P.S.
That last link ^ needs as update because since it was posted on the internet, “Un Prophčte” has been announced by France as its official Foreign Language Oscar submission.
Last edited by Penton-Man; 10-11-2009 at 01:13 AM.
Reason: added a P.S.
I just got back from Surrogates. Really good job using softening filters during grading on the prosthetic bodies to make them look smooth and unnatural. Can't wait for the feedback from the usual suspects
I didn't alas... Still (pathetically) trying to get all my reviews done (life, what can I say) but out of the 60 or so I saw, that wasn't one of them.
I -did- see "Mr. Nobody", which is a -remarkable- film, totally flew under the radar of almost everyone. Really great, really smart scifi, should be well up your alley. Let alone Micmacs, which should certainly make for a pretty BD (where's the rest of the Jeunet ouevres?)
I just got back from Surrogates. Really good job using softening filters during grading on the prosthetic bodies to make them look smooth and unnatural. Can't wait for the feedback from the usual suspects
As long as the *screenshot scientists* amongst them don’t come here to make trouble as they help slide their home venue further downhill with their ‘faux science’ - http://twitpic.com/jcn7k
and drag down everybody else in the process with their predominately negative tone, not to mention the technical inaccuracies floated as fact.
lol, wait till they figure out that Das weiße Band was shot with color stock….”The horror…the horror” of the power of those digital manipulation tools, even when Director intended.
Anyway, kinda think Das Boot in a tank.
Not recommended for the claustrophobic or even those suffering from cabin fever in the dead of winter in the North.
Das Boot, can't wait for that. I remember sitting in "Beerfest", and when Jurgen Prochnow is in a submarine and is asked why he's so nervous. "I had a bad experience in a submarine once". Me and my friend cracked up hard, and the other 198 people just stared....
Ask an average Blu-ray Disc consumer what they’re buying for their player, and they’ll probably say its the latest big-budget action adventure.
But for studios, film experts and enthusiasts alike, black-and-white content on Blu-ray is just as amazing as any bright and colorful blockbuster. And sometimes it’s better.
“Without qualification, black-and-white films deserve to be on Blu-ray,” said John Lowry, founder of Lowry Digital, which specializes in digital restoration. “It’s a fabulous opportunity to show those movies the way they were meant to be seen in the first place.”
He and other experts agree that Blu-ray presents the first opportunity to show the best of black-and-white films in the home, especially older fare. Warner Home Video has done Casablanca, and Paramount Home Entertainment put both black-and-white and color versions of It’s A Wonderful Life in its Nov. 3 release. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment gave Dr. Strangelove special Blu-ray treatment, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment did the same with Young Frankenstein. Criterion has worked magic on a number of black-and-white classics, including The Seventh Seal, The 400 Blows, Last Year at Marienbad and The Third Man.
Robert A. Harris, a film archivist, preservationist and restorer, quoted producer and founding studio executive Samuel Goldwyn, when talking about black-and-white vs. color on Blu-ray: “When someone asked him how long a film should be, his possibly apocryphal answer was ‘as long as it’s good.’ Same thing for black-and-white vs. color,” Harris said.
“I would question whether there is a place for garbage color films in high-definition,” he continued. “There is little difference between bringing classic color titles to Blu-ray as opposed to black-and-white. The easiest color material is the pre-1955 three-strip Technicolor. Eastman negatives have the fade problem. A film element is a film element, regardless.”
Van Ling, an independent Blu-ray producer, said black-and-white classics on Blu-ray offer an opportunity to introduce some of the best films ever made to a new generation that has only seen them on TV.
“Many folks are under the impression that black-and-white films are somehow visually inferior to color films, but in many cases the exact opposite is true,” he said. “Monochrome film can often have a sharpness and clarity that color film just could not match, even decades later.”
He said the biggest challenge for studios is to find the best original elements possible and “do a restoration that brings the film alive in all of its original vibrancy and clarity.”
“When done right, it can take your breath away in the same manner that an Ansel Adams photograph can,” Ling said.
Bill Hunt, editor of TheDigitalBits.com, suggested that Blu-ray early adopters and classic film fans are most likely to appreciate black-and-white content in high-def. “It’s really the same challenge in delivering any classic film: making sure the original film elements are in top condition, and then doing a really good job of scanning and mastering,” he said.
George Feltenstein, SVP of theatrical catalog marketing at Warner Home Video, said black-and-white films on Blu-ray are following the same pattern they did with DVD.
“If we want to go back 12 years, nobody wanted to go near the classics for DVD,” he said. “We believe that Blu-ray is a transformational way to represent these films. And the proof was in the pudding with Casablanca.”
The Casablanca Ultimate Edition Blu-ray release in December 2008 earned high marks from nearly every high-def reviewer, Feltenstein said.
For Warner, cleaning up a black-and-white film for Blu-ray isn’t an easy or cheap process. “There’s an extraordinary expense in bringing these to Blu-ray,” Feltenstein said.
Next, Warner hopes to bring some of the Marx Brothers black-and-white comedies to Blu-ray, as well as films starring Errol Flynn, Betty Davis and Humphrey Bogart. Look for the 1941 The Maltese Falcon on Blu-ray from Warner in 2010, Feltenstein said.
Hunt praised Warner’s work on classics, but said Criterion “is setting the standard.”
“Watching a Criterion black-and-white title in a home theater projection setting, it feels like you’re sitting in a real movie theater,” he said. “The image looks like film — as it should. I really can’t wait to see films like Seven Samurai on Blu-ray.”
For Criterion, which prides itself on only working with the best film elements available for the best films available, working on black-and-white Blu-ray has been a labor of love.
“Now we’re able to replicate more precisely these films as they first appeared,” said Lee Kline, technical director for Criterion.
He pointed to the July Blu-ray release of Roman Polanski’s Repulsion as a great example.
“Once you look at Blu-ray, you can’t imagine watching the DVDs of these films ever again,” he said.
Both Kline and Feltenstein noted that when making a black-and-white film ready for Blu-ray, the studios have to be careful not to treat the original film grain as noise.
“We’ve done some electronic grain reduction here and there but not completely eliminated it,” Kline said. “We’re still feeling that out with Blu-ray, but we feel grain has to be close to what was originally presented.”
For black-and-white on Blu-ray, unlike newer, color fare, “It’s not about sharpness, it’s about dynamic range. How black are the blacks, how white are the whites?” Lowry said.
It’s not just the major studios trying out black and white on Blu-ray. Kino International announced in September the Nov. 10 release of Buster Keaton’s 1926 comedy The General on Blu-ray. Thanks to an original print that survived with only minor problems, Kino was able to make an HD transfer out of a 35mm print and paint out the few blemishes left over.
And it’s not just older films either: consumers can find Good Night, and Good Luck (2005) from Warner Home Video and a little-seen, black-and-white version of The Mist (2007) from Genius Products as Blu-ray releases.
Pro-B
Last edited by pro-bassoonist; 10-11-2009 at 09:34 PM.
Yeah, it's that kind of film festival - you go to 60 movies, and all you know are the ones you didn't see!
As for the link above re: RAH quoting Goldwyn, I had the interesting experience of chatting briefly with his son while in line for a film at the Varsity.
Hey Shark, did you see that Sam Neill vampire movie that's coming out in January for some reason(Because January, scary right? )? It looks really good and I've seen a few good reviews, but I don't know if they're plants or not
Hey Shark, did you see that Sam Neill vampire movie that's coming out in January for some reason(Because January, scary right? )? It looks really good and I've seen a few good reviews, but I don't know if they're plants or not
Yeah, Daybreakers... It's GREAT. Saw it same day as "Under the Mountain".
Here, the site's a mess, and I'm way behind on reviews, but what the hell:
I am curious why 12/29 was selected for the release of District 9. I remember a couple months ago you posted a feedback sort of question here. Won't Sony miss a lot of holiday sales this way?
I am curious why 12/29 was selected for the release of District 9. I remember a couple months ago you posted a feedback sort of question here. Won't Sony miss a lot of holiday sales this way?
There will be alot of gift cards given at Christmas, so plenty of people will be using those. Also, Q4 is going to be loaded with other high profile titles prior to the holiday, so I think maybe Sony wants maximum exposure for their title, which no doubt will be the biggest one hitting on 12/29.
Transformers 2, Star Trek, G.I. Joe, Up, The Hangover, Harry Potter, Terminator Salvation, Public Enemies and Angels & Demons are all going to be on shelves prior to District 9. That's a lot of competition.
I am curious why 12/29 was selected for the release of District 9. I remember a couple months ago you posted a feedback sort of question here. Won't Sony miss a lot of holiday sales this way?
See Mr. Cinema’s explanation , plus it keeps open the possibility of a viable, albeit limited U.S. theatrical re-release over the Holiday season.
For the uninformed members out there, this scientist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan
wrote the novel and is to whom the movie is dedicated to, with the phrase “For Carl” at the end.
The nice back story here is that despite the fact Carl Sagan was ill and battling a serious illness at the time (the complications of which apparently led to his death), he was kind enough to visit the set of Contact during filming and give a presentation on outer space.
Last edited by Penton-Man; 10-12-2009 at 05:38 PM.
Speaking of sci-fi motion pictures, I had the opportunity to watch one of my faves on Blu-ray last night, namely Contact.
Fabulous motion picture with elegant cinematographic moves such as this…. http://www.steadishots.org/shots_detail.cfm?shotID=157
For the uninformed members out there, this scientist http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan
wrote the novel and is to whom the movie is dedicated to, with the phrase “For Carl” at the end.
The nice back story here is that despite the fact Carl Sagan was ill and battling a serious illness at the time (the complications of which apparently led to his death), he was kind enough to visit the set of Contact during filming and give a presentation on outer space.
Contact may well be my all time favorite film. It's definitely in a top 5 of films that are hard to rank further.
It is one of few instances where the book is excellent, and the film does an incredible job of distilling the themes of the book, while providing a much more theatrical experience. Both the book and film can be enjoyed independently, and you get something different out of taking the time to explore both.
I have never understood the love it or hate it element of this film. I do think if people evaluated it more fairly, it'd eventually be deemed a classic on the order of 2001.
At first glance, when folks watch the movie, they may speculate that the film was finished in B&W simply because the story is based in 1914 and the filmmakers wanted to recreate a ‘period piece’.
The intent was actually to create a strong abstraction and it was felt that a B&W palate was the best choice to achieve that.
I think Michael Haneke should be applauded for having the courage to do so.
Last edited by Penton-Man; 10-12-2009 at 05:50 PM.
Reason: removed P.S. as trailers don't load
At first glance, when folks watch the movie, they may speculate that the film was finished in B&W simply because the story is based in 1914 and the filmmakers wanted to recreate a ‘period piece’.
The intent was actually to create a strong abstraction and it was felt that a B&W palate was the best choice to achieve that.
I think Michael Haneke should be applauded for having the courage to do so.
Thanks for reading...
I just plopped a few more days worth of stuff up there... Man, procrastination sucks.
Oh, and happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canadians!
BTW, if you haven't seen it, Tom Ford's "A Single Man" does some very interesting things with palate - I'm sure it's going to be a mess on uncalibrated televisions, but Ford uses the DI to set mood, increasing or subtracting saturation based on the psychological state of his protagonist. When it's first occuring it's almost subliminal, but when you catch on (he goes a bit nuts in places) it's quite a treat.
Special mention must be made for your links to the Steadicam hall of fame site... Man, I know the internet is full of deliciously nerdy stuff, but that's just priceless... You saw the Eurovision shot? Segway to ramp to circle dolly... Awesome.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Linear Mode
