Il Gattopardo di Luchino Visconti

[Fitzcarraldo]

A darker transfer / gamma variation is one thing, but crushed blacks, as evidenced in these screengrabs, are something else... Nonetheless, this release (even moreso the French) is clearly light years beyond the Criterion - rich and lifelike, displaying a level of detail that a standard 35mm negative of the period could never yield (and an improvement that is clearly visible on any 1080P display, regardless of size). This being the case, I find Criterion's reaction to this release, quoted on another forum, questionable at best (!):

"Our master is made from the original negative and from a Blu-ray perspective, we couldn’t ask for a more beautiful piece of film. The color correction was supervised by Giuseppe Rotunno, the cinematographer, and the result is spectacular. The Gucci-sponsored Film Foundation restoration shown at Cannes used our master as a color reference, but it had a different goal — to create newly restored film elements that could yield new theatrical prints and so on."

Firstly, I would seriously question whether the original 8-Perf 35mm Technirama negative was used for the Criterion/BFI release - indeed, whether it still exists at all. More likely, I suspect, that the lab in Rome initially mistook a 35mm or 70mm optical reduction interneg for the original, before the discovery of the 8-perf Technirama print that was used for the new restoration (this print would be one generation + one optical process up from any interneg, explaining the improved level of detail). Secondly, the suggestion that Criterion's compromised master is ideal for blu-ray release is frankly bizarre, especially coming from a company with Criterion's reputation (although Criterion defenders on the internet are already grasping at straws, citing slightly saturated reds in the restoration - the horror!)

On the other hand, I think there's a chance that the BFI might re-release this at some point down the line and it may be worth some inquiries if the Madman doesn't prove up to scratch. The restoration is also apparently screening on TCM, although given the heavily compressed nature of broadcast television this is sadly irrelevent to the discussion.

On the question of aspect ratio, there appears to be a tiny sliver of additional information at the top of the Criterion/BFI transfer, but not so much as to be significant (a contemporary theatrical presentation would have masked off far more information). Regarding the additional information at the sides of the restoration, I'd lean towards the idea that 2.2:1 is more authentic, however this ratio can be achieved on most displays and projectors using a slight zoom, therefore I don't consider it an issue either.