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Alien/Aliens Color Regrade (a WIP) — Page 9

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No problem PDB. I can make note of all your questions and jot down observations like I did with 2001 last month. Looking at your film examples of Aliens I am very much reminded of how the T2 35mm looked. It's almost like Aliens and T2 were color timed at the same time (obviously they weren't though).

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There's a Drafthouse in Yonkers, NY, but I live in south Brooklyn and the last thing I wanna do is ride the train through the Bronx and Harlem late at night on my way home after the movie lol. Another one is gonna open in Williamsburg soon (hopefully by the end of the year). I've been excited for years now, but thankfully for now I have Nitehawk Cinema in the same neighborhood, and during the summer they play a lot of 80's movies outdoors here in NYC. Last week I watched Terminator at Coney Island. Sure it was a digital projection of the blu-ray but w/e it was still great seeing it on a big screen.

Die Hard, Back to the Future, and The Matrix are on my list this summer. As well as a personal childhood favorite of mine, Flight of the Navigator.

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kaosjm said:

TServo2049 said:

Drafthouse is renovating the New Mission theater in San Francisco, I'm hoping we get more filmy goodness to go along with the Castro Theatre!

 Oh I'm sure you will. Just keep an eye on the Drafthouse website for your area so you don't miss any good opportunities! Tickets usually sell out immediately online for special showings.

I have no idea when they're actually opening, but yes, I will keep watching the site like a hawk.

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kaosjm said:

No problem PDB. I can make note of all your questions and jot down observations like I did with 2001 last month. Looking at your film examples of Aliens I am very much reminded of how the T2 35mm looked. It's almost like Aliens and T2 were color timed at the same time (obviously they weren't though).

 Much appreciated!

There is a common thread there with the colors. Not unreasonable given directors like to use certain looks. The BD is not a perfect match to the 8mm/35mm but its much closer then any other video master before it. Sigh, I want a 35mm print of Aliens.

Back to what you were talking about earlier Alien vs Aliens. Younger, I always went for Aliens but nowadays, I'm not sure. I think I appreciate Alien more now that I'm older.

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 (Edited)

PDB said:

Aliens overall graded to 35mm trailer

This was a first test. I also created a less red more blue version which ended up having very cool timing, a more DVD look and more "Cameron" but the skin tones are too pale compared to the 35mm frames.

BD/BD regraded to 35mm "red" version/BD regraded to 35mm "blue" version

Work on Alien continues

 From what I gather looking at various recent restorations of earlier films and their 35mm counterparts, most movies used to be graded warm on film. Aliens, Jurassic Park, Titanic, terminator were all graded warm. It is only in their home video versions that a cool filter was applied replacing their original look. As a result, many think that recent restorations are revisionist and that the blue/magenta in the home video versions are the actual colours when they are not. Its great to see movies being given their due here. Keep up the good work! 

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In theater now. The projectionist confirmed it is an original 70mm print with a 6track magnetic audio track.

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Boy have I got some goodies for you all!

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That 35mm "red version" looks pretty sweet... that's the stuff right there.

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Looking forward to it. I remember that either a 35mm or 70mm played at the American Cinematheque a couple years back, but I couldn't get myself from SF down to LA to see it.

Here in SF, the Castro is showing the movie on the 12th, but unfortunately their calendar says it's DCP. Hopefully a 35mm will show up around here sometime, perhaps after Drafthouse reopens the New Mission. (Or maybe Castro will show a print again someday, you never know.)

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The Aluminum Falcon said:

Eager to hear your findings, kaosjm. 

 Same here

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Just got back in town and will work on my report now sorry to keep you guys hanging!

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 (Edited)

PDB: Everything at the top of post 158 where you graded the film to look like 35mm trailer is spot on. The film print I saw was very red and looked EXACTLY like that. I took a few notes but didn't pay too much attention to writing down a whole lot during the movie. Once I saw that the film matched what's in post 158 I stopped writing.

On a side note, the bass in that movie is absolutely insane! There were a few scenes that just hit me right in the gut. At the end when Ripley walks around in the mech armor the bass just screamed with each step she took. I don't have the DVD or BD of this movie to compare it to but I hope they sound that powerful.

I took a lot of pictures of the movie inside the theater and even some short clips from where I was sitting. I got as much as I could get away with but eventually my phone ran out of memory. I will upload those today and post them here.

edit: Here's a link to some reference material. I wish I could've gotten more but my phone ran out of memory.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B66l7Rza36IffjJ3SG1uaGVGZjBzcUFhcXNGcU5KTEZKMXM2eTRBcVA5Z0ZzX3Y5M2lrYVU&usp=sharing

Still working on answering some of your questions PDB I'll post back later.

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kaosjm said:

PDB: Everything at the top of post 158 where you graded the film to look like 35mm trailer is spot on. The film print I saw was very red and looked EXACTLY like that. I took a few notes but didn't pay too much attention to writing down a whole lot during the movie. Once I saw that the film matched what's in post 158 I stopped writing.

On a side note, the bass in that movie is absolutely insane! There were a few scenes that just hit me right in the gut. At the end when Ripley walks around in the mech armor the bass just screamed with each step she took. I don't have the DVD or BD of this movie to compare it to but I hope they sound that powerful.

I took a lot of pictures of the movie inside the theater and even some short clips from where I was sitting. I got as much as I could get away with but eventually my phone ran out of memory. I will upload those today and post them here.

edit: Here's a link to some reference material. I wish I could've gotten more but my phone ran out of memory.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B66l7Rza36IffjJ3SG1uaGVGZjBzcUFhcXNGcU5KTEZKMXM2eTRBcVA5Z0ZzX3Y5M2lrYVU&usp=sharing

Still working on answering some of your questions PDB I'll post back later.

 Thanks for the run down kaosjm. I would love to hear that 70mm 6 channel mix. Sounds amazing from the way you describe it.

Frankly, I'm surprised to hear you say it matched my initial 35mm regrade so well. I wouldn't of thought so since I used a trailer as the guide and not a 35mm film.

Thanks again for the pics and videos, That's very useful. Man I wish I could of seen that, especially in 70. Such a rare treat.

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PDB can't wait for your release! It's very exciting to finally own an alternate edit with a color timing close to the original prints. I say bravo for the work you put into it.

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That 6 track mag audio from the 70mm version would be awesome to have alongside the Aliens project PDB.

😃

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 (Edited)

A long time ago I caught on Italian TV an odd broadcast of Alien: it was clearly from the bluray version (as people confirmed here on OT), but it had 1979 localized titles and end credits (in Italian). The odd thing is that Blurays, just like DVDs, all come from the American master of the films, so seeing the titles and credits translated as they appeared in theaters in Italy in 1979 is a thing that does not happen on HD media (only VHS versions came from film transfer with the italian credits).

You might wonder… who gives a s**it, right? Turns out that Italian TV channels (a friend of mine works in one) received a copy of Alien from FOX, this copy was made by stitching the intro titles and the end credits of the film onto the well-known Bluray version (so the film itself is actually from BR but the titles and credits from 1979 film).
That’s why when I asked confirmation by posting screengrabs of the film, people here told me “that’s a BR version”. The interesting part is that, while the end credits are on black background (therefore useless for color regrading purposes), the intro with the panning on the planet has (as you well know) colors, and since some of you are trying to regrade the BR to the original look, I thought that you might be interested in having a look at the intro scene from the TV broadcast version I recorded since it comes from 1979 print (for the planet scene and the first shot of the Nostromo, which is very blue by the way).

Anyway, some screenshots
https://img42.com/collection/qLVd7
and more here
https://img42.com/collection/zeWPP

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This is a bit off topic but also kind of on topic as this thread relates to Alien and Aliens…

Well I just read that Alien 5 is being written but on hold due to the sequel to prometheus “Covenant” anyway…

The main point is that Alien 5 is basically going to be theoretically the 3rd film of a trilogy.

Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection(4) are being relegated to nightmares in Cryo Sleep

Neil Blomkampf is director the torch is being passed to an Older Newt Sigourney will no longer be the main character.

Will it be good? God knows but clever idea…

Michael Bien And Sigourney Weaver are both attached to be in the film for a part

So Alien 3 and Alien 4 are now not real…It redeems those films in a way and I can honestly see that working very well. Let’s hope it get’s done right.

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What about Aliens extended version, maybe with same color regrade settings as it’s used for theater version…
or kk650’s Regraded Aliens: Director’s Cut 1080p DTS-HD MA 5.1 22.2 GB is good enough?

PDB said: 27-Aug-2014
And speaking of soundtracks, Buster D was nice enough to give me the PCM 2.0 Dolby Stereo Soundtrack for the extended version of Aliens

Is it synced to Blu-Ray?
😃

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Channel 4 HD aired Alien just a few hours ago, here’s some screencaps straight from the .TS file.

What do you think of the colours?

Ghost Logos

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“Logic is the battlefield of adulthood.”

  • Howard Berk
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Looks like the BD master to me.

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 (Edited)

Blast from the past. If anyone still remembers this project, the Alien part is now complete and up on the spleen and bt/br. Some more pics.

BR-top/Regrade-bottom

https://imgur.com/dKiVAQl
https://imgur.com/Ruyl8Kd

Video:
2010 Blu-Ray (Theatrical Cut) video color regraded to match the 1995 THX laserdisc. The home video the closest matchs a vintage 1979 35mm print.

Audio:

  1. 1995 Laserdisc Dolby Digital 5.1. This soundtrack is a rare 70mm mix that was used to test Alien in the Sensurround format before it was abandoned for conventional Dolby Stereo 70mm (track 2). This soundtrack was accidentally put on the 1995 laserdisc when it was thought it was the standard Dolby 70mm mix. It contains different sound effects, musical cues and dialogue. For example, it is missing the line “Kane’s Son”.

  2. 2010 Blu-Ray (Theatrical Cut) Dolby Digital 4.1 remixed to Dolby Digital 5.1 with dual mono surrounds. This soundtrack represents the original Dolby Stereo mix as heard in theaters on a 70mm film presentation.

  3. 1992 Laserdisc PCM 2.0 Dolby Stereo/Surround. This soundtrack should be the closest to the original Dolby Stereo mix as heard in theaters on 35mm film.

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Just finished watching it. The colors definitely stand out. The one part that was jarring color-wise was the very end when Ripley shoots the alien outta the shuttle. The shots of Ripley had blue and yellow flashing while the shots of the alien (both in the doorway and then out in space) were very gray. I don’t know the exact colors of the film print itself so I’m guessing that was intentional.

The '95 dolby audio was also a new way to hear the film, as there were sound effects I never heard before, as well as more than a few audio cuts where one ended and another began (usually when shots would change to other areas with other members of the crew). Though to be fair, I’ve always remembered the sound of this film being a little weird to say the least. Like how when Parker and Lambert encounter the alien, Parker is clearly screaming, but the only sound is music. And Lambert’s final screams echoing throughout the corridors sounds like Ms. Cartwright did 7 takes and the sound editor used them all and layered them all over each other lol.

Anyway, I appreciate your efforts and can’t wait for Aliens next!!

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I just finished it, too. It looks pretty good, though I noticed something weird at 32:19 - 32:20. The purplish tone switches suddenly to tealish. Also, in the first dinner/kitchen scene, some skin tones look as if the crew suffered from liver failure. And finally, a couple shots seamed almost monochromatic or black and white, like Ash running to get warmer or the outside shot of the [i]Nostromo[/i] taking off. Maybe all that is supposed to be that way, it’s just some stuff I noticed while watching it.

I’ve watched it with the “new” rare 5.1 audio track. Sounds pretty cool. Some lines were missing when they investigate the alien ship. I noticed that because it was subtitled anyway. And the line “Kane’s son” is barely audible.

All in all, thanks. It was nice to see it that way.