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

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

One either one and one lost, or both tied!

Chelsea 1............Man U 1.

Arsenal wins out !

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by micks_address

Just like to say thanks to Penton for posting this link, i found the article fascinating and makes me really wish I was involved some way in film rather than a (slightly ) less exciting profession such as IT

i am going to order these films today as i just cant resist.. it sounds like the restoration was impeccable and big thank you to Robert for posting here and contributing to the forum and for the wonderful effort at restoring and preserving these films for us and future generations..

Mick

p.s. just ordered.. ah well here's to credit cards

I too am very grateful for Robert’s contribution(s) here.
This was PM’ed to me this a.m. from somebody else that frequents HTF where apparently this was first posted by “Vincent” several months ago.
I have taken the liberty to bold the sentences that I personally find to be the most moving.

Re: Godfather 4k

Hopefully Mr. Harris won't mind me posting this, but last night I was in an audience that also included Robert Harris, Allen Daviau, and Gordon Willis himself at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, NY, and the occasion was a surprise screening of a 35mm answer print of the newly-restored THE GODFATHER followed by a Q&A with the three gentlemen mentioned above, moderated by Janet Maslin. I became aware of the possibility of said screening while surfing around on-line and coming across the listing of "An evening with Gordon Willis part 1 and 2" at the Jacob Burns film center to be accompanied by a "surprise screening" of a different film each night. I couldn't help but guess that the screenings had to be the restored versions of the first two GODFATHER films, hence it being a surprise, and seeing as how Pleasantville is only about an hour and a half drive from me, I figured it was worth it to trek up there and check it out even if it turned out to be some other Gordon Willis film being screened with him in attendance and giving a Q&A.

When I saw a man who I recognized as being Robert Harris in the lobby, I knew my instincts were correct. As the screening was introduced, the audience was informed that we were about to see a very special print of a classic film that had undergone a full 4K digital restoration. The print in question was an answer print struck from the newly outputted restored negative, and some additional tweaks would still be done before arriving at the absolute final product. By this point I had no question what we were about to see, but the majority of the audience was still in the dark, as evidenced by the audible gasp and applause from the crowd as those familiar musical notes started playing over black.

So what did the restored print look like? Well, it looked like THE GODFATHER- that is, it looked as if back in 1972, the pristine and untouched original negative had been locked in a perfectly climate-controlled, hermetically sealed vault, and that vault was just opened and the still-pristine negative was used to strike a brand-spanking new print at the best film lab in the world. You'd never know there was ever anything wrong with the elements watching this print, but hearing of the condition of the negative during the Q&A all I can say is that the final result is a miracle. The texture and detail in the image is incredible- I literally felt like I was watching this great film for the first time ever.

That said, if some folks' issues with the current DVDs have to do with the aesthetic look of the film (i.e., "It's too dark! It's too grainy! The blacks are crushed!") as opposed to any condition issues regarding the elements, I don't know what they'll think of the restored print. It's the same stylized film, with Gordon Willis's super-deep, inky blacks and a palpable, textured grain structure alive and visible throughout. I can see the Blu-ray reviews already from certain circles- "Grain is apparent... shadow detail is wanting." This is not a film that looks like Discovery HD, it looks like THE GODFATHER and thankfully always will from here on out thanks to this heroic restoration.

On to the Q&A. Hopefully Robert will be able to chime in and give more details, but we were told that much of the negative had damaged or even completely missing sprocket holes, rendering it unprintable by any traditional means, and in some cases the sprocket damage extended into the frame area itself. Robert said that some shots were literally torn in half, with one half of the frame gone, and in some cases they actually had to go to the trims and replace shots (under strict guidelines from Francis Ford Coppola- that any replaced shots be indistinguishable from the original takes in the film under normal viewing conditions). That said, according to Daviau that actual images themselves between those torn sprocket holes were in good shape (I assume he was talking in regards to fading and such, not physical damage), it was just an issue of "harvesting" those images from such damaged original elements. We were told that one of Francis' main directives to Robert Harris and Allen Daviau was to "make Gordon Willis happy". Daviau's role on the project was as a translator of sorts for Gordon Willis's intentions, as Mr. Willis was unable to go to California to directly involve himself in the day-to-day operations of the restoration. Daviau was actually quite a trip to watch- he honestly seemed in awe of Mr. Willis. You could really see the love from one artist to another up on that stage.

As for Mr. Willis, this was actually his first viewing of the restoration, and he seemed extremely happy with the results, commenting that the color was "dead on". Even though I knew the answer due to things Francis Ford Coppola has said in interviews, I figured the audience might want to know so I asked Robert what changed things to make this restoration happen when he'd been talking about it needing to be done for so many years. "Steven Spielberg" was his answer, going to to explain that Steven insisted and Brad Grey at Paramount agreed that the film needed to be saved and thus the project was finally green-lit. Robert also said that it couldn't have been done a few years ago, "because we needed to do it 4K, 2K wasn't good enough to get all the information out of the negatives", and that he knew back in 1997 that the negative was for all intents and purposes at that point, "dead" due to the extensive damage after being shipped a print by Zoetrope to inspect. Robert also had very high praise for Steven Spielberg's long-time post-production supervisor, whose name escapes me at the moment* but apparently was an integral part of the restoration and in Robert's words (paraphrasing a bit) "truly understands film preservation".

As for any "issues" with the print, the only thing I noted was some slight color shifting at a couple of reel changes that occurred within scenes. I'm guessing the "final tweaks" for this "work in progress" as Allen Daviau called it probably have to do with smoothing over these slight bumps. All in all, last night was simply a magical evening, and I hope Paramount does the right thing and gives this some theatrical playdates. My only regret is that I was unable to attend "An evening with Gordon Willis part 2" which is happening tonight featuring a completely different "surprise screening". I think we can all guess what film that is, and I only wish I could be there basking in its restored glory right now.

Vincent

^
Good stuff.

[Bobby Henderson]

I'm not intending to change the subject, but it's obvious the current state of computer graphics technology (and computing horsepower) has done much to make the 4K-based restoration of The Godfather possible.

I'm wondering if there is a number of other great films currently deemed "dead" or "lost" that the newest suite of digital image manipulation tools (along with improved techniques in "analog" film clean up methods) may bring back from the grave.

Adobe Systems is going to do a big web-cast tomorrow morning to roll out "Creative Suite 4" (my bank account is already saying "ouch"). The thought of newly improved graphics tools had me wondering.

[micks_address]

The bolded piece hits the nail on the head for me - if a film looks like it supposed to then shouldnt it be regarded as first class? what bugs me is this constant talk of veneers of grain and such in blu-rays affecting video quality.. when in some intances it is as intended.. how do reviewers know which films should have grain and which shouldnt? unless they have watched the film recently in a cinema?

anyway to move on to a different film which i believe is close to your heart Penton.. Braveheart - its been shown in the Uk/Ireland on HD Sat broadcast and the general consensus is that the picture quality isnt a discernable upgrade from the SD DVD. Have you any word on what the picture quality of the Blu-Ray will look like? Paramount seem to be doing a pretty good job so far so hopefully it will be excellent.

Cheers,
Mick



We were told that one of Francis' main directives to Robert Harris and Allen Daviau was to "make Gordon Willis happy". Daviau's role on the project was as a translator of sorts for Gordon Willis's intentions, as Mr. Willis was unable to go to California to directly involve himself in the day-to-day operations of the restoration. Daviau was actually quite a trip to watch- he honestly seemed in awe of Mr. Willis. You could really see the love from one artist to another up on that stage.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

In fact, I’ll bet it is just killing a certain individual that posts online that Kill Bill is so enjoyable to home theater enthusiasts.

Each to their own... There are also people who say Blade Runner is boring but what can you do...

What is killing me is that I just heard that Sony has just delayed/cancelled Dr. Strangelove. Can you confirm that? If so, why was that?

[BluDomain]

Godfather Collection made today's USA Today newspaper. More
people will read this than AVS methinks.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...restored_N.htm

Edit: Also, sans mention of blu-ray. Still good background to peak interest.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movi...her/index.html

[Slec]

Originally Posted by BluDomain

Godfather Collection made today's USA Today newspaper. More
people will read this than AVS methinks.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/...restored_N.htm

Very True. That gets lost in many of these conversations about the janitors. I'd say its only a small percentage of people who know the terms EE, DNR, et. al. let alone understand them. Up until researching brought me to this forum, i'd never heard of them.
I think more people in the general public are like me. They won't claim to be in the know, they just enjoy movies. I for one, cannot wait for my copy of of the Godfather Collection to arrive tomorrow.

[badboi]

I posted this over in the player section, but wondering if anyone knows anything about this. I wouldn't have believed it until I saw the memo.

Not sure if this means anything or not, but I just got back from Blockbuster picking up a few releases and the manager and I were talking about Blu ray. They just changed their display areas again and have a bigger area. Anyhow, he said that Iron Man Blu ray discs that are supposed to be out next week won't be because their was a manufacturing problem. I asked him if he were sure and he showed me the memo. It said that due to a production problem the Iron Man Blu ray discs were released with defects and should be returned and not put out on display. It was there in black and white. Any insiders know anything about this?

Edit: Never mind. I see there's a thread about this already.
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...66#post1169266

[Mr. Cinema]

Wouldn't Iron Man have gotten pressed pretty early, especially being such a high profile title? And they just now say there's production issues? Don't they test the discs before going to the trouble of pressing/packaging thousands and thousands of discs?

[DenonCI]

Paramount has denied the rumors.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Paramount has denied the rumors.

Rumors?


Tower.com
"Iron Man (Blu-Ray) - Item has been recalled"
"Availability: This item is no longer for sale on Tower.com."

Paul

[Mr. Cinema]

Where have you read this?

also, Kocheese99 has posted this in the Iron Man thread:

Here's the UPC's:

Defective: UPC: 097361385747

New "Fixed": UPC: 097361385709

He's reliable.

[Alan Gordon]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Paramount has denied the rumors.

Don't tell Bill Hunt that (he's posted on the issue on The Digital Bits).

~Alan

[meckel]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

Paramount has denied the rumors.

not rumors... from Bill Hunt's site

The official word on the Iron Man BD is in from Paramount. The discs that will be available on street date at your local retailers WILL be fixed and working fine, so no worries. We're also told that because the discs will be corrected by street, there will be no need for any kind of exchange program. Just so you know.

Back later. Stay tuned...

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

Back to Penton

[DenonCI]

I meant about the delays...I'm sure the disc itself was fixed.

[meckel]

Originally Posted by DenonCI

I meant about the delays...I'm sure the disc itself was fixed.

Sorry, my bad

[Mystery Clock]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Here’s an online test to see how good you think you are at colors (brought to you by http://www.xrite.com/top_services.aspx)
Take it only if your job requires you to use your eyes all day long at work, and if so, start the test near the end of your typical work day and see how you compare to others.

http://www.spectralcolor.com/game/huetest_kiosk

4:45pm CT, end of a long tedious day:

Your score: 0
Gender: Male
Age range: 40-49
Best score for your gender and age range: 0
Highest score for your gender and age range: 1462



Thanks for the link. Now if only my wife would believe me...

-John

[coolmilo]

Hobbyist/student questions for Penton of Mr. Harris:

Are the newly restored Godfather movies stored on a computer or on master tapes?

What precautions have been taken to preserve the newly restored movies to help prevent the possibility of damage to the master tapes again (if stored on tape and not hard disk)?

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Mystery Clock

4:45pm CT, end of a long tedious day:

Your score: 0
Gender: Male
Age range: 40-49
Best score for your gender and age range: 0
Highest score for your gender and age range: 1462



Thanks for the link. Now if only my wife would believe me...

-John

The guy who scored 1462 must have been color blind!

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by coolmilo

Hobbyist/student questions for Penton of Mr. Harris:

Are the newly restored Godfather movies stored on a computer or on master tapes?

What precautions have been taken to preserve the newly restored movies to help prevent the possibility of damage to the master tapes again (if stored on tape and not hard disk)?

The new restorations are supported by redundant copies of data tapes as well as new sets of 35mm black & white separation masters, 4k derived printing negatives and newly created interpositives.