French Connection 1 & 2 Double Pack (3 Discs) (Blu-ray) uk

[Daredevil666]

I was treated along with others lucky guys to a world premiere of the new HD transfert of French connection yesterday, with Friedkin attending for a Q&A sessions.

The new transfert will undoubtly prove controversial. It's not the recent remaster, but a new one. I asked Friedkin and he said it's made from the negative. After the scan and the color correction, Friedkin duped a black & white electronic version out of the negative, in which he composited all the colors, resulting in a very cold, monochromatic look, that is totally unlike past transferts of the movie.

Gone are the orange fleshtones. The movie now looks totally realistic. The grain is intact. Friedkin says it's finally exactly as he saw it through the viewfinder when he filmed it, and that no original prints did reflect this. The movie looks colder and harsher than ever, whereas the past transfert on DVD made it look a bit like regular transferts from the early 2000, with stronger colors.

Can't wait to hold the disc in my hands. A new documentary will be included with tons of recent interviews including Gene Hackman. Friedking promises all his movies coming on Blu-Ray, which is a technology he loves. Next is the Exorcist, which according to him will have a similar treatment, only he will composite the colors from a blue version of the negative, apart from a couple of scenes like the beginning.