msycamore said:
Jonno said:
What's particularly frustrating is how beautiful the restored (as opposed to altered) footage frequently is, particularly on the BD. Sadly I think this might be too big a repair job even for an Adywan or a Harmy...
Except the resolution and clarity of the footage, personally I'm not that fond of how it looks as it's sometimes so far removed from the original, the raw documentary style of the original is gone, degrained, high contrast look with skintones that are often ash gray. But I agree that some scenes look very good though, it's just that you know the original could look even better if it was restored, that's what makes it even more frustrating.
The original version was quite grainy and even though the film is highly stylized in its photography, except for the limbo prison sequence which was handled by Haskell Wexler at a TV studio in LA, it was shot entirely on locations and used natural lighting as much as possible, the actors didn't even wear makeup.
Lucas in American Cinematographer, October 1971:
"I was well aware that there would be those in the audience who would be shocked by the graininess at first, but I was sure that after the first minute or two they would get used to the grain and simply accept it as part of the stylistic concept, the documentary approach."
I definitely recommend the article if you guys haven't read it, cannot find it at the moment but the main parts of it can be read here: http://books.google.se/books?id=P2P7pwHeZSkC&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8&dq=THX+1138+American+Cinematographer&source=bl&ots=tIkANVWelz&sig=WXEwjpn7LkMhW2DgCYMoPUok2zs&hl=sv&sa=X&ei=gp36T7utHM7R4QTA4pCVBw&sqi=2&ved=0CFMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=THX%201138%20American%20Cinematographer&f=false
Exactly. The original was photographed in Techniscope, which despite it's bad reputation as a cheap poor-man's Cinemascope and increased grain structure is (Along with VistaVision for the opposite reasons) IMO the best film widescreen process devised. The graininess becomes a character and the process has a specific grittier color palette available. Combine this with the fact that anamorphic lenses were unnecessary and you could do just about anything with the camera. This is how Sergio Leone was able to get his famed closeups so tightly, because the camera was using plain old spherical lenses and he realized what he could start doing. It allowed for a huge increase in creativity, and the films made in this process are some of the most cinematographically inventive ever made.
The new HD film is not a Techniscope movie. They tried to erase all signs of Techniscope, film grain, color, browns, and parts of the original concept. And what the heck is that stupid plastic lobster bug thing SEN sees in the subway? You tell me GL.