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Raiders of the Lost Ark 35mm LPP Theatrical Experience - v1.0 (Released)

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 (Edited)

Video
1080p from a 4K scan of a very rare 1982 scope Lowfade Positive Print

Audio
Original Dolby Stereo optical tracks - 2.0 PCM (will decode to 4 track Dolby Surround)

Output
MKV compatible within the spec for a 25GB BD

The intent of this release is to replicate the 35mm experience as closely as possible within the confines of HD video. There are scratches and print damage and several bits of dialogue are missing, primarily at the start of the Well of Souls sequence. The color has been carefully balanced to reflect how the film looked when projected. There is always room for improvement, so constructive comments good and bad are encouraged.

The hope is to raise funds to scan a second print to replace the damaged sections for a 2.0 release. Then alternate soundtracks such as LD, 16mm and blu-ray will be added and some cleanup will be done.

Hopefully this will end (or at least clarify) the debate about the blu-ray color grade: It is (sloppily) revisionist, over-saturated, over-brightened, heavily DNR’d and does not reflect how the film looked or sounded in cinemas.

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Just saw this up on the spleen, very excited to check it out! Thanks for all your hard work on this (and your other) project(s)!

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Screen shots look nice. Will definitely check this out when I get the chance! Good work!

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That colour timing #Mikewasright

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Looks incredible! Would it sync with the Blu-Ray audio, if an offset was used?

“You don’t really mean you’ll kill me, do you?” - Juror 8
“Silence, Earthling! My name is Darth Vader. I am an extra-terrestrial from the planet Vulcan!” - Calvin “Marty” Klein

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Colson said:

Looks incredible! Would it sync with the Blu-Ray audio, if an offset was used?

I asked that same type of question over on Spleen. Here’s the Q&A:

Ahughes03 wrote:

Wow!!! I’m so excited to check this out! Would it be at all possible to sync up audio tracks from either the WOWOW or blu-ray releases, via tsmuxer?

No, because there are splices and small bits missing from the print. Probably 15-20 seconds overall. We are hoping to raise funds to scan a second print to replace the damaged sections, and then include the various alternate sound mixes.

Last edited by litemakr at 2016-07-25 04:01:05 GMT

So, it looks like the answer is, “No, for now…”

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Nice to see snake reflections again.

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The color timing on this can’t be correct, it seems to indicate that the Nazi Party used red flags when it is historically known that their flags were actually bright orange.

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CodySolo said:

The color timing on this can’t be correct, it seems to indicate that the Nazi Party used red flags when it is historically known that their flags were actually bright orange.

Lol 😉

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 (Edited)

CodySolo said:

The color timing on this can’t be correct, it seems to indicate that the Nazi Party used red flags when it is historically known that their flags were actually bright orange.

lets see how much crow can be eaten over 4 forums
Will it be as much as the crap I had to put up with I wonder

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ahughes03 said:

Colson said:

Looks incredible! Would it sync with the Blu-Ray audio, if an offset was used?

I asked that same type of question over on Spleen. Here’s the Q&A:

Ahughes03 wrote:

Wow!!! I’m so excited to check this out! Would it be at all possible to sync up audio tracks from either the WOWOW or blu-ray releases, via tsmuxer?

No, because there are splices and small bits missing from the print. Probably 15-20 seconds overall. We are hoping to raise funds to scan a second print to replace the damaged sections, and then include the various alternate sound mixes.

Last edited by litemakr at 2016-07-25 04:01:05 GMT

So, it looks like the answer is, “No, for now…”

Thanks for the info!

“You don’t really mean you’ll kill me, do you?” - Juror 8
“Silence, Earthling! My name is Darth Vader. I am an extra-terrestrial from the planet Vulcan!” - Calvin “Marty” Klein

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dvdmike said:

CodySolo said:

The color timing on this can’t be correct, it seems to indicate that the Nazi Party used red flags when it is historically known that their flags were actually bright orange.

lets see how much crow can be eaten over 4 forums
Will it be as much as the crap I had to put up with I wonder

I’m curious to see if any of the staunch blu-ray defenders finally concede that it is not accurate. I spent a lot of time arguing myself and a ton of research. If you take the wowow and reduce saturation, it mostly resembles the 35mm. That is not the case with the blu, the color is fundamentally altered.

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Here is, finally, some proof that the bar scene in Nepal did not have a red tint as it has on every recent home video release.

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Beautiful work! Best of luck in restoring the missing bits! 😃

“Stargazing wizards, stare into the night,
Hurricanes and blizzards, here comes the final fight”

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That’s very cool. However, while watching it by bits here and there, I noticed the framing was a bit weird. So I looked closer and saw that the bottom black bar is thicker than the top one and that the aspect ratio is about 2.33:1 instead of the expected 2.35.:1. Hopefully, the eventual v2.0 release will make this right as it should also help getting rid of the “glued frames”, I believe they’re called, which appear frequently at cuts. By the way, do you already have that second print you mentionned? How much money is required at the moment to get it scanned and stored?

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Beber said:

That’s very cool. However, while watching it by bits here and there, I noticed the framing was a bit weird. So I looked closer and saw that the bottom black bar is thicker than the top one and that the aspect ratio is about 2.33:1 instead of the expected 2.35.:1. Hopefully, the eventual v2.0 release will make this right as it should also help getting rid of the “glued frames”, I believe they’re called, which appear frequently at cuts. By the way, do you already have that second print you mentionned? How much money is required at the moment to get it scanned and stored?

There is a rendering issue which caused the lower letterbox bar to drop for a single frame in several places, revealing the top of the next frame. That will be corrected on the next release.

We don’t have a print in hand, but know of one which can be rented and scanned. I am not sure of the exact cost but will do some inquiring.

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 (Edited)

We’re looking at around $825 to rent, clean and scan the other Raiders source print.

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litemakr said:

dvdmike said:

CodySolo said:

The color timing on this can’t be correct, it seems to indicate that the Nazi Party used red flags when it is historically known that their flags were actually bright orange.

lets see how much crow can be eaten over 4 forums
Will it be as much as the crap I had to put up with I wonder

I’m curious to see if any of the staunch blu-ray defenders finally concede that it is not accurate. I spent a lot of time arguing myself and a ton of research. If you take the wowow and reduce saturation, it mostly resembles the 35mm. That is not the case with the blu, the color is fundamentally altered.

They won’t on any title

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hairy_hen said:

Here is, finally, some proof that the bar scene in Nepal did not have a red tint as it has on every recent home video release.

Yes, it’s gray!

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 (Edited)

I’m really curious to know, which home video release first introduced the red cast in the bar? It really changes the atmosphere.

I recently bought the first laserdisc release from 1984. However, I don’t own a laserdisc player, so I should have it transfered to dvd. It’s pan and scan, but I guess it still has some historic significance.

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DrDre said:

I’m really curious to know, which home video release first introduced the red cast in the bar? It really changes the atmosphere.

I recently bought the first laserdisc release from 1984. However, I don’t own a laserdisc player, so I should have it transfered to dvd. It’s pan and scan, but I guess it still has some historic significance.

That’s the first home video release. I have the VHS version, I’ll track it down and take a look. The next transfer was in 1991 for the widescreen LD and VHS, I’ll check that too.

The scenes in 1981 making of have the correct color.

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litemakr said:

DrDre said:

I’m really curious to know, which home video release first introduced the red cast in the bar? It really changes the atmosphere.

I recently bought the first laserdisc release from 1984. However, I don’t own a laserdisc player, so I should have it transfered to dvd. It’s pan and scan, but I guess it still has some historic significance.

That’s the first home video release. I have the VHS version, I’ll track it down and take a look. The next transfer was in 1991 for the widescreen LD and VHS, I’ll check that too.

The scenes in 1981 making of have the correct color.

Did you get a chance to take a look at those home video releases?