Do you really think any of the release prints had the green color timing? I thought the consensus was that it was a change made to DVDs and later. Perhaps if new prints were struck when the second film was being released, they would have the green timing?
Just watched the film. Really great transfer. It’s sad that the trameline scratches are present from start to finish (someone owned the print who presumably didn’t know what they were doing?), but the damage aside from those lines is surprisingly minimal and it plays great as a grindhouse type print.
As for the color, I agree with the notion that it’s generally absurd to claim to have great memory of the color of a film from a viewing 16 years ago (let alone 38 years). Still, I can say that, years ago, the green timing definitely felt brand new watching the second film. I remember thinking that this is a new look that is consistent with the video game, the animatrix, and not the first film. I don’t really recall all the scenes that are so very orange and blue in The Matrix, but I don’t think the scan is wrong (I wasn’t trained to recognize Orange and Blue/Teal the way I am now, either). It is of course worth noting that the experience of this release is probably quite different when projected. I turned down the color saturation by a few clicks and found the result a bit more pleasant.
The strongly yellow colored scenes have generated quite a bit of discussion already. It’s hard to imagine that it’s a fault of the scan, as it is scene dependent (some are blue heavy, others yellow, others natural) and consistent across each reel. Again, it looks perhaps a bit better with reduced saturation. The memory cheats, of course, but mine thinks it was perhaps a little more heterogeneous. But I trust the print and the scan, and it makes for an interesting record. I do wonder what the print-to-print variation is like, or if (as h_h suggests), there were actually ones struck with adjusted timing. What about bootleg dupes? Were those even a thing still in 1999? Someone on spleen posted a shot of a 35mm print that did indeed look different in one of the yellow scenes. Time will tell, I suppose.
Great release, so thanks for all involved.
