subtitles.

We aim to create the most pristine image and sound, as closest as possible to the theatrical projection, so to recreate the original, fundamental experience felt when the movie was originally released in the theaters.

FORMAT

Final format chosen for our releases is Blu-ray; video is encoded in 1080p, using the best AVC encoder and settings, at an appropriate bit rate to maintain a great quality and grain structure; audio is encoded in DTS-HD MA, when available, or in DTS, PCM and Dolby Digital; up to five languages are included, when available. NO DVD or other lower quality format are used for our feature film releases.

Video sources used are the best high definition versions, but in selected occasion we could be forced to use standard definition for particular shots/scenes not available in better quality; we use the best upscale techniques to improve the image quality and let these insertions as seamless as possible.

Color references used are usually the older master which, in many cases, retain the original colors found on the released prints: nowadays the original negative is used to produce a master and, albeit the quality is obviously superior, digital regrade often can’t reproduce the original color timing found on the release print. That’s our job to use the best high resolution source, and regrade it with the best color references.

Audio lossless tracks are used when they reflect the original mix; if not, we try to use the best available, high quality audio tracks with original mix, from the Cinema DTS tracks to laserdisc DTS, AC3 and PCM ones.

MISSION

Our mission: to fix the films which need to be saved from modern revisionism.

In particular, what we do is:

• use a color reference to regrade the film so it could be closer to the theatrical presentation
• add an open matte version as a companion to the OAR version
• reinstate eventual cut shots/scenes
• add a film grain plate when the grain is absent or weak
• clean the image only when needed
• adjust the aspect ratio when wrong
• select the best audio mixes, using the original ones when available
• include five different languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish) when available

and, what we DO NOT is:

• regrade a film without a color reference
• add an open matte version when it is heavily cropped, or contains unwanted objects like boom mics and the like
• use the original shot when director wisely chose to replace it with fixed one, like security ropes deleted, matte garbage removed etc.
• add always a grain plate even when the grain is right
• clean always the image even when it is right
• use the best quality audio mix when it is not the original one, and the latter is available

So, our releases, albeit our best efforts to find and use the best possible audio and video sources, could be not perfect sometimes; still, the spirit of the theatrical experience, which is fundamental, is always there!

FAQ

Which movies will be released in the Fundamental Collection?
The movie genres that will be included are mainly sci-fi, action, horror, fantasy; we can’t exclude other ones, though. Mainstream flicks will be the first ones to be released, but maybe other less known films will follow.

What is the reason of a movie choice?
As written before, our mission is to “fix” somehow movies released before with something “wrong” - color grading, aspect ratio, missing shots, audio mixes etc.

Which languages will be included in each release?
We aim to include five main languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish - with suitable subtitles - whenever these tracks are available; that’s because we want to please a vast public all around the globe!

Do you have a release schedule?
Not yet; we plan to start with a new title each month, and eventually reach twenty releases per year in the next future.

Will bonus material be included? What’s about menus?
We have decided to include only the main feature, and to go “straight to the point”: no fancy menus = no loading time… just put the disc in your player and press play!

Projects in progress:

Alien Vs. Predator - BD regraded to open matte version
Harry Potter saga - open matte edition

Links received, just forgot to answer you - you have mail now! 😉

Next projects: Pirates of the Caribbean 1-2-3 open matte

A lot of updates… but I post regularly on fanres - go there to read about these.