Not 2 start a quarrel but I don’t think you know how HDR works. Film (negatives and prints alike) has higher dynamic range than SDR. Higher color gamut alone would benefit it and HDR would be icing on the cake. It’s only revisionist if you make it so.
There was no way to see anything close to theatrical quality in the home back when these films came out. Now we have a tool that brings us closer to that experience; to call that tool “revisionist” is, well, a misnomer.
I never called the HDR grading tool “revisionist” in my post, did I? I said I feel SDR colouring (especially using 10 bit Rec 709/Rec 2020 gamut) would be enough. Also, I have no way of seeing HDR anyway. My monitor is a 10 bit one that does not support HDR. When I see 4K films, I watch the SDR 10 bit versions only and they feel adequate to me. Sorry if you found my post to be quarrelsome or otherwise. I may be wrong, but I feel most people don’t have HDR displays across the world. There are many Asian countries where people still have SD TVs or 720p/1080p TVs, like in India. HDR TVs and good ones at that, are quite expensive. The cheap ones don’t last long and don’t do HDR justice anyway. Most cable broadcasts are in SD and HD still. You only get 4K in streaming and that still is not something that is the popular option worldwide. 4K HDR is costlier than SDR to purchase online.
Just compare Jurassic Park on 3D and on UHD disc. The former, despite being in SDR HD, is closer to the original warm colour timing and maintains the proper shades of the primary colours even if it pushes towards a bit too orange. The UHD with HDR looks as bland and cold as the DVDs and the Blu-rays with improper tone mapping and incorrect shades of colours.
HDR is a tool, just like SDR. It is not better or worse. Christopher Nolan does not use Dolby Vision on the UHD discs and yet his films look brilliantly shot, timed and composed. So, personally, I don’t think Dolby Vision/HDR is a necessity. And again, there’s no way for me to see it that way either.
Having said that, if you folks can edit it that way, that’s fine as well. I am not opposed to the idea and certainly won’t stop anyone from doing it. I personally feel that HDR/Dolby Vision are not absolutely necessary tools for preserving the 35mm colour tones and shades. Please don’t feel offended.
: )