Dressed to Kill (1980)

[StingingVelvet]

Even Scanners looks fine when you're not comparing it back and forth with brighter caps. There's a massive difference between watching these transfers and cap-clicking them.

[filmo70]

Originally Posted by montyb

Actually THE BROOD looks very good. For quiet awhile Hulu has been showing the Criterion print of THE BROOD and it looks great compared to my import blu rays. This title has been slated for a blu ray release for a long time. I do not see the coloring problems like in SCANNERS or Arrow's RABID (which I love the colors on the RABID blu ray!). I am looking forward to having THE BROOD in my collection (except for that ugly cover. Yuck!!).

Thanks for the info but I'll believe it when I see it on the actual disc. And yeah that is one of the worst covers I've ever seen.

[Phonecia Taylor]

The freeze frame comparisons between 1st and 2nd pressing are dramatic to say the least. The new one has less information and is cropped more severely. Yuck. I'll take the 1st pressing any day over the new one. Buyer beware!!! This is hogwash folks! Don't buy the new one because it's worse than the first one (which looks like it had nothing wrong with it). Each matching frame comparison (especially the one with Angie on the museum steps and the one of Caine standing in his office) have less information on one side and suffers from "anamorphic mumps" more than the first one. Ridiculous that they couldn't just transfer this film the same way they did the impeccable Blowout!

[Markgway]

Apart from the blown out whites the older transfer looks better.

I'm not saying it's "technically" better. Just that it "looks" better.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Actually, there is more visible detail, density is much better, and color balance is superior. It is very easy to see. And there is no such "green hue". Screencaptures #14, 18, and 19 very clearly demonstrate the wide range of color tonalities. The cold lighting is either in the subway or in the police station.

Old transfer
Blown out whites. See the lights.



New transfer



And so on.

Pro-B

The old transfer look better to me. The new transfer looks pale and faded.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by montyb

Actually THE BROOD looks very good. For quiet awhile Hulu has been showing the Criterion print of THE BROOD and it looks great compared to my import blu rays. This title has been slated for a blu ray release for a long time. I do not see the coloring problems like in SCANNERS or Arrow's RABID (which I love the colors on the RABID blu ray!). I am looking forward to having THE BROOD in my collection (except for that ugly cover. Yuck!!).

How it looks on Hulu may not be representative of the BD. Just look at the difference between the Hulu and BD versions of Scanners

Here's a comparison I did

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=1092

[Bluebolt]

Yeah, Criterion, by all means let’s dim the entire picture so the lights don’t look “blown out” like they probably would to the naked eye.

[Martin_31]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Actually, there is more visible detail, density is much better, and color balance is superior. It is very easy to see. And there is no such "green hue". Screencaptures #14, 18, and 19 very clearly demonstrate the wide range of color tonalities. The cold lighting is either in the subway or in the police station.

Old transfer
Blown out whites. See the lights.



New transfer



And so on.

Pro-B

Second one has the o cut off from the word off.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Phonecia Taylor

The freeze frame comparisons between 1st and 2nd pressing are dramatic to say the least. The new one has less information and is cropped more severely. Yuck. I'll take the 1st pressing any day over the new one. Buyer beware!!! This is hogwash folks! Don't buy the new one because it's worse than the first one (which looks like it had nothing wrong with it). Each matching frame comparison (especially the one with Angie on the museum steps and the one of Caine standing in his office) have less information on one side and suffers from "anamorphic mumps" more than the first one. Ridiculous that they couldn't just transfer this film the same way they did the impeccable Blowout!

You do realise the first pressing was incorrectly formatted, right? It showed information that the viewer was not intended to see (the area reserved for the soundtrack on the left) which has now been corrected. Anamorphic distortion is what it is, the first pressing didn't "suffer" from it because it's been stretched out in a quite unnatural manner owing to the improper formatting.

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

[Show spoiler]Old transfer
Blown out whites. See the lights.



New transfer

As for the 'green hue', in the shot that Svet showed in the quoted post those overhead lights are probably fluorescents which will read as a strong green on uncorrected film. They've been timed out more aggressively in the old transfer, whereas it seems to be the 'in' thing with new transfers to leave a bit more of that green in the shot.

[42041]

Originally Posted by Bluebolt

Yeah, Criterion, by all means let’s dim the entire picture so the lights don’t look “blown out” like they probably would to the naked eye.

Give yourself some credit: the naked eye has far more dynamic range than any piece of film Film doesn't hard-clip highlights anyway, so the smoother clipping looks more filmic to me.

[No Name]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

Second one has the o cut off from the word off.

It appears that the left side of the picture has been cropped a bit while the right side shows more information on the second picture. But other than that, it looks fine to me.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by montyb

Actually THE BROOD looks very good. For quiet awhile Hulu has been showing the Criterion print of THE BROOD and it looks great compared to my import blu rays. This title has been slated for a blu ray release for a long time. I do not see the coloring problems like in SCANNERS or Arrow's RABID (which I love the colors on the RABID blu ray!). I am looking forward to having THE BROOD in my collection (except for that ugly cover. Yuck!!).

What problems do you have with the imported Blu-ray of The Brood ? I have the UK release and it looks pretty good to me.

[Rockercub]

Originally Posted by Phonecia Taylor

The freeze frame comparisons between 1st and 2nd pressing are dramatic to say the least. The new one has less information and is cropped more severely. Yuck. I'll take the 1st pressing any day over the new one. Buyer beware!!! This is hogwash folks! Don't buy the new one because it's worse than the first one (which looks like it had nothing wrong with it). Each matching frame comparison (especially the one with Angie on the museum steps and the one of Caine standing in his office) have less information on one side and suffers from "anamorphic mumps" more than the first one. Ridiculous that they couldn't just transfer this film the same way they did the impeccable Blowout!

Bye, Phonecia!

[Rockercub]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

As for the 'green hue', in the shot that Svet showed in the quoted post those overhead lights are probably fluorescents which will read as a strong green on uncorrected film. They've been timed out more aggressively in the old transfer, whereas it seems to be the 'in' thing with new transfers to leave a bit more of that green in the shot.

Exactly! You can see it in a couple of the other screenshots as well. You always have to look at the screenshots as a whole and not rely on just one or two. That being said, it does look slightly washed out overall to me. I'll definitely be picking it up, but only on sale. Maybe November. I'll probably grab The Brood as well (crossing my fingers on that one).

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

What problems do you have with the imported Blu-ray of The Brood ? I have the UK release and it looks pretty good to me.

I think it looks good too, but there's some talk of blown out areas due to contrast in the Wicked Vision thread:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=260065

[Brad1963]

I'm sold. Just used my Criterion $50 certificate and ordered Dressed to Kill and Blind Chance.

[JohnCarpenterFan]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

What problems do you have with the imported Blu-ray of The Brood ? I have the UK release and it looks pretty good to me.

The contrast is really bad in both dark and bright scenes. In outdoor scenes, the contrast is so harsh that stuff like clouds and tree branches aren't visible which could be seen on the DVD.

http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ess=#vergleich

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by JohnCarpenterFan

The contrast is really bad in both dark and bright scenes. In outdoor scenes, the contrast is so harsh that stuff like clouds and tree branches aren't visible which could be seen on the DVD.

http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ess=#vergleich

[Bluebolt]

Originally Posted by 42041

Give yourself some credit: the naked eye has far more dynamic range than any piece of film Film doesn't hard-clip highlights anyway, so the smoother clipping looks more filmic to me.

I understand that we reduce reality to represent it on film, and that we reduce film to put it on blu-ray. There are trade-offs involved in doing so, and Criterion, of late, trades away general picture brightness for high-level definition.

It has certainly come to give their releases a novel look, but I wonder about adjusting an entire motion picture so that light bulbs, fires, and even the sun look defined; some things glare, and should, at the naked eye. As a result, though, this approach really can make a blu-ray look more filmic (their Scanners release would be another example).

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by JohnCarpenterFan

The contrast is really bad in both dark and bright scenes. In outdoor scenes, the contrast is so harsh that stuff like clouds and tree branches aren't visible which could be seen on the DVD.

http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ess=#vergleich

To state that's it's "really bad" is a wild exaggeration by people who pour over and pick apart screen caps instead of watching the actual disc and who regard a few imperfections in an otherwise decent release completely ruinous. A few shots are affected here and there in what overall is a very dark film. And what is wrong with the dark scenes ? Look at them in comparison to the DVD where you often can't see any detail it's so dark. On the Blu you can finally see what is going on. I call that the Princess and the Pea approach, where one looks for flaws to ruin the enjoyment of most catalogue releases for oneself.

[albey000]

Originally Posted by JohnCarpenterLives

Dang it! I just got this from Arrow's sale!

Only get the Criterion for the extras - as the image quality is the worst of the three ( MGM / Arrow / Criterion )
Black levels are poor / color timing is way off compared to the other two and the image is too bright ( Have a look at DVDBEAVER - It compares all three )