The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by arou54

But then, what does it say about Olmi's supervised color timing ? That he's gone senile ? That he supervised something but that isn't what's on Criterion disc ?

Arrow regraded stuff before, but I don't think they ever did so with something that was so much advertised as having someone like Olmi supervising the original timing.

They re-graded some gialli but the original timings were solely on Bologna. They also regraded Deep Red, but the consulting was from Tovoli (who didn't photographed the movie to begin with) and the grading wasn't as deep as on Wooden Clogs.

So this one certainly is interesting, because in some ways, it throws away Olmi's input, or implies that what he did and what ended up on the disc are 2 very different things.

I think you are putting WAY too much stock in transfers that are "approved." All kinds of ridiculous transfers are approved by DPs/Directors. Sometimes two separate transfers that look radically different are approved by them in the same year (The Thing is a very recent, high-profile example). Sometimes it's readily evident that the DP/director either didn't watch it, or didn't remember anything (David Cronenberg is a great example, with his approval of the censored Shivers). Sometimes, they approve something incredibly revisionist, whether on purpose (Thief, Arrow's extremely infamous previous Bird with the Crystal Plumage) or out of not noticing (Scanners, probably), who knows. Suspiria is another infamous example, with the first transfer being a hideous mess with clipping everywhere yet bearing the same stamp of approval as the upcoming version. It's a good stamp to have on a transfer, of course, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything.

[malakaheso]

I find it hard to believe that the darker transfer of Trees is accurate.

The Arrow ones looks far superior.

[arou54]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

I think you are putting WAY too much stock in transfers that are "approved."

It's only this, but a more contextual take on the result.
It's not only approved by Olmi, but supervised by.
I believe Lee Kline is also stated as colorist, and he's very good at it.
Also, it's a Film Foundation restoration, and so far, I don't think we can say the restorations they commissionned are particularly revisionist.

Like thinredline, I also don't understand to which color grading the "Ermanno Olmi's active participation resulted in a new color grading" line refers too. Are they saying the new color grading is the Criterion one ? Or is it the Arrow one ?


When you look at the talent involved and the end result, it seems like a much bigger mess than it should be, hence my remarks.

But yeah, I know how some people can approve various very different and debatable things.

[nissling]

Never seen this film before, but I do have a chance to watch it soon. Swedish 35mm print from 1979. Unless I'm short on spare time that specific day, I think I'll watch it and keep in mind how the Criterion and Arrow look like in order to see if the screened copy looks like any of them.

Either way it seems like an interesting flick so it's certainly something I wouldn't want to miss out on.

[nissling]

So I finally saw it today and the answer is very clear. It looked very much like the Arrow Blu-Ray. Not saying that it's a reference by any mean or that it looked the same everywhere back in the 70s but it at least tells us something.

One thing that I hated was that the projectionist matted it to 1.85:1 during screening and tilted the image upwards (to make subtitles visible), so the top was always cropped. Very distracting to say the least. Will send them an e-mail and let them know about the issue for future screenings.

As for the film itself... It is well-made and ambitious to say the least, but as the credits roll I am left feeling very untouched. Feels like a film I should like but I just cannot get anything out of it.

[mikesncc1701]

I actually got around to watching this yesterday. Bought and Teorama during the last B&N sale. What...a...film. I obviously can't say I truly understand the conditions in which these people loved but the entire film feels completely authentic. As if there were documentaries being made at the same time these people endured. Very heart felt and genuine. I was quite caught off guard with the animal killings but hey, that's how people, then and now still live. The cinematography is comparable to anything Malick would throw out and the score was mesmerizing. It reminded very much of Tarkovsky's Solaris and I was pretty disappointed upon research that there isn't a currently available, physical version to buy. In any case, this certainly one of the best blind buys I've ever made. Not something I'll revisit often, but something I'm glad to have on the shelf.