The Criterion Collection

[GaragePoet]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

At this point Criterion has over 1100 movies on bluray (close to 800 individual sets) and in the last year they have only upgraded 8 previously released blurays to 4k. You'll be waiting a long, long time to see if they ever get to all your favorites.

As others have said, if you must just stay away from popular releases over a couple years old that have 4k scans.

i'm mostly concerned about the 2 new releases w/ 4K scans

[Bolo Seagull]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HeEUjqsI1M

Three Colours: 4K Restoration

I have watched theatrical screenings of the three films, using the 4K restorations that will almost certainly be the same used in a future Criterion upgrade release. I'm fond of these films and have seen them several times before (35MM projections in the 90's and on VHS and DVD), although I have not revisited them recently. I don't want to present my opinion as though I am the authority on how these films *should* look, but I will talk about how I expect them to look.

When that trilogy trailer (see above) advertising the 4K restoration hit, many commented on how a yellow tint had been added or increased in the image. The yellow was noticeable to me as well as not being how I expect these films to look.

The cinema where I saw these films showed the trilogy trailer before the presentation of each film. I will say that those shots in the trailer did not always look the same when shown again in the film that immediately followed it. The trailer may have some different saturation and tinting adjustments, or it may just be something with the projector at my cinema.

That being said, there is some more yellow tinting going on. I expected it to be the most apparent in 'White' because colours show up the most obviously on white. But I will say most of the film retained a natural look that I associate with the film. The yellow tinting seemed the strongest in the final quarter of the film. Especially the parts where Karol has reinvented himself as a business hot shot and is making his rounds with his hair all slicked back and wearing that trenchcoat. Those scenes had a murky grey-yellow tinge that really stood out. There was some more yellow to other scenes, but it did not really stick out to me. And I would say the light yellow tones really fit the interior shots of Julie Delpy lit by lamp.

'Blue' probably looked the most like what I expected a remaster of these films to look like. There is some yellow boost. The scenes where Binoche is in the café look extra buttery, but I get that she's supposed to be soaking in the sunlight. It just felt a little strong. Other than that, there wasn't much that stood out. I had never before noticed the note at the end of the credits apologizing to the maker of the car, stating that this car model is not known for having the defect that is shown to cause the accident in this film, and that this defect in this car is purely a work of fiction. That made me chuckle.

I would say 'Red' looked the most different from what I expected. It was really dark. Yes, I know this a film that has lots of scenes at night and mostly takes place in the home of a recluse, but even for that it was still really dark. This one has something I've seen in other 4K remasters where characters' eyes frequently are completely in black shadows cast by their brows in a way that I did not remember it looking before. Or half of a character's face basically in total deep black darkness instead of just a bit of shadow where you can still make out their features. The yellow sepia action is also the most pervasive in this film. There was a noticeable yellowy brown to most of the scenes.

In terms of presentation, I liked 'Red' the least. The other two had the occasional moment that stood out, but 'Red' required a bit of getting used to. Overall, the remastering does bring a lot of detail and texture forward with rich colours. I can live with these films looking this way now. I'm sure that certain decisions will ruffle some feathers, but I don't think there's anything here that will be a dealbreaker for as many fans as with the Wong Kar Wai remasters. I think there is probably more gained than lost with this new presentation. When they put out the discs of this trilogy, I'll be happy to buy it.

I had a mounted poster of 'Blue' on my wall in the 90's. During a recent move, I realized I still have it. Maybe I'll hang it up again.

[Nedoflanders]

In contrast to the general consensus of this forum, I think that's their best month in two years. I would have the lot if they weren't so expensive to import and the UK arm was more on par with US announcements.

[Areyakiddin]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

I think it is a matter of opinion. 50-year-old films from Hollywood studios seem classic to me.

I think it's pretty clear that what OP meant by "classic era" is the era of the studio system and before the death of the Code and the rise of New Hollywood a.k.a Golden Age of Hollywood.

Both those movies are definitely old, but they're definitely not products of the very old way of doing things.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by cjamescook

Sadly, director David Lean is missing from the article and list. Given that his many wide shots in Lawrence of Arabia and A Passage to India, I wonder if he was like Kubrick, favoring 10-15mm.

Here’s an article on Freddie Young and Lean on the set of Ryan’s Daughter.

You don’t really need them because you move around so much that you show every part of the room at one time or another. In a pinch, we have the 40mm lens, which gives quite a wide angle in the 65mm format, but we don’t use it very often because it makes a small room look an enormous size. I really prefer never to use a lens shorter than 50mm, and most of the time we are on a 75mm. This is about the equivalent of the 50mm lens in the 35mm format, and it doesn’t exaggerate the size of the room.”

https://ascmag.com/articles/on-locat...ryans-daughter

Then in a different article, Freddie mentions using a 500mm lens for the mirage scene in Lawrence of Arabia.

https://britishcinematographer.co.uk...g-obe-bsc-asc/

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by GaragePoet

i'm mostly concerned about the 2 new releases w/ 4K scans

I think you're pretty safe on both. The original release of Cooley High wasn't a big seller, it barely sold more than those early John Wayne Olive blus. The Velvet Underground is an apple+ music doc...but then again I don't care for Andy Warhol, VU, Lou Reed, etc so it may just be my lack of enthusiasm clouding my 4K radar.

[Scottie]

I sort of have a feeling Criterion is going to announce a 4K of Velvet Underground within the next couple of days.

[GaragePoet]

it burned when Crimes of the Future 4K got announced almost immediately after the blu-ray was released (not Criterion, of course)

and it does feel like i'm purchasing a lot of Scream Factory titles a second time now

[latehong]

Still wondering if The Irishman 4K will come eventually.

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

How old are those Haneke scans? The same ones used for the 2006 Kino DVD set? Ughhhhh.

That's older than some people on this forum

[jshaide]

Saw Godland yesterday. Really beautiful, def. Made sense for Janus to pick this up, it’s very much in line with their contemporary pick ups. Got to see it on an IMAX screen too which was a treat!

[BillWatkins]

It was overshadowed by the death of Godard, but filmmakers William Klein and Alain Tanner also passed away over the last week.

[Axl Rose]

Originally Posted by BillWatkins

It was overshadowed by the death of Godard, but filmmakers William Klein and Alain Tanner also passed away over the last week.

Some disrespected guys on home media. I'd like to see some of their works make it.

[stvn1974]

The Lost Highway review is up. My body, mind and soul are ready for the Criterion BD.

[Member-682067]

Originally Posted by stvn1974

The Lost Highway review is up. My body, mind and soul are ready for the Criterion BD.

Me too, good film. The Kino release was a flop.

[dressedtokill]

Originally Posted by TV2693

Me too, good film. The Kino release was a flop.

I wouldn't say it was flop. Kino did reach out to a lot of people involved, who declined and did the best they could at the time. That being said, the Criterion version is the way to go and a clear upgrade.

[The Literate Dead]

Wow, really glad to see Lost Highway get an early review here. From the screenshots I admit I'm not entirely keen on the new look... I thought the Kino release looked good, even if flawed (and lacking extras). From these samples the new edition feels completely desaturated and lacking the 'punch' that the stronger colors gave the film.

But this does also feel like a bit of a trend in newer releases. I've noticed that a number of 4k transfers of older films (and it's weird thinking of 1997 counting as 'older') seem to have desaturated colors; I chalked it up to something that happens when the films are transferred to the format. At least this one feels like a deliberate effort by the director, even if I might not agree with the results.

That said, am I still going to buy this? Hell yes! Lost Highway is my favorite Lynch movie, and I'm a long-time dedicated Criterion collector. I'll hold faith that this look will stand better in motion (and on a home projector). I'm always up for giving Criterion a chance; they've very rarely let me down (the Police Story duo is the only time I can think of off the top of my head).

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by TV2693

Me too, good film. The Kino release was a flop.

The Kino disc was still miles bettre than the Concorde.

[jw007]

I read the new review by Dr. Svet Atanasov last night on Lost Highway, and hopefully the new color grading choices by David Lynch is not going to be any sort of issue for most viewers.

I'm actually glad I've only seen the film 2 or 3 times in my life at most, as I don't even recall what the original look of the film was, so if I buy this new edition (in blu-ray or 4k), I can go into it watching the film with fresh eyes.

Watching this 25 year old movie will look pretty cool on my new Epson EpiqVision Mini EF12 laser projector. Looking forward to this someday soon.

[filmlover22]

well, reviews for Arsenic and Old Lace are in, and it does not make me happy.

"Unfortunately, on my system, I noticed quite a bit of annoying macroblocking sneaking in. Virtually all of it appears in dark areas with prominent black(s). Can the macroblocking be missed? Possibly if you have a smaller screen, but on a large screen, I think that you will easily notice its presence" 3.5 out of 5.0

ugh.