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Movies with wrong color grading *** UPDATED *** — Page 5

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The Aluminum Falcon said:

Chewtobacca said:

I agree but am happy enough with the Italian BD.  The DE BD looks awful. 

I think you may have misunderstood my post. I agree, I'd rather go with the more film-like IT BD than the DE. I'll not lose any sleep over one second of Eastwood being beaten.

Synchronizing the English mono from the DE BD to the Italian BD is very difficult.  It's not like other films in which a few edits here are there are required.

Yeah, that seems to be the issue with most of the Dollars movies.

Interestingly, there is a scene in the Italian BD that lacks the night filter that was applied to the other releases.  It's the one in which Indio's gang break him out of prison.

Interesting... Wonder which one is right. Anyone here have a print? :)

You may be right on the Italian disc as far as matching the source material. The Triage-MGM restoration from the Techniscope negative would have been done in 2003-2004 after the GBU SE and before the first SE release of the initial Dollars films in 2005. (R2)

That night filter is an odd issue. The scene is Indio's breakout escape from the jail, and I've seen it both included and completely missing depending on the source viewed. What it is supposed to be is a night filter that begins dark and gradually lightens throughout the sequence until the time of the cutaway with Indio laughing. When correct the Indio laughing shot is supposed to be mostly lit but still overcast as if the sun hadn't fully risen.

That is how it was in the MGM/UA uncut print (the single print the studio had, worn 35mm and almost 100% complete)

If you want to see what the film should look like, the initial MGM DVD releases of FAFDM and GBU are correct. Fistful looks like all the US prints which were sourced differently due to rights issues.

And if you really want to see a poor washed out scope print transferred to LD, try the original Image LD of Duck You Sucker.

 

The Alien material shown above seems to follow the template for coloring set by the Blade Runner Final Cut. That's one I'd love to correct back to the original, because though nice looking at first it doesn't really fit. Plus in the home it looks weird whereas in 35mm it looked stupendous because it didn't stick out so much.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
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Jetrell Fo said:

dvdmike said:

I have always been on the side of the D-theater, think I have a rip somewhere 

I have only an AVCHD of the D-Vhs but it's awesome to watch.  I would have loved a larger sized one for bluray but haven't been able to connect with one yet.  It is my go-to version of the Alien Director's Cut.

I also have the Halloween done by Cudney and the DiviMax release, both are Anchor Bay. 

 

:) 

mike, it IS the DC on D-VHS .....

dvdmike said:

We have it already it was in a thread of late I forget which and it had its own thread, thinking about it the DVHS is the DC so no way it syncs

How do you guys acquire these D-Theatre versions of movies. As I am sure they are not for sale or even found in the internet?

Please have a look at the 35mm stills for JP in the link I provided (imgur), and tell me what you guys think about the framing and colour timing.

Also, feel free to have a look at this comparison here-

http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=8164327,

those who are members of bluray.com 

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captainsolo said: If you want to see what the film should look like, the initial MGM DVD releases of FAFDM and GBU are correct.

Thanks for the info on the night filter.  I'll have a look at my R1 disc of FAFDM.

I don't believe that the old MGM DVD of TGTBATU is correct though.  It looks very faded compared to the Italian BD.  My money's on the Italian BDs of all three films being closest to the intended looks.

Fistful looks like all the US prints which were sourced differently due to rights issues.

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying here.  Is it that because AFFOD's color timing looks consistent despite all the prints being sourced from different places it is likely to be correct?

The Alien material shown above seems to follow the template for coloring set by the Blade Runner Final Cut. That's one I'd love to correct back to the original, because though nice looking at first it doesn't really fit.

I agree that BR:FC is almost certainly removed to some extent from the original look, but I've no idea what the original look is.  The first DVD looks horribly red.  (And Alien doesn't look appreciably similar to the FC to me.)

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Papai2013 said:

How do you guys acquire these D-Theatre versions of movies. As I am sure they are not for sale or even found in the internet?

The net ..... It took a little searching but it is all I have.  There were some folks who did transfers of their D-VHS stuff and shared.  I only happened across this one some months back.  It has the home cinema DTS on it so that is nice.  I'd like to get the Theater DTS synched to it for comparison.

:)

I did like the JP shots from film .... they do look nice.

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 (Edited)

In regards to the new 35th Anniversary Halloween Blu-ray, here is an excerpt from the High Def Digest review released today...

"However, we still must contend with the fact that the story loses some of its effectiveness when it no longer feels like it takes place on Halloween night. The color palette is brighter and bolder than it really should be, and the overall presentation largely looks almost identical to its predecessor. It seems as though Cundey's input was mostly directed at minor adjustments, little small tweaks to an already available HD master rather than working with the original elements for a wholly new remaster. During the course of those small corrections, it would also seem as if Cundey must have forgotten about the correct color timing, which to date is only available on the Criterion Collection laserdisc and THX-certified DVD. I'm sad to report devoted fans are forced to continue waiting for a proper HD release of the seminal horror classic." 

Now I'm sure a lot of people will love the new Blu-ray, and other reviews praise it... the bottom line is that many fans still want a version that looks like that old THX DVD with the strong blues of night along with the overall orange/amber autumn color palette.  If you guys love the new disc then great.  I just had to quote one review that agrees with fans of the THX color-timing.

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I love the way so many fans of the THX DVD refer to it as the "correct" colour-timing. As far as I'm aware there is no source material of any kind for determining what Halloween looked like in theatres in 1978. However it seems far more likely to me that the new BD is a more accurate reflection of the original colours since the THX timing just screams revisionism and bears all the hallmarks of digital tweaking that simply would not have been possible at the time of the film's release.

The fact that the THX colours might look "better" to some people does not make them correct.

George creates Star Wars.
Star Wars creates fans.
George destroys Star Wars.
Fans destroy George.
Fans create Star Wars.

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Jetrell Fo said:

Papai2013 said:

How do you guys acquire these D-Theatre versions of movies. As I am sure they are not for sale or even found in the internet?

The net ..... It took a little searching but it is all I have.  There were some folks who did transfers of their D-VHS stuff and shared.  I only happened across this one some months back.  It has the home cinema DTS on it so that is nice.  I'd like to get the Theater DTS synched to it for comparison.

:)

I did like the JP shots from film .... they do look nice.

Can you provide me a link to those D-Theatre versions, so I can download them?

Not only are the JP 35mm stills gorgeous in terms of colour and definition, they have a much better framing than the 2D and the 3D Bluray.

The 35mm stills even in the matted 1.85:1 widescreen shots, are both wider and taller than the 2D and the 3D BD. It seems as if they cropped the original widescreen version to 16:10, then put black bars on top and bottom of that 16:10 frame to create an even more cropped 1.85:1 version. Its like double-cropping!

For the 3D I can still understand that they had to shift the images left and right (still it doesn't justify that much cropping as Titanic 3D-the scope version that played in theatres, wasn't cropped much from the framing of the DVD), but why was the 2D cropped?

I just hope one day to get my hands on a 35mm copy of JP so I can preserve the uncropped version, as it seems, Spielberg or Universal won't invest on a remaster anymore after their 3D version was a success. So each successive home video version may feature the cropped framing.

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Turisu said:

I love the way so many fans of the THX DVD refer to it as the "correct" colour-timing. As far as I'm aware there is no source material of any kind for determining what Halloween looked like in theatres in 1978. However it seems far more likely to me that the new BD is a more accurate reflection of the original colours since the THX timing just screams revisionism and bears all the hallmarks of digital tweaking that simply would not have been possible at the time of the film's release.

The fact that the THX colours might look "better" to some people does not make them correct.

I believe they were just happier with it due to Cudney's supervision of the project and the end results of his association and work with it.  The word "correct" is subjective no matter who says it.

;)

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Papai2013 said:

Not only are the JP 35mm stills gorgeous in terms of colour and definition, they have a much better framing than the 2D and the 3D Bluray.

The 35mm stills even in the matted 1.85:1 widescreen shots, are both wider and taller than the 2D and the 3D BD. It seems as if they cropped the original widescreen version to 16:10, then put black bars on top and bottom of that 16:10 frame to create an even more cropped 1.85:1 version. Its like double-cropping!

For the 3D I can still understand that they had to shift the images left and right (still it doesn't justify that much cropping as Titanic 3D-the scope version that played in theatres, wasn't cropped much from the framing of the DVD), but why was the 2D cropped?

I just hope one day to get my hands on a 35mm copy of JP so I can preserve the uncropped version, as it seems, Spielberg or Universal won't invest on a remaster anymore after their 3D version was a success. So each successive home video version may feature the cropped framing.

Please do not forget that, in film projection, some cropping is inherent to the projection process, assumed to be taking place by the filmmaker, and thus compensated for when filming. When transferring to home/digital media, then, some cropping is appropriate, in order to reproduce the image actually seen in theaters.

ROTJ Storyboard Reconstruction Project

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timdiggerm said:

Please do not forget that, in film projection, some cropping is inherent to the projection process, assumed to be taking place by the filmmaker, and thus compensated for when filming. When transferring to home/digital media, then, some cropping is appropriate, in order to reproduce the image actually seen in theaters.

In my opinion, the 3D version of JP overdoes on the cropping department to produce a very bad framing from the original one. And Jurassic Park being an already tight-framed movie, doesn't help either!

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Jetrell Fo said:

The net ..... It took a little searching but it is all I have.  There were some folks who did transfers of their D-VHS stuff and shared.  I only happened across this one some months back.  It has the home cinema DTS on it so that is nice.  I'd like to get the Theater DTS synched to it for comparison.

:)

I did like the JP shots from film .... they do look nice.

Thanks, though the links are dead, except for one or two.

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Chewtobacca said:

Thanks for the info on the night filter.  I'll have a look at my R1 disc of FAFDM.

I don't believe that the old MGM DVD of TGTBATU is correct though.  It looks very faded compared to the Italian BD.  My money's on the Italian BDs of all three films being closest to the intended looks.

Thanks, captainsolo, for the input on the escape scene for FFDM.

The Italian BDs look quite similar to the look of the restored Italian FOD: colorful, saturated, beyond what it might look like in real life. I'd support the Mondo too.

On the topic of Leone films, what's the intended color timing for Once Upon a Time in the West? The BD looks colorful but slightly (only slightly) less so than the LD.

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I am quite sure this has been discussed on other threads before but is there any kind of reliable reference as to what Ghostbusters looked like during it's original theatrical run? None of the DVD or Blu-Ray releases have ever looked right to me.

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Nien Nunb said:

I am quite sure this has been discussed on other threads before but is there any kind of reliable reference as to what Ghostbusters looked like during it's original theatrical run? None of the DVD or Blu-Ray releases have ever looked right to me.

I have spoken to a few Ghostbusters fans over the years who saw the old film print quite a few times, and they said it was closest to the 1999 DVD and the new 4K Remaster. The laserdiscs can be a good point of reference (but not always), but honestly these days the 4K blu-ray remaster is the best its ever going to look.

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rockin said:

Nien Nunb said:

I am quite sure this has been discussed on other threads before but is there any kind of reliable reference as to what Ghostbusters looked like during it's original theatrical run? None of the DVD or Blu-Ray releases have ever looked right to me.

I have spoken to a few Ghostbusters fans over the years who saw the old film print quite a few times, and they said it was closest to the 1999 DVD and the new 4K Remaster. The laserdiscs can be a good point of reference (but not always), but honestly these days the 4K blu-ray remaster is the best its ever going to look.

I will definitely check that release out, I didn't realize it was a new transfer.

I've seen those "Mastered in 4K" Blu-Rays advertised on various sites but I didn't really know exactly what they were until I looked them up just now. So from the sound of it they are basically just the Blu-Ray equivalent of Sony's Superbit line of DVDs from years ago and not actually true 4K? I guess that explains why they fit onto a BD 50, lol.

What I don't understand is why are films like the Total Recall remake being released in this line? Why wouldn't a film that recent be sourced from a 4K master to begin with?

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 (Edited)

Nien Nunb said:

I will definitely check that release out, I didn't realize it was a new transfer.

I've seen those "Mastered in 4K" Blu-Rays advertised on various sites but I didn't really know exactly what they were until I looked them up just now. So from the sound of it they are basically just the Blu-Ray equivalent of Sony's Superbit line of DVDs from years ago and not actually true 4K? I guess that explains why they fit onto a BD 50, lol.

What I don't understand is why are films like the Total Recall remake being released in this line? Why wouldn't a film that recent be sourced from a 4K master to begin with?

The "4K line" name is just designed to confuse people who have heard of 4K TV's. They hope people will think the disks themselves are 4K.

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Nien Nunb said:

rockin said:

Nien Nunb said:

I am quite sure this has been discussed on other threads before but is there any kind of reliable reference as to what Ghostbusters looked like during it's original theatrical run? None of the DVD or Blu-Ray releases have ever looked right to me.

I have spoken to a few Ghostbusters fans over the years who saw the old film print quite a few times, and they said it was closest to the 1999 DVD and the new 4K Remaster. The laserdiscs can be a good point of reference (but not always), but honestly these days the 4K blu-ray remaster is the best its ever going to look.

I will definitely check that release out, I didn't realize it was a new transfer.

I've seen those "Mastered in 4K" Blu-Rays advertised on various sites but I didn't really know exactly what they were until I looked them up just now. So from the sound of it they are basically just the Blu-Ray equivalent of Sony's Superbit line of DVDs from years ago and not actually true 4K? I guess that explains why they fit onto a BD 50, lol.

What I don't understand is why are films like the Total Recall remake being released in this line? Why wouldn't a film that recent be sourced from a 4K master to begin with?

The 35mm / 70mm stuff has to have a new 4k master to be in that line, digital has to be shot at 4k plus.

Ghostbusters looks stunning by far the best home version 

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dvdmike said:

Turisu said:

dvdmike said:

We have the 1080 hdtv version of aliens 

I've seen the HDTV version and it can't hold a candle to the amount of detail in the bluray transfer which would be amazing if the colour hadn't been so badly messed up.

Would love to see a spoRv version, though I hope you reconsider the special edition; the extra scenes kill the perfect pacing of the film and the theatrical version is Cameron's original director's cut since he had final cut of the movie on release.

I disagree with some fake grain it comes bloody close 

 

Fake grain doesn't replace the detail lost in the original grain.

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penguinofgreatness said:

Turisu said:

I hope you reconsider the special edition; the extra scenes kill the perfect pacing of the film and the theatrical version is Cameron's original director's cut since he had final cut of the movie on release.

Actually, for Aliens, the Special edition is Cameron's director's cut. He prefers that cut of the film and the studio forcibly created the theatrical cut. (Of course it's up to you what cut you prefer.)

In the case of Alien, the theatrical cut is the director's final cut, and the so called "director's cut" is just an alternate cut Ridley Scott did for the dvd.

 

Correct. The Special Edition of Aliens is Cameron's preferred version (and mine too). Shame the blu-ray is so blue.

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Die Hard is teal on the new 4K DCP. Some places are somewhat noticeable more than others.

I'm aiming to go to my arthouse's midnight screening of Batman Returns tonight as they're supposedly showing a 35mm original. And of course being me I will call up and ask the projectionist if it will be Dolby SR or the 5.1.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
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captainsolo said:

Die Hard is teal on the new 4K DCP. Some places are somewhat noticeable more than others.

Is detail good though? I'm hoping for a new BD release.

I'm aiming to go to my arthouse's midnight screening of Batman Returns tonight as they're supposedly showing a 35mm original. And of course being me I will call up and ask the projectionist if it will be Dolby SR or the 5.1.

 Be interested in the color timing.

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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.

VADER!? WHERE THE HELL IS MY MOCHA LATTE? -Palpy on a very bad day.
“George didn’t think there was any future in dead Han toys.”-Harrison Ford
YT channel:
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