Recently, Criterion released BRAZIL (1985) from Terry Gilliam, in UHD/4K, but sadly with teal-and-orange revisionism. It looks awful, despite the PQ. I have not found even a single trailer from a 35mm or similar project, to fix this. Do you know if there’s someone working on it?
Note: This 4K is from the Director’s Cut. The former Blu-rays from Criterion (DC) or Universal (2011, theatrical cut) were fine.
Here we go again with the teal and orange accusations. Teal existed in 1985 and the old masters are magenta tinted. People only hate the look of teal and orange because it was so popular in the late 2000s and are used to the old magenta tinted masters and thinking they’re correct.
Raccoons
Here we go again with the teal and orange accusations. Teal existed in 1985 and the old masters are magenta tinted. People only hate the look of teal and orange because it was so popular in the late 2000s and are used to the old magenta tinted masters and thinking they’re correct.
No one has said this, only that Criterion went full-retard on this 4K remaster. Instead of fine-tuning the picture, it looks like this:
UHD:
https://i.postimg.cc/dQ4pZ5mt/UHD44.jpg
Blu-ray:
https://i.postimg.cc/VLhhD5Vx/UNI1.jpg
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UHD: https://i.slow.pics/Z8kHLrDB.png
Blu-ray: https://i.slow.pics/SxQKLKVf.png
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UHD: https://i.postimg.cc/cx8sY8Mm/UHD-DELES1.jpg
Blu-ray: https://i.postimg.cc/D2Nv8cs0/BD-TEA1.jpg
+++++++
The revisionism is shockingly bad on this one. It was never supposed to look like it was shot yesterday. Because, you know, this is a modern trend:
https://theabyssgazes.blogspot.com/2010/03/teal-and-orange-hollywood-please-stop.html
The fact you think the former Blu-rays are also bad, with pink/magenta tones, does not mean automatically this 4K disc is good, because it isn’t. Many films from all ages have been spoiled with a wrong color grading, it’s not my fault you are blind to these facts.
Here we go again with the teal and orange accusations. Teal existed in 1985 and the old masters are magenta tinted. People only hate the look of teal and orange because it was so popular in the late 2000s and are used to the old magenta tinted masters and thinking they’re correct.
No one has said this, only that Criterion went full-retard on this 4K remaster. Instead of fine-tuning the picture, it looks like this:
UHD:
https://i.postimg.cc/dQ4pZ5mt/UHD44.jpgBlu-ray:
https://i.postimg.cc/VLhhD5Vx/UNI1.jpg++++++
UHD: https://i.slow.pics/Z8kHLrDB.png
Blu-ray: https://i.slow.pics/SxQKLKVf.png++++++
UHD: https://i.postimg.cc/cx8sY8Mm/UHD-DELES1.jpg
Blu-ray: https://i.postimg.cc/D2Nv8cs0/BD-TEA1.jpg
The only thing you’ve proved here is that Brazil’s 4K color timing has a much more photochemical look to it compared to the old BD master which is another DVD era neutralized master with no care put into the color timing whatsoever. Teal and orange existed in 1985, the BD is far from theatrically accurate.
Raccoons
Oh boy, this is getting a bit toxic…
Still, it would be interesting to look at a few frames of a 35mm release print, with the knowledge that this may not be totally accurate to the intended colors (issues from lighting conditions, color fade, general artifacts from the printing process, etc.)
(Deleted because I double posted, oops)
midnight cowboy was tealed to death, but it actually very close to the og trailer
not sure why anyone is bothered by teal anyhow, DNR and EE is much worse
midnight cowboy was tealed to death, but it actually very close to the og trailer
Here’s an excerpt from Criterion’s booklet regarding their restoration of Midnight Cowboy:
“A 35mm theatrical print made for the 2004 twenty-fifth anniversary of the film – supervised by director John Schlesinger, producer Jerome Hellman, and cinematographer Adam Holender – was referenced for color correction.”
Raccoons
For those that don’t know, Criterion also did the same with Trainspotting, from 1996. TEAL and orange for the UHD/4K. What is funny is the reviewer said all of this, and called BRAZIL’s 4K “spotless”:
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Unfortunately, the entire film is regraded and as a result some parts of it look very different now. Some of the tweaks are minor and retain original colors that look much better than they did on the previous release. However, some of the tweaks are pretty extreme and alter the color temperature of the visuals.
They can also destabilize or eliminate entire primaries and supporting nuances. The two primaries that are affected the most are white and blue. White and variations of white are routinely overwhelmed by light cyan/green. Blues and variations of blue are destabilized or replaced by turquoise. However, different parts of the film are affected differently, so if some original primaries are retained, the discrepancy is not as dramatic. Here are some examples of very obvious changes:
In the very beginning of the film, the gray and cold blue that was present in the Edinburgh skies are replaced. See screencaptures #6 and 7. The footage from the countryside where Renton declares that the Scottish should have been conquered by someone better than the English has lost its blues and is now tealed, too. The hilarious footage from the park with the dog has brand new color temperature as well.
Furthermore, some of the darker footage looks unusually flat now – in native 4K and 1080p, but in native 4K, some dark nuances become almost impossible to recognize. Oddly enough, in native 4K, the HDR grade handles some of the dark tealed footage a little bit better. When white is absent, primaries like red and blue look outstanding, so some scenes look as they should. Sadly, the new regrading job gives the rest of the film a brand new appearance.
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This upcoming release of Trainspotting is a lot like the recent release of Brotherhood of the Wolf. It introduces a brand new 4K restoration that alters the film’s original theatrical appearance but was endorsed by Danny Boyle. Some people will be fine with the changes, but a lot of people will find them quite frustrating.
(…) However, I think that an opportunity was missed to deliver the definitive home video release of Trainspotting. RECOMMENDED.
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And yes, I looked into Trainspotting’s UHD, and can confirm it suffers from the same regrading as Brazil. Not saying the 35mm copies (that need some serious proper restoration) are better, or the magenta old releases beat the 4K, but it’s quite obvious these distributors only care about doing their revisionism.
As for Brazil, what is even more strange is that no one can find a 35mm copy anywhere, at least to compare with this UHD release. That’s why a project is needed, if it isn’t possible to fix the new disc. With movies such as Terminator 2 (from 1991), at least we got that, and found even more than one source for the 35mm. I guess for BRAZIL, if any 35mm reel exists, it is really rare.
tarantino probably has a print, but then you would be whining because its the theatrical cut.
tarantino probably has a print, but then you would be whining because its the theatrical cut.
Another thing I found out today is that Universal’s theatrical cut (Blu-ray) has slightly less brightness than Criterion’s Blu.
Proof:
Universal:
https://i.postimg.cc/SRKkqDfV/VECI.jpg
Criterion:
https://i.postimg.cc/gJsmff8n/112.jpg
UHD:
https://i.postimg.cc/8cnDCMyG/113.jpg
Also, some caps-a-holic images showing how the 4K and Blu-ray differ: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?d1=19074&d2=1833&c=34
