With that said, you make it sound like scanning from the negative is a BAD thing. Would you think so?
I’m not exactly sure how theatrical prints would have better contrast than the negative itself.
As far as I know, the negatives were never meant to be seen when these films were made and released (before the digital projection era, that is). The wide release of any film was going to be on a third or fourth generation 35mm print, with a limited release on 70mm prints (which, while holding some more detail than 35mm prints due to larger film, would still suffer generational loss).
Also, because it was something that couldn’t be worked around back then, generational grain and contrast was sometimes used to the advantage of the filmmakers; for example, to cover up special effects.
Take a look at this shot comparison:
35mm:
WOWOW (HDTV):
Notice how obvious the matted background is in the HDTV version, compared to the properly lit print image.
EDIT: Sorry to butt in here, haha 😄.