"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[cjamescook]

FYI:

Amazon has posted a "Restoring 'Gone with the Wind'" featurette on the GWTW BD page http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013N7FZ6.

The examples don't show up particularly well in the small, low-bandwidth window, but Chris Cookson, et al discuss some aspects and techniques that I thought were interesting to hear.

Cheers!

[Vincent Pereira]

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

How do you know the 35mm release prints weren't sourced from the same digital intermediate?...

According to the American Cinematographer article on THE DARK KNIGHT, it had a traditional photochemical finish for the 35mm prints, as did BATMAN BEGINS. No DI for those, or any other Chris Nolan film, aside from the IMAX blow-ups. Nolan is a real film purist.

Vincent

[Esox50]

Penton,

For anyone you may know at 20th Century Fox...

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=4971

-Esox

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Bobby, somebody recently forwarded a post to me from "Film-Tech" which a person carrying your handle posted there. Is that you? Seems like a well-informed group of people over thar.

Yeah, that's me. Ask me about Trajan.

Hope the forwarded post wasn't one of my more embarrasing rants and raves on any number of different topics. I'll get good and fired up sometimes on issues like people constantly playing with their phones in a darkened auditorium while a movie is playing.

Film-Tech does indeed boast a lot of expert "film handlers." Many of the participants are film projectionists, technicians, theater equipment installers and theater managers/owners. These people love what they do. Many are very good at what they do and are also very unforgiving over "film done wrong." Just see the "outing bad film handlers" thread there.

A few well known folks, such as Robert Harris, drop in at Film-Tech from time to time. I think a lot of movie theater industry executives (and possibly studio executives) "lurk" there.

Originally Posted by Vincent Pereira

According to the American Cinematographer article on THE DARK KNIGHT, it had a traditional photochemical finish for the 35mm prints, as did BATMAN BEGINS. No DI for those, or any other Chris Nolan film, aside from the IMAX blow-ups. Nolan is a real film purist.

That would explain why The Prestige was released 35mm only. The 35mm 'scope prints did look really good. Anamorphic photographed 35mm can be directly duped and contact printed, unlike Super35 which normally takes a trip through an optical enlargement step to be converted to 4-perf 35mm 'scope.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Vincent Pereira

Nolan is a real film purist.

Except when it comes to Blu-ray transfers, apparently.

[Vincent Pereira]

Originally Posted by Vincent Pereira

Nolan is a real film purist.

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Except when it comes to Blu-ray transfers, apparently.

Well, Blu-ray isn't film, so I don't see how any issues one might have with Blu-ray versions of Mr. Nolan's films would have to do with the 35mm film prints and Mr. Nolan's purist approach to the creation of those film prints.

Vincent

[Vincent Pereira]

Originally Posted by heyheyhey

LOL, VFX heavy film & he's wheeling out the "film purist" speel. Who is he trying to fool?

Who is who "trying to fool", Mr. New Member?

I don't see how a movie being "VFX heavy" has anything to do with the filmmaker being a "film purist" or not. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is an "VFX heavy film" and guess what? Mr. Kubrick was a "film purist" to the most extreme extent- or would you argue otherwise?

What are you trying to say here exactly?

Vincent

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by Grubert

I must say I haven't had the time to do anything more than spot-check it. I'll keep you posted.

Okay, I watched the first episode last night and indeed, the surrounds are used rather nicely for the music. You notice it straight away from the title sequence, or during the ball in Meryton. All dialogue, foley etc is restricted to the front speakers. On the other hand my DVD is stereo.

[bbeck]

That is very heartening news. Thank you for checking!

I think I'm going to go with my gut and order the BBC release from Amazon UK. I like the cover art better, and it's a few bucks cheaper than the U.S. release (even after currency conversion).

I'm going to assume at this point that the surround mix (though lossy) on the BBC release is the intended one, but it remains an open question for anyone to chime in on if they're able. Thanks again!

[Grubert]

You're welcome.

Note that the UK edition misses out on a couple extras that the US edition includes (An Impromptu Walkabout with Adrian Lukis and Lucy Briers; and Pride and Prejudice: A Turning Point for Period Drama).

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Vincent Pereira

Well, Blu-ray isn't film, so I don't see how any issues one might have with Blu-ray versions of Mr. Nolan's films would have to do with the 35mm film prints and Mr. Nolan's purist approach to the creation of those film prints.

I wasn't referring to the creation of prints with that comment; I was referring to the creation of Blu-ray discs. My point was that it's difficult to reconcile a claim of "film purist" (as far as it relates to video post-processing) with a BD product made from a DMR-processed source which could very easily have been made from a not DMR-processed source, instead.

[Uxi]

Purist or not, I love Nolan's work and his execution is top notch. TDK is one of my favorite BD's.

[micks_address]

i watched TDK again the other night which the volume muted (dont ask) and its an amazing looking film... the only wavering i spotted was the IMAX shot before they go to hong gong, the overhead shot of the boat.. i dont know the term but the background seems 'noisey' also there was a little edging during the commisoner's funeral cermony.. but apart from that... it was pretty much spot on.. i wasnt looking for problems.. just kept amazing me how it looked.. i really wished there was an IMAX screen in dublin as i would have loved to have seen the film in a theatre that way!

i still am amazed everytime i see the opening shot of the movie of the buildings with all the glass windows.... its just so rock solid on my screen...

Originally Posted by Uxi

Purist or not, I love Nolan's work and his execution is top notch. TDK is one of my favorite BD's.

[Grubert]

The Washington Times has an interesting article regarding the hot topic of film grain with arguments pro and con:

BEYOND: Films' future is grainy

The high-definition era has seen some surprising quandaries. One of the most interesting, and a topic of some debate among movie bloggers, is what to do with film grain.

Film grain is the visible texture of film that remains after it has been processed; as film stock has evolved over the years, those natural imperfections have become less obtrusive. But with older films, the blemishes are far more pronounced. As resolutions on HDTVs continue to improve and grain in older movies becomes more visible, the question of what to do with it gets tricky.

"The first picture that really kind of kicked up debate was 'Sunset Boulevard,'" says Glenn Kenny, a film writer and proprietor of the movie blog Some Came Running. "It was sort of given a look like it was polished to a very, very high sheen that many purists — or, as I like to call them, originalists — felt was really not representative of the way the film looked."

That shinier look, however, was championed by others, including Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells. "His argument, more often than not, is that grain is not really an integral part of a film's picture," Mr. Kenny explains. "It was a necessary evil that filmmakers put up with, and if filmmakers could come back and have their films restored without grain, they'd do it in a minute.

Adds Mr. Kenny: "The debates get very lively. If you go over to Wells' site, he gets very agitated over the Criterion Blu-ray of 'The Third Man,' and he coined the very clever phrase 'grainstorm.'"

After seeing the cover for Criterion's new Blu-ray edition of "The Wages of Fear," Mr. Wells wrote that "grain has been sentimentalized out of all proportion by the monks. And Criterion, to go by its 'Third Man' Blu-ray disc, is one of the monk institutions that worships grain as something that bestows authenticity upon classic film restorations."

The Criterion Collection — a DVD distributor dedicated to classic and seldom-seen movies — certainly respects the role that grain plays in a film's overall look. "When grain was there, we didn't really remove it because it was part of the original film," says Lee Kline, Criterion's technical director. He means that literally: Grain resides within the film itself, and removing it electronically can soften the picture's resolution.

Mr. Kline points to the recent Warner Bros. Blu-ray release of "Being There" as an example of a film that has been so scrubbed of grain that something got lost. "They had reduced the grain so much it's just lifeless," he says. "They tried to do some electronic noise reduction on the grain, which actually starts to calm things down. … You can do that, but you can't push it too far, or else you start to get a static image."

For his part, Mr. Kline says the vast majority of filmmakers with whom he has dealt have had no problem with maintaining a film's natural graininess, and most have praised the filmic look of Criterion's new Blu-ray collection. However, he also recognizes that this isn't a debate likely to subside soon.

"As long as we keep talking about it and having this open discussion about it, people become more attuned to why it's there," Mr. Kline says.

— Sonny Bunch

Gotta love having Criterion written off as a "Monk institution." And it's interesting to see Criterion's technical director go on record regarding grain reduction on a title from another studio such as Being There (which blu-ray.com's review also commented on).

[Eternal_Sunshine]

Grain or no grain – I just want Sunset Blvd. on Blu-ray ASAP!

(or any/every other Billy Wilder classic...)

[Doctorossi]

Thanks, Grubert!

[Living Near Shamu]

Originally Posted by micks_address

i watched TDK again the other night which the volume muted (dont ask) and its an amazing looking film... the only wavering i spotted was the IMAX shot before they go to hong gong, the overhead shot of the boat.. i dont know the term but the background seems 'noisey' also there was a little edging during the commisoner's funeral cermony.. but apart from that... it was pretty much spot on.. i wasnt looking for problems.. just kept amazing me how it looked.. i really wished there was an IMAX screen in dublin as i would have loved to have seen the film in a theatre that way!

i still am amazed everytime i see the opening shot of the movie of the buildings with all the glass windows.... its just so rock solid on my screen...

Many people hated the switching between the IMAX and the widescreen shots but I found it refreshing. I liked the way it looked. And I did go to the IMAX to see it when it came out. Those shots look even better on a 21-story screen

[cjamescook]

Penton-

What's the possibility of Warner opening up their "DVD on demand" store to include (a) offerings from others and (b) Blu-ray discs?

I ask because of two reasons. First is my earlier post 8551 which referred to a couple guys looking for a distributor.

The second reason is that there are other catalogs that might avail themselves of this service. Jeff Sotzing at JohnnyCarson.com would be an ideal candidate. They have a huge catalog of Tonight Show archives. If they released SD video on Blu-ray, they would solve the pirating problem. Using disc-on-demand makes it possible to market low volume titles. Using Warner's new store avoids the need to pay to set up their own organization and hardware.

Thoughts?

-Jim

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Grubert

The Washington Times has an interesting article regarding the hot topic of film grain with arguments pro and con:

BEYOND: Films' future is grainy

Gotta love having Criterion written off as a "Monk institution." And it's interesting to see Criterion's technical director go on record regarding grain reduction on a title from another studio such as Being There (which blu-ray.com's review also commented on).

Our reviewer, Kenneth, got it right with that title as well as this one in regards to his evaluation of the quality of the video………..
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movie...38&show=review

I noticed a new term being bandied about at a NAB presentation this week……….namely, “texture control”.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/business...123595238.html

I must say that I think Lowry Digital did an excellent job with the grain/noise management and sharpening on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button balancing the disparate capture elements of the Viper FilmStream (esp. on the low end where David F. seems to love to work) with the 35mm capture as well as the F23 contribution.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Uxi

Purist or not, I love Nolan's work and his execution is top notch. TDK is one of my favorite BD's.

He starts shooting Inception this summer.