Halloween 4K UHD (1978)

[Colson]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

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...

[Show spoiler]

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.

IIRC when they created this (very revisionist) color timing for that 1999(?) DVD release, they went so far as to re-color individual leaves in the trees. Truly, this is nowhere near the original color timing. The UHD is much, much closer.

[avs commenter]

there are clips online of the original NBC Tv airing and it does not have the warmer color tone

[BluProofie]

Originally Posted by Colson

IIRC when they created this (very revisionist) color timing for that 1999(?) DVD release, they went so far as to re-color individual leaves in the trees. Truly, this is nowhere near the original color timing. The UHD is much, much closer.

Exactly. The movie was shot in California in May. It’s not supposed to look like that digital colorist’s version. I still find it strange that the transfer was approved for that DVD.

[Colson]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Exactly. The movie was shot in California in May. It’s not supposed to look like that digital colorist’s version. I still find it strange that the transfer was approved for that DVD.

It's a great example of why trusting someone who originally worked on a film is not always a good move. Sure, the transfer was approved by Cundy, but that doesn't make it good or, more importantly, accurate to the original.

The Star Wars Special Editions are Lucas approved, after all.

Of course, I am not saying the opinions of the original creators is not valuable, it just isn't the word of God.

[BluProofie]

Originally Posted by Colson

It's a great example of why trusting someone who originally worked on a film is not always a good move. Sure, the transfer was approved by Cundy, but that doesn't make it good or, more importantly, accurate to the original.

The Star Wars Special Editions are Lucas approved, after all.

Of course, I am not saying the opinions of the original creators is not valuable, it just isn't the word of God.

Cundey also approved Shout’s 2016 transfer of The Thing and Arrow’s 2017 4K remaster, released only a year apart. One is over-processed and the other is how the film should look.

[Colson]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Cundey also approved Shout’s 2016 transfer of The Thing and Arrow’s 2017 4K remaster, released only a year apart. One is over-processed and the other is how the film should look.

Yep! He has been inconsistent with all of these releases, despite doing great work on the original films.

[JPLeon]

Originally Posted by Colson

Yep! He has been inconsistent with all of these releases, despite doing great work on the original films.

Not trying to start a "The Thing" debate or anything but I think (imo) that the reason both transfers look so different is because one was based upon an interpositive, and the other one of from the camera negatives. Interpositives are usually already color corrected. So probably Shout! Factory just got Dean Cundey to make some "enhancements" to the new transfer for disc distribution. Which explains why their release looks so blue with some darker colors here and there. Later when Arrow decided to make their own transfer with the original camera negatives they got Dean Cundey and John Carpenter to finally collaborate together in order to color correct the film from scratch. Due John Carpenter's involvement & the use of the OCN, the film now has a more "natural" look to it but is a bit softer from the fact that the 4k transfer had to be downscaled considerably to fit the Blu-ray disc data limit. Or whatever, the filmmakers probably just don't care at this point how their movies look. At least we have 2 options on how to watch that film, Halloween in the other hand...not really.

[grodd]

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 those colors are incorrect (Or at least clearly revisionist). The warmer colors were never on the film until the DVD came along. Blues were also enhanced from the film.

The current UHD is actually closer to the original (and the Criterion laserdisc) than those. But its also muted a bit during the day. The colors are also a bit better watching it in Dolby Vision.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

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.

It's not the original.

[DR Herbert West]

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.

That version didn't exist before 1999.

[grodd]

Sadly there are some misguided websites cough cough (highdefdigest.com) that continue to mislead people.

[Colson]

Originally Posted by JPLeon

Not trying to start a "The Thing" debate or anything but I think (imo) that the reason both transfers look so different is because one was based upon an interpositive, and the other one of from the camera negatives. Interpositives are usually already color corrected. So probably Shout! Factory just got Dean Cundey to make some "enhancements" to the new transfer for disc distribution. Which explains why their release looks so blue with some darker colors here and there. Later when Arrow decided to make their own transfer with the original camera negatives they got Dean Cundey and John Carpenter to finally collaborate together in order to color correct the film from scratch. Due John Carpenter's involvement & the use of the OCN, the film now has a more "natural" look to it but is a bit softer from the fact that the 4k transfer had to be downscaled considerably to fit the Blu-ray disc data limit. Or whatever, the filmmakers probably just don't care at this point how their movies look. At least we have 2 options on how to watch that film, Halloween in the other hand...not really.

All that is fine and good, or maybe it isn't, but it still supports the idea that just because someone from the original production signs off on a transfer does not mean it is faithful to the original version. Of course, it often can mean that, but it is not necessarily so.

Also, let's just pause and appreciate how f***ing awesome The Thing and Halloween are, regardless of color timing.

[ROSS.T.G.]

HDD is awful. The only website that reviews panels and projectors without actually putting them on the bench to test. A certain writer there slammed the community here because we called him out on his attitude towards HDR. Oddly enough the remark was in his write up of the 4K projector he acquired lol.

[JPLeon]

Originally Posted by Colson

All that is fine and good, or maybe it isn't, but it still supports the idea that just because someone from the original production signs off on a transfer does not mean it is faithful to the original version. Of course, it often can mean that, but it is not necessarily so.

Also, let's just pause and appreciate how f***ing awesome The Thing and Halloween are, regardless of color timing.

Love them both, also Alien (1979). Those 3 are great in their own ways. The Thing is sort of a mystery/thriller with an awesome atmosphere of isolation and inevitable death. Alien is like a haunted house film on space that leaves you wondering if there are real extraterrestrial life forms out there waiting to be discovered in order to reproduce and destroy human kind, kinda like The Thing. And Halloween is more relatable because it can actually happen, in a way. There's always the bad chance that a person with mental problems can be stalking or break into a house to kill its next victim and then flee into the night, never to get caught by authorities. But of course Michael is more of an evil force of nature rather than a normal human being, which makes him more scary.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by ROSS.T.G.

HDD is awful. The only website that reviews panels and projectors without actually putting them on the bench to test. A certain writer there slammed the community here because we called him out on his attitude towards HDR. Oddly enough the remark was in his write up of the 4K projector he acquired lol.

Let's all remember that the guy who runs HDD wrote a whole article about how Shout Factory's first release of The Thing was better than Arrow's, and that it proved 4k scans were dumb.

[ROSS.T.G.]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Let's all remember that the guy who runs HDD wrote a whole article about how Shout Factory's first release of The Thing was better than Arrow's, and that it proved 4k scans were dumb.

Yeah the writers over there are insufferable sometimes.

[slask]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

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

I know. Luckily we can forget those days cause now we have the chance to see many movies in their true form, not the altered look we have been exposed to for so many years.
It doesn't happen all the time, but we get more than before for sure.

Originally Posted by Colson

The Star Wars Special Editions are Lucas approved, after all.

Of course, I am not saying the opinions of the original creators is not valuable, it just isn't the word of God.

Lucas never meant to restore the movies to their original theatrical versions, that's the difference. He did revisionism on purpose (and I don't blame him for it, although he should reconsider his policy on releasing the originals too...).

I prefer when a filmmaker willingly makes changes, rather than directors who claim they restored a movie back to its roots while pictures tell a different story (like Friedkin with the French Connection).

I agree with your last statement though. But given this case and The Thing by Arrow, I'd trust Cundey.

Originally Posted by JPLeon

Due John Carpenter's involvement & the use of the OCN, the film now has a more "natural" look to it but is a bit softer from the fact that the 4k transfer had to be downscaled considerably to fit the Blu-ray disc data limit.
...
At least we have 2 options on how to watch that film, Halloween in the other hand...not really.

God, I want a UHD for The Thing so badly. Anyway, your explanation for the two different color timing might be right. If that's the case, Cundey simply couldn't change much.

About having options, to me it's a matter of creative decisions. When there are multiple versions of a movie and they are all based on the filmmaker's choices, I'd want them all for sure.
If one master is just the result of inconsistent IPs or outdated/worn out transfers, I have no interest in watching a wrong copy; I've already done that for too long, back when I had no choice, now I just want the most faithful representation, whenever it's possible.

[SonSon III]

Originally Posted by slask

I prefer when a filmmaker willingly makes changes, rather than directors who claim they restored a movie back to its roots while pictures tell a different story (like Friedkin with the French Connection).

I agree with your last statement though. But given this case and The Thing by Arrow, I'd trust Cundey.

How can ANYBODY trust Cundy? Lmfao
If there’s another release and a paycheck, he approves everything. I’m pretty sure at this point nobody is confident in the Cundy seal of Reapproval.

[Colson]

Originally Posted by slask

Lucas never meant to restore the movies to their original theatrical versions, that's the difference. He did revisionism on purpose (and I don't blame him for it, although he should reconsider his policy on releasing the originals too...).

I prefer when a filmmaker willingly makes changes, rather than directors who claim they restored a movie back to its roots while pictures tell a different story (like Friedkin with the French Connection).

I agree with your last statement though. But given this case and The Thing by Arrow, I'd trust Cundey.

I'm with you in the sense that I prefer the director tell the truth. I'd rather he or she make changes and be truthful about the fact that he or she has done so than make changes and say "This is how it always was!"

I'd rather they didn't make changes at all, though. If there are changes, even small ones (remixed audio, for example), I'd prefer they be acknowledged.

[ROSS.T.G.]

Originally Posted by SonSon III

How can ANYBODY trust Cundy? Lmfao
If there’s another release and a paycheck, he approves everything. I’m pretty sure at this point nobody is confident in the Cundy seal of Reapproval.

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