Halloween 4K UHD (1978)

[slask]

Imho it is. I've had both, and the 4K added extra clarity and details to the already gorgeous 35th bd.

[ROSS.T.G.]

If you have a 4K setup it’s a must have. Like so many older 35mm films the UHD opens the image up. It feels like there is more space, added depth etc. Flesh tones look much better and the weird tint is gone. Only down side is the lack of mono track but the superb PQ outweighs that.

[SexySamSosa67]

What's the better 4K? Halloween or The Shining?

[ROSS.T.G.]

The Shining.

[TravisTylerBlack]

Originally Posted by SexySamSosa67

What's the better 4K? Halloween or The Shining?

Shining for sure. If only because the previous BD dated all the way back to 2007 and was really showing its age.

Halloween looks very nice but is a more subtle upgrade as the most recent restoration was barely 5 years old and already quite good.

[brainofj72]

Guess I’ll be the contrarian and say Halloween. Much more filmic grain than The Shining, IMO, and as a result it has much more impressive fine detail.

[DJR662]

I just finished watching this again and what a great looking UHD this is! Ofcourse the movie itself is already a joy to behold, but being able to watch it like this, is the icing on the cake.

Next up: Shout's most recent Halloween II release which is excellent also. Would have been even better if it had an actual 4K release, but you can't have everything I guess...

[ROSS.T.G.]

Yeah I’m watching this next week.

[grodd]

The Shining is a better transfer.
Halloween isn't a bad transfer, but it has a few issues from missing Mono to a muted color pallet.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by ForAFewMoviesMore

Is it worth the upgrade from the blu ray? I have the 35th anniversary Steelbook and I’m debating whether to change

It's worth it.

[ForAFewMoviesMore]

Thanks all looks like I’m upgrading

[Colson]

Originally Posted by brainofj72

Guess I’ll be the contrarian and say Halloween. Much more filmic grain than The Shining, IMO, and as a result it has much more impressive fine detail.

I think Halloween is the better presentation, apples to apples, but The Shining is more of an upgrade to its previous releases. Halloween's most recent BD release was quite good, relative to the UHD, though the UHD is certainly an improvement.

[dcx4610]

Originally Posted by KubrickKurasawa

What is off?

I found the HDR & WCG to impress me on this release. The truck that Sam Loomis checks out early looked perfectly red on my set. Never looked better, but I lost my old DVD and never had this on original Blu Ray. I love this 4K release it should be 9.99 or less really soon too/again.

The timing was changed to a whiter/brighter look. The night scenes which were previously soaked in blue night, now look white. It's just not the Halloween that I grew up watching.

I believe Dean Cundey supervised and approved the timing but considering this was done 30+ years after the movie was made (the UHD uses the Blu-ray timing), I don't value their opinion as much. It's like Lucas or Copolla changing their mind on how their movies should be decades later.

New on top, old on the bottom...



I just prefer the original. The new one isn't bad but the warmer colors make it feel more natural and like Fall. The newer timing seems less spooky.

[bradnoyes]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but those warmer colors were a major departure from the original intent. The UHD is much closer to the original timing, no?

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by grodd

The Shining is a better transfer.
Halloween isn't a bad transfer, but it has a few issues from missing Mono to a muted color pallet.

The Shining suffers from missing mono, too.

[avs commenter]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

Correct me if I'm wrong, but those warmer colors were a major departure from the original intent. The UHD is much closer to the original timing, no?

Yes. The UHD is the closest you will get to the original theater release

[dcx4610]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

Correct me if I'm wrong, but those warmer colors were a major departure from the original intent. The UHD is much closer to the original timing, no?

Possible but up until the 2000s, that's what we were all used to so that's what Halloween looks like in my brain.

So even if it is "wrong" per se, that's what we have been conditioned to.

I've never seen an original print for comparison but it would be interesting.

[BluProofie]

The warmer color timing was revisionist and done for a late 90s DVD. Every theatrical print I’ve seen has looked like the 35th and UHD transfers.

[bradnoyes]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

Possible but up until the 2000s, that's what we were all used to so that's what Halloween looks like in my brain.

So even if it is "wrong" per se, that's what we have been conditioned to.

I've never seen an original print for comparison but it would be interesting.

I've been watching the series since 1990 or so and I wasn't conditioned to the warmer timing, so I'm assuming that's the royal "we." I'm a big fan of the autumn season so I do understand the appeal of those warm fall leaves, but it still looks weird to me in Halloween.

[fighthefutureofhd]

I've not seen Halloween, but judging from the pictures, the new 4k has the better, more natural colors. I do agree on the leaves, but everything in the old pictures are way too off for me. Concrete shouldn't look that way with that brown tone. And grass is green. Unless you're in a drought. And even then it looks yellow. Not the color that is shown. The 4k seems to be the most natural look color-wise.