The Cooler (101 Films) Black Label 006 - 2003 - William H. Macy, Maria Bello

[Fat Phil]

Holy hell. From a technical standpoint, this is a very poor release. I'm almost certain it runs at the wrong speed. The movie should be approximately 1:41 but the blu-ray clocks in at just under 1:38 which is practically identical to the running time of the old UK Tartan DVD which of course would have had the PAL speed-up. Oh, and just for giggles, 101 films have listed the running time on the cover as 138mins

The master even looks like the one used for that DVD back in 2004. Just manky all around - flat, sapped of any meaningful textural detail and with poor colours. There's also some minor print damage and slight telecine wobble but unlike those the other issues I mentioned, those two things weren't detrimental to my experience.

Comparing the blu-ray with the Tartan DVD - Even using what looks like the same master, the blu-ray obviously gets a bump from the new encode. That's not to say it's good, cause it's not, but it does away with the blockiness that plagued the DVD and some minor additional detail is allowed to resolve as a result. I've included a quick comparison so you can see what i'm talking about (photos, not screengrabs so don't read too much into colour/contrast etc).
http://www.screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/126671
See Bill Macy's crow's feet or the line of his lower lip for example.

Positives then - It's not a total waste of money because, IMO the new feature length making of doc (clocking in at nearly two hours) that 101 have gone to the trouble of producing is worth the asking price alone. Nearly everyone of note (including William H Macy, Baldwin, Kramer etc) have sat down to share their recollections. It's a testament to their fondness for the movie. The included booklet also looks nicely put together though I've yet to read it.

And the movie itself, oh baby, it still packs a real punch. Phenomenal performances all around (The "It's a boy!" scene remains a gut wrenching slice of cinema) and Wayne Kramer's always had a sensibility as a director that i've enjoyed. It was a real blast revisiting it again after all these years.

Don't get me wrong, this will be my go-to presentation of the movie until something better comes along. The included extras (both legacy and new) plus the fact that it offers a better presentation than my DVD means that it stays on my shelf but wait for a sale or even wait for a new release anywhere else in the world that utilises a new scan if you've got patience.

[Dickieduvet]

I'll grab it for £3.99 from HMV in their Easter sale

[malcy30]

Originally Posted by Dickieduvet

I'll grab it for £3.99 from HMV in their Easter sale

Unlikely given the news today. The stores will struggle to make January let alone Easter

[robw285]

This is a miserable 1080i 50hz transfer and seems to have a compatibility problem too it would only play on two out of my four players, hopefully 101 will do a replacement disc program as this is awful but the feature length documentary is good and is encoded at 1080p 24hz

[malcy30]

Originally Posted by robw285

This is a miserable 1080i 50hz transfer and seems to have a compatibility problem too it would only play on two out of my four players, hopefully 101 will do a replacement disc program as this is awful but the feature length documentary is good and is encoded at 1080p 24hz

They won’t do anything.

These are the guys who used the same dated 1080i50 master of F/X as Umbrella in Australia, after Kino had released a 1080p24 master in the US.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by robw285

This is a miserable 1080i 50hz transfer and seems to have a compatibility problem too it would only play on two out of my four players, hopefully 101 will do a replacement disc program as this is awful but the feature length documentary is good and is encoded at 1080p 24hz

It's baffling why they spent all their time, effort and money on the documentary and nothing on the film itself. It's a disgraceful slap in the face to the stars and crew who appeared in the documentary.

[justwannaboogie]

Watched this on Filmstruck (R.I.P.) a while back and loved it, shame this release isn't what it could have been but I'll no doubt grab it from HM... I mean Amazon at some point.

[Sky_Captain]

Originally Posted by malcy30

They won’t do anything.

These are the guys who are unable to author a proper menu.

Fixed.

[bluemax65]

As the director and co-writer of THE COOLER, I haven’t yet seen 101’s Blu Ray, but if DVDBeaver’s screen captures are anything to go by, I can assure you this is NOT how our film looks. We shot THE COOLER on Super 35mm, applying a bleach bypass process to the IP. James Whitaker was the cinematographer and he shot the hell out of the film. The theatrical prints are stunning with extreme highlights, strong blacks and solid colors. The film in no way looks like the screen captures that I’m seeing on DVD Beaver’s site. Not even the so-so version playing right now on HBO in HD (in the U.S.) looks this way. The film was chemically color timed and no digital intermediate was done. Digital intermediates were still in their infancy and I wasn’t happy with the DI test results from a few of the early providers (Technicolor, etc.). The HD master was done back in early 2003 – supervised by James Whitaker and myself. We were never thrilled with the results because our bleach bypass process was baked into the IP and not the negative. We used the neg for the HD master and tried to approximate the bleach bypass look as best we could. But since this wasn’t a DI suite, the approximated look had its limitations. That being said, the HD master was always acceptable looking with rich colors, deep blacks and a fair amount of contrast. It NEVER looked the way these image captures do. I commend 101 for going to great lengths to make a superb retrospective documentary on the film (which in of itself is probably worth taking a shot on the disc), but hearing that the transfer is likely substandard 1080i and 25fps is hugely troubling to me and clearly unacceptable. I’m discussing with 101’s Phillip Escott what our options are. As the filmmaker I simply cannot endorse this presentation if DVD Beaver’s screen captures are accurate – which is a huge shame since I collaborated closely with Phillip on the extras. Since I don’t have the 101 disc in hand yet, I can’t condemn the image and sound until I witness it for myself – but I’m not optimistic given the negative feedback on this board. If it's as bad as I'm reading here, I hope 101 does the right thing and recalls the disc. Lionsgate holds the U.S. distribution rights and, as far as I know, have shown no interest in a domestic Blu Ray release. If and when they do take an interest in the film, I'm hoping they spend the money to go back to the film's neg and allow us to do a new 4K transfer. I'll check back in here when I've personally viewed the disc. If you want to see what THE COOLER should look like, image quality wise and closer to the theatrical presentation, jump over to my Facebook page where I have posted some production stills: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=3&theater

Best - Wayne Kramer

[buck135]

Thank you Mr. Kramer. I love the film and hope Lionsgate gives it the 4K remaster it deserves.

[danny24]

It's quite an honor to hear from the films Director and co-writer in this thread. Thanks Wayne for your thoughts on the 101 Films Blu-ray and how the film should look with those production stills. I also hope Lionsgate gives it a 4K remaster and does a UHD. Unfortunately it seems the 101 Films Blu-ray is far from being perfect but better than the DVD at least.

[CBHampson]

Man, such disappointment. Love the film and desperately want it on Blu

[thechewdefense]

Came in the mail today. Believe it could be PAL speedup as the reason for the goofy audio. Runtime is about 98 minutes, per amazon US, the runtime is supposed to be 102 minutes. I can also confirm this is the unrated version.

[jacques1400]

Appears to be "B" locked, doesn't play on my "A" system.

[rip63]

Crikey, the DVD looks better than this...

[drb124]

This is one that I was very surprised to see when the release popped up. I have a copy on the way, but I hope 101 will do something about it since the director is involved, though I doubt it. This is one I wish Arrow could have gotten.

[BagheeraMcGee]

Originally Posted by drb124

This is one that I was very surprised to see when the release popped up. I have a copy on the way, but I hope 101 will do something about it since the director is involved, though I doubt it. This is one I wish Arrow could have gotten.

I just received mine in the mail, and I'm almost reluctant to watch it.

Going to the trouble of creating an all-new feature-length documentary (that's longer than the actual feature!) while completely neglecting the A/V presentation of the feature itself is puzzling to say the least.

It's like spending hours polishing up the exterior and interior of a car...but the transmission's still shot. Sure it'll fire up when you turn the key, but it's not going to go very far, so what's the point of going to all that trouble?

[danny24]

101 Films may have dropped the ball on this release, the films Director even posted in this thread expressing his displeasure. I don't have the disc in hand yet but at this point not expecting to be blown away by the video.

[buck135]

I just watched it. The video is bad and the audio is worse. The documentary is the only reason to buy this.

[johnpaul2]

Originally Posted by lemonski

It's baffling why they spent all their time, effort and money on the documentary and nothing on the film itself. It's a disgraceful slap in the face to the stars and crew who appeared in the documentary.

Because unfortunately, many customers don't have the same exigences than us when it comes to AV performances. Many are happy with anything that seems HD and will be happy to get a new documentary with the older extras included too.

The other issue lies with the restoration market itself. Wayne's answer clearly pinpoints why the current HD master is dated, but if no new restoration gets done, there won't be any other alternative to release the movie on video with the biggest technical flaws alleviated.

Hopefully, he'll manage to get Lionsgate to fund a new 4K restoration, but this will obviously take some time, leaving us in the meantime with the current 101 disc.


Finally, remember that Beaver caps are not 100% reliable, including about the colors. However, they don't turn a good disc into a bad one and rich colors into drab ones...