Dressed to Kill (1980)

[SkyAntoine]

I would actually prefer a 1st printing from Amazon and then get the 2nd printing disc from Mulvaney. It just feels more complete.

[mdonovan]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

If you're instead asking if it's an improvement over the MGM disc, all signs point to yes.

wow ... looks teal and stretched ... I almost always love criterion releases ... including scanners ... so I might try this one out.

[shaysaysHAHA]

So this doesn't have the interviews that were made for the Arrow release?

[Rottweiler30]

Well I'm confused. To me the Criterion looks green, and in the shower scene blown out, but the release is approved by De Palma so obviously the MGM and Arrow are inferior...

[scorsese1]

Just a heads up to anyone who ordered the criterion blu post recall announcement. I had ordered a copy direct from criterion back in august once i heard that they had delayed the release. I received it today, and the back of the case says first printing on it, and it does not have the sticker with the new barcode on the back. At first i was pissed but then i opened the case and the disc says second pressing on it. So i would advise anyone who received a copy with a first printing case and no new barcode to open it first and check the disc before trying to get a replacement, assuming you ordered once the release date was pushed back.

[filmo70]

Originally Posted by Rottweiler30

Well I'm confused. To me the Criterion looks green, and in the shower scene blown out, but the release is approved by De Palma so obviously the MGM and Arrow are inferior...

They are not inferior. If you like the natural look of the MGM or Arrow then get one of those. If you like the pale green get the Criterion.

[swr2777]

Friends, I'm awfully sorry for posting vitriol/anger here. But, after all that's gone on to get this disc released...I just brought my own copy home to peruse.

As a dedicated fan of this film, I am absolutely FURIOUS (!!) about an audio hiccup I've already noticed. Yes, despite noticeable greenish tint, this is otherwise the best the film has ever looked in my opinion. Great detail, and the oft-seen matter of blown-out whites is gone here.

But the inexcusably SLOPPY audio edit in the elevator murder scene is UNACCEPTABLE (!). This is a scene that defines the love that fans who would buy this disc (after multiple other releases) have for the film in the first place. Other than the museum sequence, the elevator slashing is by far one of the most studied and rightfully celebrated of any in the film, and one of the most meaningful for genre fans.

In a nutshell, after Nancy Allen's john says, "I got it from a very good source" and then we cut back to the lighted numbers in the elevator being spattered with blood, there's an extremely sloppy attempt to piecemeal audio from both the R and the unrated cuts. Basically, that bit there while Angie is being slashed starts off as the R-rated version, and then becomes the unrated version when Angie is backed against the wall of the elevator.

But it's especially noticeable here because the rhythm, cadence, and syncing of the music in the R-rated version and the unrated version are very different. So, when trying to splice them together sloppily like this - especially given the very noticeable looping of at least one bar of music from Donaggio's score...the end result is maddening.

I'll admit that I felt a little bad for the hate Criterion received after the flaws in the first printing were announced, however glaring and inexcusable that error was. But now this?? And in the definitive scene of the movie, and nobody with any expertise noticed this? Including DePalma himself?? GIVE ME A BREAK! This is so frustrating, and beyond unacceptable!!

[crazyman]

I'll take the Arrow/MGM colour scheme over the Criterion every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[swr2777]

Interestingly enough, I see that the clips from the film that are referenced during the Noah Baumbach interview with DePalma actually feature the squeezed footage from the originally botched first printing of the disc.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by crazyman

I'll take the Arrow/MGM colour scheme over the Criterion every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Based on back and forth cap comparisons on a PC monitor surely, which accentuates the color differences.

[surfinhank]

Could someone comment on whether the greenish tint affects the elevator scene? The one and only cap from that scene on DVDBeaver has Angie Dickinson's skin looking very green. The other scenes mentioned I could probably tolerate, but the elevator scene.....

[swr2777]

Originally Posted by surfinhank

Could someone comment on whether the greenish tint affects the elevator scene? The one and only cap from that scene on DVDBeaver has Angie Dickinson's skin looking very green. The other scenes mentioned I could probably tolerate, but the elevator scene.....

Personally, it didn't really bother me in the elevator scene. The screencaps do make it seem a little more glaring. However, when watching the scene in action, it didn't look all that green. It's an overall slightly different color temperature, and the blu-ish slickness of the scene and redder blood as seen in other prints is just shifted a tad. For example, the light that gleams from the razor blade and slick surfaces in the elevator is more white/neutral (than blu-ish as seen in other versions), and the blood is a little more orangey-red than red-red. But it's much more palatable when playing the scene in action than looking at those screencaps you mentioned (which really do look green, I'll agree).

Not to sound repetitive...but the problem I have with the elevator scene on the Criterion is the massive editing blunder that I noted in my post above. I had such high hopes for this, but that is unacceptable, especially given the problems this release has already had.

[Trax-3]

If you like the natural look of the MGM or Arrow

And how exactly is that magenta push any more "natural"?

Not that movies are supposed to look "natural" in the first place.

[swr2777]

Is it worth it at this point to contact Criterion about the botched edit in the elevator scene? I'm assuming they wouldn't be able to do anything at this point, though it still seems they should be notified.

[lilboyblu]

Originally Posted by swr2777

Is it worth it at this point to contact Criterion about the botched edit in the elevator scene? I'm assuming they wouldn't be able to do anything at this point, though it still seems they should be notified.

Has anybody else noticed it? You're the only one that's posted, so it'd probably be better to give others a little time to check their discs too so you'll have more than just your instance to go on.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

be careful with online Best Buy stock. it says all stores in the MN twin cities area has stock for today but I drove to a Best Buy and they can't pull up any stores that actually have the stock. TYPICAL though.

I would've called first to make sure, before I drove out to Best Buy. Online inventory isn't always accurate.

[swr2777]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

Has anybody else noticed it? You're the only one that's posted, so it'd probably be better to give others a little time to check their discs too so you'll have more than just your instance to go on.

Hi, lilboyblu. Totally understood, and thank you for responding.

Just to give a greater frame of reference, the error occurs specifically between 34:34 and 34:44 on the Criterion disc.

The sequence as it's intended to be is from 0:59 and 1:09 on this YouTube video.

Dressed to Kill (2/9) Movie CLIP - Murder on an Elevator (1980) HD - YouTube

Honestly, it may not be the end of the world for some, given that it's only 10 seconds of film. But for some like myself that are true DTK purists, it's just frustrating that this was 1. done in the first place and 2. not caught by someone else thereafter. Especially during such a pivotal scene that is so often studied by film scholars and referenced in association with DePalma's directorial skill.

But yes, we'll see how others weigh in on the topic, of course. Thanks again for responding.

[cakefactory]

Something like that seems like it would be very unlikely for him to be wrong about unless his disc like...has a tiny skip right in that scene or something. I would be VERY curious to hear a comparison of the audio on the earlier bluray (or Arrow) disc vs the Criterion in that scene. But not curious enough to buy it myself and check

I guess this is showing that the sort of people likely to notice this are still mostly just focusing on video bitrates, screenshots and the green level of the transfer than actually watching the movie.

[dsman71]

I love the second printing, everything is more or less back to normal although it seems like some scenes from version one release do appear in the interviews with the cast.. I noticed a couple of scenes in the supplemental interviews which seemed distorted but luckily not used when watching the film. At least I thought I did

[StingingVelvet]

Just watched this. It's definitely one of the least impressive 4k remasters I have seen, though I assume that is down to the source. It's soft and diffuse by design and there is a lot of iffy sections of the print, but it was surely the best source out there. I think the "green" complaint is very overstated, it's only really there in heavy fluorescent lighting sections and it's much more subtle on a warm calibrated TV than in caps. Overall it looks nice but not mind-blowing.

Movie holds up really well to VHS memories. So much great camerawork, De Palma is really the man when it comes to that. The score is brilliant. Happy I got the film, same as Blow Out and Obsession. Guess I'll get Body Double next, which I'm not even sure I have seen.

Nancy Allen looks amazing in her new interview, FYI. Watching it now.