Titanic 4K UHD (1997)

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by spanky87

I agree with your sentiments toward this release and people trying to shut down any criticism. I was just being sarcastic.

Ah, sorry. It's getting hard to tell in here, LOL. Apologies.

[GrouchoFan]

Titanic

[bradnoyes]

This all sounds about right. I'll pick this up at some point since my wife loves the movie and my son is obsessed with the RMS Titanic. Luckily I never expected it to be true to its source and I'll just enjoy it vicariously through them. I'm happy to wait for the (hopefully inevitable?) 4K release of A Night to Remember so I can have my definitive Titanic experience on UHD.

[aiman04]

I don't know if this has been posted yet, Bill Hunt updated his review with some info from Lightstorm.

Titanic was shot on 35 mm photochemical film (specifically Eastman EXR 50D 5245 and Kodak Vision 500T 5279) in Super 35 format by cinematographer Russell Carpenter (True Lies, Avatar: The Way of Water) using Arriflex 35 III, Panavision Panaflex Gold II, and Panavision Panaflex Platinum cameras, with Panavision Primo spherical lenses, and it was finished on film at the 2.39:1 aspect ratio for its initial theatrical release back in 1997 (which included 35 mm anamorphic release prints, as well as 70 mm blow-ups).

I’ve recently had the chance to speak with Lightstorm’s SVP of Production Services & Technology, Geoff Burdick, about the process involved in bringing this film to the 4K Ultra HD format, and have confirmed that the new Titanic UHD remaster is built upon the 2K digital intermediate work done in 2012 for the theatrical 3D release, which began with native 4K scans of original camera negative and the best available VFX footage (including interpositive material were available and useful). At the time however, Stereo-D could only work in 2K resolution. So the important thing to understand here is that work on this film has essentially been ongoing in the years since, with the overall goal always to bring the image up to the current ‘state of the art’ using the latest available mastering technology.

A new 4K digital intermediate has since been built using the original scan data. And VFX footage was never simply ‘uprezed’ or completely redone, but new details were often added (back in 2012) to enhance the shots at Cameron’s direction. An example is the scene where Cal looks out the window of his First Class private promenade deck—as originally filmed, the view outside was just a painted blue card. A little bit of detail, movement, and specularity has been added to the ocean’s surface. Another example involves the night sky as seen at the end of the film, when Rose is awaiting rescue—the stars above are now ‘correct’ for that date and time in history (thus fixing an infamous error pointed out previously by a popular online science communicator).

More recently, Lightstorm has worked with Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post to optimize the 4K image in a hands-on and closely-supervised process that involved remastering the film scene by scene, and shot by shot—sometimes working on different areas within the same frame—to ensure that every bit of detail in the negative is visible, while managing but never eliminating organic grain (which, it should be noted, was intended to be very fine given the film stocks used).

The specific techniques applied were different for each shot, but involve propriety deep-learning algorithms developed by Park Road. The point is, shot-by-shot throughout the film, the Lightstorm and Park Road teams have worked together to maximize the film’s 4K image quality to Cameron’s specific standards and preferences, which includes a new high dynamic range color grade that’s available on this disc in Dolby Vision format (with the usual HDR10 base layer). And the resulting image was directly approved by Cameron and producer Jon Landau.

[KMFDMvsEnya]

Originally Posted by jvonl

Funny, I always watch the movies and observe the movies and then I enjoy myself (and the movies). But yes, do bang on.

I have not mischaracterized how you watch movies in order to attempt to score some cheap points with strawman and reductio ad absurdum arguments.

Why does it bother you so much that some folks are perfectly capable of watching movies and also being observant of potential issues concurrently?

What causes such insecurities?

For one who often bangs on about how folks should just watch the movie, you seem to spend an awful lot of time on this forum haranguing multi-taskers instead of following your own advice and watch more movies rather than sniping in the forum.

Go forth and enjoy the movies and pay us no more attention.

[KMFDMvsEnya]

Originally Posted by GrouchoFan

Titanic

Your charming mustache is titanic in character.

[Ninoners]

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

*sigh*

Again...this is not about the release needing to be the reference of all reference discs.

This is about it being true to its source. And not plagued with DNR, Edge Enhancement, A.I. upscaling, etc.

Plenty of other releases manage it somehow.

"Plagued" is a bit dramatic. It's not true to its source, but it still looks good. I can't and won't say better, because we really don't have a true comparison to what "true to its source" Titanic would even look like on UHD.
Just because AI and DNR are used doesn't automatically make it bad.

[KMFDMvsEnya]

Originally Posted by Ninoners

"Plagued" is a bit dramatic. It's not true to its source, but it still looks good. I can't and won't say better, because we really don't have a true comparison to what "true to its source" Titanic would even look like on UHD.
Just because AI and DNR are used doesn't automatically make it bad.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=3440

35mm raw scan


4K UHD transfer

[Torgon]

Got my copy from Movies Unlimited today…slipless! Really? This does come with a slip, correct? If anyone wants to give theirs up, I may take it off your hands, lol.

[sfmarine]

Originally Posted by Torgon

Got my copy from Movies Unlimited today…slipless! Really? This does come with a slip, correct? If anyone wants to give theirs up, I may take it off your hands, lol.

Definitely should come with a slip. A few others reported not receiving a slip as well. Strange.

[jvonl]

Originally Posted by KMFDMvsEnya

Go forth and enjoy the movies and pay us no more attention.

But...but...it's so much fun to wind up the holier than thou folks (and so easy to do).

[dorian]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

Machine learning is a subset of AI, and while it's true that AI is in it's infancy, the bottom line for me with these tools is simply when the output is reviewed by humans, what happens?

All of the major creative tools for digital processing have been steadily incorporating AI and ML as options, refining them as we learn more in combination with increasingly more powerful silicon.

If there are present-day releases which haven't been subject to AI manipulation, I would have to believe they are the exception, not the rule.

People put a lot of stock into 'AI' when it's almost always a marketing gimmick. Especially now with the advent of LLMs. Anything even remotely computational is ascribed 'AI'. Are all algorithms AI?

The concept of noise reduction isn't new, even the more sophisticated attempts such as DNR have existed for a while. It's the concept itself that is flawed because the grain we see is the absence of information. Blurring the image locally or globally will not restore that information, no matter how you finesse the parameters.

ML focuses on regression and classification, so I really don't see how it can benefit noise reduction in a meaningful way until we get to the point of regenerating the frames completely using something like diffusion. Imagine the discourse on revisionism then.

[Ninoners]

Originally Posted by KMFDMvsEnya

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...postcount=3440

35mm raw scan


4K UHD transfer

Those both look fantastic

[bmick23]

Originally Posted by KMFDMvsEnya

Dalemc's 35mm open matte stills and the 4K BR transfer.
-Some print flaws that were not addressed are visible in both sources.
Such as some scratches are visible on the wide shot of Titanic or some damage on Rose's lip during the drawing scene.

The new 4K transfer really brings out various cast members wig seams.

https://slow.pics/c/ctnJrVRD

Where did those open matte shots come from? They have been graded so they're not totally raw but I think they look better than the grade on the blu-ray, and they certainly look more organic to the film stock.

[heavyharmonies]

Guess I'magunna have to go out and buy this, even though I'm perfectly content with the 3D version, because at least based upon all of the screen caps posted, I don't see what all the screeching is about.

[Trekkie313]

Promo teases for the 3D Blu-Ray release.

[Filmmaker]

My life’s mission objective accomplished!

[KMFDMvsEnya]

Originally Posted by Ninoners

Those both look fantastic

You should follow the links.
It ain't all, mmm, roses.

[KMFDMvsEnya]

Originally Posted by bmick23

Where did those open matte shots come from? They have been graded so they're not totally raw but I think they look better than the grade on the blu-ray, and they certainly look more organic to the film stock.

DaleMC remembered that these were released when the 2012 remaster was announced.

Raw as in not DNRed.

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by KMFDMvsEnya

You should follow the links.
It ain't all, mmm, roses.

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

What we could have had.