Black Cat, White Cat (1998) 4K UHD - WCL Exclusive Limited Edition

[qw0aszx]

Disk Kino is going to release Emir Kusturica's 1998 film Black Cat, White Cat on UHD.



This release will be one BD-100 UHD disc only. The feature is sourced from the 4K restoration of the film and will be presented with HDR10 / Dolby Vision. English and simplified Chinese subtitles included, the only extra is a trailer.

4K restoration from the interpositive, done by Alpha Omega lab in Germany, in collaboration with the coproducer Pandora.

Cover art:

[Show spoiler]

[benhoppel]

Oh! I guess I have to get it although I really would prefer "Time of the Gypsies" were restored in 4K and released.

[Vidov]

Any recommendation where i could order this one?

[qw0aszx]

Originally Posted by Vidov

Any recommendation where i could order this one?

Usually buyoyo will list Disk Kino releases after the release date.

[benhoppel]

Originally Posted by qw0aszx

Disk Kino is going to release Emir Kusturica's 1998 film Black Cat, White Cat on UHD.
4K restoration from the interpositive, done by Alpha Omega lab in Germany, in collaboration with the coproducer Pandora.

Where is the negative?

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by Vidov

Any recommendation where i could order this one?

So far at least, I haven't been able to find it. I know it's been out for at least a month. I just don't see it on Buyoyo or eBay. The group buy on Media Psychos is closed but they usually have extras if you ask nicely. Maybe try them?

[apollo828]

In case anybody out there doesn't want to deal with eBay (a couple of copies did show up eventually), MP is doing an open sale of a few leftover Disk Kino / WCL / MLIFE titles, including this one. If you're new to MP, I have a set of purchase directions here due to the site having a weird setup.

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by apollo828

In case anybody out there doesn't want to deal with eBay (a couple of copies did show up eventually), MP is doing an open sale of a few leftover Disk Kino / WCL / MLIFE titles, including this one. If you're new to MP, I have a set of purchase directions here due to the site having a weird setup.

Cheapest copy I can find on eBay is $115, is it cheaper than that?

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by CelestialAgent

Cheapest copy I can find on eBay is $115, is it cheaper than that?

No clue. I assume it'll go for whatever it went for during the initial GB. It'll probably be close to the eBay price, maybe a bit cheaper.

[nicwood]

I have received the UHD disc of this release from a friend for a personal rip. I thought - great, this is going to be a quick one and done considering that it has English subtitles.

Of course, things have to be different. The "4K transfer" is appalling. It's so bad that every Turbine re-grain attempt (Twister, Daylight, Born on the Fourth of July) looks like a new 4K OCN scan.

What is present on this disc is further away from 4K than any other transfer I've personally seen. Even Kurosawa's Ikiru whose best film element is notably two or three generations removed from the OCN has more consistent detail and resolution than this garbage. I truly mean this - many shots look sub-HD. I can't imagine that an interpositive would have so little detail.

Film grain looks like it has been taken off completely and replaced by little air bubbles which pop up significantly slower than real grain would. I've never seen a "grain" structure like this. It's horrifying. At this point, I'd rather have a completely grain-wiped and even sharpened master to have at least a little more resolution and image depth than what can be seen in this sh*tshow. Colors are often anemic, although this could be deliberate. Whites have pink hues, green is sometimes overly bright and exaggerated in a HDR advertising style.

I have no idea if this master is director-approved (the Blu-ray edition by WCL is approved by Kusturica) but in no way could a serious restoration technician approve an atrocity like this.

Before anyone asks, it is a genuine restoration project. The logo of a German fund for film culture starts before the film but no notes about the transfer and who did it. I can imagine that the lab associated with this would rather not be credited.

Encoding by WCL is difficult to judge because the image looks that processed. The blue opening credits text (film festivals) looked solid in DV, so at the very least the film could have looked more or less good with a real master.

On the packaging, MK2 is also credited. I feel bad for them because this can't be released in good conscience. I wonder what will happen with this film going forward.

Regrettably, I have not seen any film by Emir Kusturica before and am not very familiar with him and his views on cinema and presentations of his own work, meaning whether he's a digital tinkering fanatic like James Cameron or genuinely indifferent to how such restorations have to look like. His magnum opus Underground has also been restored recently. Oh, well.

Here's BDInfo as well as some screenshots (taken from my near-4K monitor due to my screenshot app being broken for HDR content). I don't have much time currently but couldn't let that one pass. I feel bad to be the bearer of such bad news, especially when it comes to a film that hasn't been represented on BD, let alone UHD.

[Show spoiler]

DISC INFO:

Disc Label:     Black cat white cat
Disc Size:      89,436,091,396 bytes
Protection:     AACS2
Extras:         Ultra HD
BDInfo:         0.7.5.6

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00001.MPLS
Length:                 2:09:04.000 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   87,829,238,400 bytes
Total Bitrate:          90.73 Mbps

(*) Indicates included stream hidden by this playlist.

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-H HEVC Video       80744 kbps          2160p / 24 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / HDR10 / Limited Range / BT.2020 / PQ / BT.2020 non-constant / Mastering display color primaries: Display P3 / Mastering display luminance: min: 0.0001 cd/m2, max: 1000 cd/m2
* MPEG-H HEVC Video     2247 kbps           1080p / 24 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 4:2:0 / 10 bits / Dolby Vision / Limited Range / BT.2020 / PQ / BT.2020 non-constant / Mastering display color primaries: Display P3 / Mastering display luminance: min: 0.0001 cd/m2, max: 1000 cd/m2

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
DTS-HD Master Audio             Serbian         3594 kbps       5.1 / 48 kHz /  3594 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz /  1509 kbps / 24-bit)

SUBTITLES:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Presentation Graphics           Chinese         19.613 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           English         23.232 kbps                     

FILES:

Name            Time In         Length          Size            Total Bitrate   
----            -------         ------          ----            -------------   
00003.M2TS      0:00:00.000     2:09:04.000     87,829,238,400  90,732          

CHAPTERS:

Number          Time In         Length          Avg Video Rate  Max 1-Sec Rate  Max 1-Sec Time  Max 5-Sec Rate  Max 5-Sec Time  Max 10Sec Rate  Max 10Sec Time  Avg Frame Size  Max Frame Size  Max Frame Time  
------          -------         ------          --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  --------------  
1               0:00:00.000     0:08:30.666     84,793 kbps     131,934 kbps    00:04:18.062    104,919 kbps    00:00:38.062    95,212 kbps     00:00:37.937    0 bytes         869,289 bytes   00:00:39.937    
2               0:08:30.666     0:13:48.083     72,566 kbps     126,969 kbps    00:14:28.604    105,464 kbps    00:14:27.062    95,348 kbps     00:12:41.895    0 bytes         924,668 bytes   00:15:35.937    
3               0:22:18.750     0:11:44.250     83,733 kbps     118,081 kbps    00:30:36.437    103,826 kbps    00:29:04.270    97,741 kbps     00:22:21.895    0 bytes         817,970 bytes   00:22:38.937    
4               0:34:03.000     0:09:09.250     86,020 kbps     121,131 kbps    00:37:33.020    106,333 kbps    00:41:39.437    97,664 kbps     00:36:38.895    0 bytes         1,083,874 bytes 00:39:24.937    
5               0:43:12.250     0:12:36.458     84,087 kbps     119,912 kbps    00:48:39.895    104,583 kbps    00:45:25.770    96,980 kbps     00:44:51.729    0 bytes         912,852 bytes   00:52:46.937    
6               0:55:48.708     0:12:05.874     86,986 kbps     138,968 kbps    01:03:35.895    105,583 kbps    01:02:12.604    97,455 kbps     00:56:36.895    0 bytes         1,135,671 bytes 01:03:36.937    
7               1:07:54.583     0:10:05.125     81,757 kbps     135,599 kbps    01:12:21.104    105,479 kbps    01:08:58.645    97,407 kbps     01:08:57.437    0 bytes         889,457 bytes   01:10:00.937    
8               1:17:59.708     0:08:41.541     80,140 kbps     120,520 kbps    01:26:25.104    102,694 kbps    01:23:29.895    97,803 kbps     01:25:03.895    0 bytes         828,615 bytes   01:26:25.937    
9               1:26:41.250     0:11:54.250     83,997 kbps     122,730 kbps    01:36:58.562    105,729 kbps    01:31:17.145    96,930 kbps     01:37:54.437    0 bytes         943,926 bytes   01:37:37.937    
10              1:38:35.500     0:11:22.583     78,702 kbps     128,971 kbps    01:40:01.604    103,860 kbps    01:40:22.437    96,953 kbps     01:45:08.895    0 bytes         920,256 bytes   01:39:28.937    
11              1:49:58.083     0:08:16.916     78,344 kbps     116,500 kbps    01:52:49.395    103,689 kbps    01:50:00.770    97,638 kbps     01:50:21.270    0 bytes         942,678 bytes   01:54:51.937    
12              1:58:15.000     0:10:49.000     69,358 kbps     124,874 kbps    02:04:48.437    103,458 kbps    02:01:58.437    97,213 kbps     02:01:58.270    0 bytes         906,271 bytes   02:04:48.520    

STREAM DIAGNOSTICS:

File            PID             Type            Codec           Language                Seconds                 Bitrate                 Bytes           Packets         
----            ---             ----            -----           --------                --------------          --------------          -------------   -----           
00003.M2TS      4113 (0x1011)   0x24            HEVC                                    7743.917                80,745                  78,160,735,727  424,898,127     
00003.M2TS      4352 (0x1100)   0x86            DTS-HD MA       srp (Serbian)           7743.917                3,594                   3,478,629,516   20,114,652      
00003.M2TS      4768 (0x12A0)   0x90            PGS             zho (Chinese)           7743.917                20                      18,985,624      110,359         
00003.M2TS      4769 (0x12A1)   0x90            PGS             eng (English)           7743.917                23                      22,488,885      129,325         
00003.M2TS      4117 (0x1015)   0x24            HEVC                                    7743.917                2,247                   2,175,284,614   11,933,646

Bitrate Graph:

[Show spoiler]

Screenshots

[Show spoiler]

[SleazyForWeasley]

I remember seeing this at the Cleveland International Film Festival, and I've been hoping to upgrade my DVD, but this doesn't look all that promising.

[Captain Paranoia]

A year late to this thread, but I should note that the Japanese Blu-Ray by King Records is virtually the same transfer as the WCL Blu-Ray.

[Captain Paranoia]

Here's some disc info for the JP BD:

Disc Size: 24,550,028,166 bytes
Size: 21,042,284,544 bytes
Length: 2:09:24.798
Total Bitrate: 21.68 Mbps
Video: MPEG-4 AVC Video / 18490 kbps / 1080p / 23.976 fps / 16:9 / High Profile 4.1
Audio: Serbian / DTS-HD Master Audio / 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1966 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit)
Subtitle: Japanese / 19.135 kbps
24 Chapters


Here is a screenshot from the JP BD for comparison: