Well, trying this again. Stepped away from this site because encodes given to donors were leaking. This was against the wishes of the print owners, especially when they spread past private trackers to public sites.

But, I’m an optimist and 35mm projects have been coming back to this site with success and security. So, with the hope that there are those here still interested in scans, this project now is…

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

For context, this is the ORIGINAL Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), which for my money: remains the best adaptation of the story and the best of the alien invasion movies of the 1950s. Behind the camera was really, ultra-talented director, Don Siegel AKA the man who made Dirty Harry (1971).

What’s the issue?​

Bad, bad cropping and poor image quality.

Unfortunately, the movie - which was filmed for 1.85 or 1.33- depending on whom you ask was cropped to 2.00 against the filmmakers’ wishes after production was completed. This was not a smart idea, as it required duping the film elements, essentially adding generations to the film and unnecessarily degrading the image quality for the 2.00 master element.

All home video releases come from the 2.00 master element, leaving behind a dupey, soft AND grainy image. I had high hopes for the recent 4K but if you see here, it was not an improvement, a really pitiful “upgrade” that didn’t have additional detail in 4K.

I can’t make up how much lack of detail there is: you can see for yourself how much this pales compared to contemporary 1950s films.

UHD

More comparisons here: https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?d1=12600&d2=18829&s1=125464&s2=223053&i=0&l=0&a=0

BUT, WAIT: doesn’t the UHD have more image area and isn’t it finally presented at 1.85?​

Well, yes and no: if you carefully compare the top and bottom images: the 1.85 image is stretched and cropped to meet the 1.85 ratio. In other words: they scanned the same old dupey 2.00 Superscope element, and then stretched and cropped the image to be 1.85. So yeah, if you cut off a little bit on the sides and stretch the image, it can be 1.85.

Additionally, the dupiness and low resolution of the image remain.

So, what’s special about scanning a 16mm print?​

​
The 16mm prints floating around were struck from an open matte element BEFORE the heinous SuperScope conversion took place. Though, obviously 16mm is softer than 35mm, this print has the edge of being lower generation and not having to go through a crude 1956 SuperScope blow-up process.

This open matte element allegedly no longer survives, so the prints created from it (all 16mm, unfortunately) remain the only viable record of the open matte.

More information here: https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/2012/07/02/invasion-of-the-aspect-ratios/

Can’t we just transfer a laserdisc or VHS at lower cost?​

​
Unfortunately, those don’t exist. All home video stemmed from the SuperScope dupey, cropped element.
​

What would you release?​

Restorationist Robert Harris says full frame was the intended ratio; other say 1.85. Regardless, it’s not the claustrophobic 2.0.

I hope we can get this one done, so that we can preserve Siegel’s original vision. There are multiple 16mm prints around.

$190/$570 - 33% Funded! - Need $380!

This endeavor would only cost $570. Please ensure you own a commercial copy, this is for academic interest and historical preservation. Comment below or PM me if interested in pledging.

Clarification - this print is an Italian print. It did not come with English DTS discs (I do not have those and lack the knowledge to process the raw disc file even if I did.)

Italian audio is optical stereo, which will certainly stand out if plugged into English DTS.

If anyone has the English Cinema DTS and wants to sync it to the BD/this scan (same timing), feel free.

I’ve heard that some later 35mm restrikes had the chanting removed as well. And of course being an Italian print, you’re not being censored visually (digitally added people in the orgy) like the US.

Sent a new round of messages to anyone interested in the release @apr292000

@ATAT316 and @Rebelwedgie97 sent you both PMs. Anyone interested can PM me!

The encode is done. Everything’s finished. Eyes Wide Shut in 35mm is available.

If you donated a long time ago to this project, you should have gotten a PM. If you expressed interested in donating, you also should have gotten a PM.

If you haven’t got a PM and are still interested, you can PM me.

Here’s where things stand now:

(1) I attended a cinema 35mm screening of Eyes Wide Shut recently. That was my final color check to make sure I was encoding everything in a way that was faithful to a print being projected.

Took detailed color notes, yada yada. Was in a good ballpark but this helped me hone in on things. The home video releases are really not representative of the original look at all.

Despite being a foreign print (which makes it luckily uncensored), it seems to bear the same color as domestic prints.

So color complete.

(2) Settled on a relatively good crop, more info on the top, bottom, and sides than the BD. But obviously this is still hard matted to widescreen.

Crop complete.

(3) Patched in any missing frames so this is a frame-complete release synced to the BD. You can freely put whatever dubs or subs are with the BD.

Frame-complete…er, complete.

(4) I just need to get my encoding finessed as this is a grain-heavy print. A 4K encode alone takes 4 days on my system once it gets started, even without any of the testing.

This is the stage I need to complete still 😃

I’ll PM everyone in the next two weeks with details. Missed the mark on Christmas but there shouldn’t just be one time of year to enjoy some Kubrick

The holidays slowed me down, folks! I’m sorry.

Color is looking good (finally!- honestly was a bit of a struggle). But a few more things to do - audio, etc.

@CloakedDragon97 - I see your post, stay tuned in PMs.

@cantox and @suntech I will PM you after Christmas. Thanks for expressing interest.

@NomeIndecisco and @ifjg thanks both for your interest. I’ll send you a PM after Christmas with info about the new encode if you want to support the scan.

Just an update: I touched base with gweedo16 and a new encode is being developed. For participators and the newly interested, expect a post Christmas PM with an update.

These encodes take time and this is the timeline.

An update! I’m getting the DNGs for this pretty soon. ROTJ had a sizeable chunk funded out of pocket.

Please PM if anyone is interested in helping with scan and storage costs.

Up next we’re eyeing a 35mm calibrated scan of The Phantom Menace!

Sorry for the delay @Xhicrastin and @Sideburns of BoShek I’m PM’ing you tonight!

ANH and ROTJ have both been scanned actually! Now waiting for the DNG master files (should get them in the next few weeks).

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Spider-Man-2-Sam-Raimi-2004-35mm-Feature-Scan-NEEDS-FUNDING/id/104941

Hard matte! 2.35 films don’t usually ship out to cinemas open matte.

I responded already @hankus 😉

Thanks! I sent you a message with details. If you didn’t get it, feel free to PM me.

Hi everyone, just an update, gweedo16 and I have been talking. He’s been pretty busy with real life, but we’re discussing how to move forward.

The initial release exists and has been sent out to donors (if this is not the case, PM me); however, we are considering further releases (different resolutions, some cleaned up, etc). Details to come in this space.

If you’ve sent either of us a PM on how to donate, hang tight and we’ll get back to you in a few weeks when we have a more solid game plan.

Thanks! Made great progress in the span of a day - we jumped from 42% funded up to 54% funded.

Good job, all! Door’s still very much open for anyone interested in donating.

If there’s interested in the 1997 Special Editions, PM me or comment in this thread!

https://originaltrilogy.com/topic/Star-Wars-A-New-Hope-1997-35mm-Calibrated-Scan-Donations-Needed/id/104442

I’ve scanned Empire (which is available) and am now trying to get a mint condition print of A New Hope scanned on a calibrated scanner. 😃

Calibrated 1997 Scan of Star Wars: A New Hope - Special Edition

Just what we need, another 35mm scan of Star Wars! But this time, it’s the 1997 THX restored Special Edition! I have access to a calibrated European scanner, and mint condition prints of the whole trilogy.

Say what you want about the CGI added to the Special Editions but the photochemical restoration was well worth the effort. If you’ve only seen the mediocre UHD (DNR, windowing, and desaturation) and HD masters (less DNR, low resolution, blue blanket skew), you don’t know what you’re missing! The actual Special Edition restoration was very nice when THX certification used to mean something, and in fact, the color timing was much more consistent shot-to-shot than would have been expected in 1977/1980/1983. (I saw the recent 70mm screening of the original Star Wars in LA and can attest to this).

Screenshots below so, for context, you can see the brilliant restoration work done by THX on Empire in 1997.

Already have fully scanned Empire Strikes Back with private funds, so now moving on to Star Wars but need the donations to cover scanning costs for this project. A calibrated LUT using an IT-8 target has been designed for use with this specific scanner, and I will be using it during encoding to ensure that the scanned image matches a projected image.

I’m paying for hard drive costs out of pocket, and my labor, of course, is free 😃

I have successfully fundraised several other titles on this site, including EVIL DEAD 2, BACK TO THE FUTURE 1, BACK TO THE FUTURE 2, and HALLOWEEN .

For A NEW HOPE, we have a little over 40% funded but we can’t proceed unless we have 100%. So I hope people can help.

PLEDGES ($656.51/$796 - 82% FUNDED!)

-The Aluminum Falcon - $50
-TR2N - $10 + $20
-hot noodles - $10
-The Bull’s Eyed Womprat - $20
-Collipso - $5
-Laozi - $10
-pathustler85 - $10 + $20
-forcefreak - $19.95
-Beebop - $20
-shiftyeyes - $20
-Rogue Trooper - $20
-AD1138 - $100
-nekochip - $50
-trimaxion - $10
-Anonymous DD - $30
-Anonymous OJ - $26.12
-Anonymous BJF - $50
-Anonymous CB - $15
-Anonymous DS - $10.44
-Anonymous MF70 - $25
-Anonymous EPHX - $20
-Anonymous CTA - $25
-Anonymous CBTK - $40
-Anonymous HSGT - $50

If you donate to help Star Wars/A New Hope, then next month, I’ll send you a free copy of The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition (1997) , scanned from the same set (screenshots above).

Hope there’s some love for a 35mm preservation of this cut. Releasing this with the German crawl on the print and also a version with English crawl. Both will have Cinema DTS 5.1 audio in English and German.

I know as the BD/UHD transfers and the CGI transfers have gotten progressively worse, there has been growing nostalgia for these versions! And, IMO, the Special Editions were the most consistent that the films ever looked color-wise and grain-wise (thanks to the digital recompositing work).

I’m very pleased with Empire and I can’t wait to see how Star Wars looks. PM me or comment below if interested!

Very excited news, See No Evil! Highly recommend that anyone interested contact See No Evil.

He’s using an excellent scanner 😃

If anyone’s interested, check out MySpleen.

I used Topaz to upscale the deleted scenes and make an improved 1080p HD version of The.Godfather-A.Novel.for.Television.1977.UNCENSORED.EXTENDED.720p.HDTV.x264-BATV[ettv].mkv 14.53Gb

Any footage from the Blu Rays is taken directly from the 2008 Blu Rays to ensure the maximum quality (I prefer this restoration to the newer one.)

I really wish this would get a proper Blu Ray release because the 720p file out there is so low bitrate that it’s unfortunate.

gweedo16 and I have been talking. It turns out that quite a few donors did not receive the initial viewable file of the scan (as an exclusive, limited perk for helping preserve this print).

If you donated and are interested in seeing the theatrical colors, message us, so you can be looped in on this and any subsequent encodes (BD-compatible and Topaz upscaled/enhanced).

Talking to gweedo16, there will likely be multiple encodes of this Eyes Wide Shut scan in addition to the one that exists.

Like with 4K77 and 4K83, which also have supplementary DNR and AI versions, I think there’s room for multiple versions for this scan, but, of course, an untouched, ZERO DNR version will always be available.

I have experience with Topaz and noise reduction in DaVinci and have already told gweedo16 that I’m happy to help with the encoding. 😃

@Class316 saw that too! It’s definitely a very cool project. Though it is totally separate from this, which is a 35mm scan.

I’m now in correspondence with gweedo16 about this scan. 😃

This one seems to have been dormant for a bit, unfortunately. I don’t think the necessary funds were raised, so unsure if it was scanned.

Halloween 5 may not be a franchise favorite, but, in my dreams, we’d be able to scan all the classic franchise slasher films in open matte, no less:

• Friday the 13th
• Friday the 13th: Part 2
• Nightmare on Elm Street (which desperately needs a 4k version)
• Nightmare on Elm Street 3
• Halloween 4

Anyone particularly interested in a title above, PM me and I’ll see if I can find a lead.