Blu Rays with Questionable Color Timing

[Lantz]

Originally Posted by Yojimbo68

So, in a way, he's just as much a revisionist as Lucas. He's also has played around with the audio on the Blu-ray release. The old Criterion Laserdisc has awesome audio. It was one of my "go to" demo discs. The Blu-ray audio pales in comparison.

It is revisionist. And it may particularly annoy fans of the film if the director wants to 'downgrade' the film in terms of quality so as to mimic films of old vintage. In a sense, remastering, polishing and touching up film to look better than before is, in a sense, revisionist, but more generally embraced by viewers. I guess it all boils down to what you have grown used to what a certain film looks like.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by nagysaudio

I doubt Friedkin had anything to do with the re-release.

He said he did. I remember reading it back when the Fox Signature Series release hit Best Buy shelves.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Tech-UK

The Matrix is pushed blue in the real world and pushed green when they are in the Matrix.

The real world sections still look blue to me.

This was not until the later DVD and subsequent HD DVD and BD releases. I had the original VHS and DVD release and there was a blue tint throughout the entire film with no green whatsoever. It wasn't until Reloaded and Revolutions were finished that the Wachowskis decided to put the green tint in the first film to match the two sequels.

[Danchez]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

This was not until the later DVD and subsequent HD DVD and BD releases. I had the original VHS and DVD release and there was a blue tint throughout the entire film with no green whatsoever. It wasn't until Reloaded and Revolutions were finished that the Wachowskis decided to put the green tint in the first film to match the two sequels.

And if you look at all of the original posters and artwork for The Matrix, the blue tint is there as well.

[Hypnosifl]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

This was not until the later DVD and subsequent HD DVD and BD releases. I had the original VHS and DVD release and there was a blue tint throughout the entire film with no green whatsoever. It wasn't until Reloaded and Revolutions were finished that the Wachowskis decided to put the green tint in the first film to match the two sequels.

Interesting, I didn't realize that...here's an image from an archived 1999 copy of the original Matrix website to show the difference:

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Danchez

And if you look at all of the original posters and artwork for The Matrix, the blue tint is there as well.

Yep, I have one of the original posters along with the 2 of the greens one from the sequels. I also have an OOP version of the Smiths from the Reloaded. If I get a dedicated home theater room all 4 are going up along with Band of Brothers poster. I had all of these done in metal frames.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Hypnosifl

Interesting, I didn't realize that...here's an image from an archived 1999 copy of the original Matrix website to show the difference:

[Show spoiler]

Yeah, in 2003 I read an interview somewhere about how the Wachowskis were making sure to have a green theme across all three films. From then on all of the releases of The Matrix had the green tint. Even the HD master (wrongly cropped to 1.78:1 mind you) used for TV broadcasts now has the green tint.

[Hypnosifl]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Unfortunately, the screenshots at AVS Forum where they were posted seem to be down, but the shot in question is @29:48 on the Blu-ray. You can still sort of make out that there's something overlaid onscreen, but the effect is certainly diminished. Here's a screenshot I made from the DVD where I can at least read some of the words:

[Show spoiler]

Thanks, I missed that one when I was fast-forwarding. It's true, on the blu ray you can only see a few words, and it would be easy to miss that the letters are there at all, so this must be significantly darker than originally intended. Like I said, I think the blu ray's color timing looks good (and the DVD looks too bright for my taste), but it does seem like Coppola made a significant tweak.

[Yojimbo68]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Yeah, in 2003 I read an interview somewhere about how the Wachowskis were making sure to have a green theme across all three films. From then on all of the releases of The Matrix had the green tint. Even the HD master (wrongly cropped to 1.78:1 mind you) used for TV broadcasts now has the green tint.

That's why I've held onto the original DVD, snapper case and all. I hate snapper cases. It's always a small victory when I upgrade a movie and can sell off the snapper case version. Alas, at some point, The Matrix DVD might be the only snapper case I have left!

[HyperRealist]

Bram Stoker's Dracula is on BBC America HD right now.

[Tech-UK]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

This was not until the later DVD and subsequent HD DVD and BD releases. I had the original VHS and DVD release and there was a blue tint throughout the entire film with no green whatsoever. It wasn't until Reloaded and Revolutions were finished that the Wachowskis decided to put the green tint in the first film to match the two sequels.

Oh, I apologies to Filmmaker. I didn't know that, but now knowing the first was all blue, I still think the blue, green shift does add to the film. I have always liked the green shift for the Matrix sections, giving it that surreal look.

What's your preference seeing both?

[nagysaudio]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

He said he did. I remember reading it back when the Fox Signature Series release hit Best Buy shelves.

That's proof that he didn't then. Right?

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by nagysaudio

That's proof that he didn't then. Right?

Here you go: http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/william...mmaking-today/

Here you will read where he initially preferred the original color timing of the initial BD release, but later decided that the re-release would have more accurate colors in relation to what was originally filmed.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by Tech-UK

Oh, I apologies to Filmmaker. I didn't know that, but now knowing the first was all blue, I still think the blue, green shift does add to the film. I have always liked the green shift for the Matrix sections, giving it that surreal look.

What's your preference seeing both?

Honestly, it's a split for me. I saw The Matrix theatrically three times in 1999/2000 and it was always on a massive screen instead of the smaller ones and I have to say I liked the cold blue tint of the Matrix scenes. After seeing the sequels theatrically a few years later I could see why the green tint was added. You have to remember that the Wachowskis didn't initially intend for the story to be longer than a single film. They didn't decide to make the sequels until the first film had broke all kinds of box office records.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

Here you go: http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/william...mmaking-today/

Here you will read where he initially preferred the original color timing of the initial BD release, but later decided that the re-release would have more accurate colors in relation to what was originally filmed.

Heh. Friedkin mistook the little note about firmware upgrades for some sort of admission from Fox that the old Blu-ray was ****ed. Not only that, he's absolved himself of all blame by saying that all he did was convert the film to video and didn't "make any massive changes", even though there's a featurette that shows him ruining the colour in front of our eyes using that weird method of defocussing the colour layer. Not just desaturating, but actually defocussing it.

What a world-class kook he is.

[tylergfoster]

My question about The Matrix is, do the release prints look brown? I was under the impression that the DVD was actually just way off, and the sequels and original had always matched, just not on home video.

Warner applies a T&O push to most of their catalog releases. Here's an example of Lethal Weapon I did awhile back.

http://twitpic.com/8n5b8h
http://twitpic.com/8n5bfo

[Todd Tomorrow]

The desaturated look of the 35th anniversary Blu-ray of Halloween.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by tylergfoster

My question about The Matrix is, do the release prints look brown? I was under the impression that the DVD was actually just way off, and the sequels and original had always matched, just not on home video.

Warner applies a T&O push to most of their catalog releases. Here's an example of Lethal Weapon I did awhile back.

http://twitpic.com/8n5b8h
http://twitpic.com/8n5bfo

You're not seriously suggesting that the green Matrix colour timing is how it looked in '99? Because it didn't. Sorry to get all Bruce Kimmel on yo' ass, but I clearly remember the colour which had a strong blue cast to the real world scenes and a dull, greeny-brown look to the Matrix scenes. The old DVD was a little low on the colour, desaturating both aspects of the presentation, so the real world scenes were a little less blue and the Matrix scenes looked even duller and browner.

But the revised colour is just that: a revision done after the fact to tie it in with the sequels. Lucas would've been proud. And it's not even T&O either so the blame can't be laid at Warners' door, instead it's greener than a mother ****er.

[TylerDurden389]

I have a screener of The Matrix and can confirm the color issue debate. No green in the color timing anywhere, but there is a lot of green in the clothes and sets. The Oracle's kitchen in particular.

[BladeRunner2007]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

The desaturated look of the 35th anniversary Blu-ray of Halloween.

I'd rather say the highly oversaturated look of previous editions.