The Aluminum Falcon said:
Be interested in the color timing.
Oh god....I expected maybe a few differences...but what played last night was an original print that fully deserved its Technicolor credit. Massive deep blacks, insanely deep and detailed color and full dark shadows so dark that many things were obscured. In other words many of the overall seams were covered up and in many places this looked like a very cold and snowy noir. This is truly a DARK movie.
All home video releases are wrong! The VHS/LD and subsequent DVD were brightened by the colorist as he did the first film in order to work with CRTs of the day. People would have complained it was too dark. The SE transfer restored some of the color depth but is still too bright. The BD improves upon this but is still off and reveals more of the grain removal and over-digitization of this 2004-2005 transfer.
What was most missed in transfer was the subtle overall timing. The Technicolor printing obviously brought out all the color as everything is very warm, dark and richly colored. It is most noticeable in the color blue to simulate cold and winter. On video this is everywhere, but on the print is is very selective and even changes shades slightly across scenes. The shadows in the night are not mere suggestions in the print, they are a character to themselves. The film is so dark that in places shots are obscured by the sheer amount of darkness.
Take the closeup of Batman in the opening fight as he approaches the clown holding Selina. On video there is reasonable composed shadow across the cowl, but in the print there is a full layer of black darkness across the cowl that makes the Batman's appearance seem far more demonic.
Timing is most correct on both masters, each has their own leanings but the original one for LD/DVD may be slightly more accurate as the SE/BD seems to have leanings toward greens and some purples etc. It may be that the Technicolor printing brought out all the blacks and color. In fact this seems more likely, and so I will try and check with the theater as to what kind of print it was.
To simulate the print look, merely take any one of the transfers and turn your brightness down...a lot. Then increase color saturation and dial back contrast a bit.
Mind blowing.