The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) 4K UHD

[professorwho]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfxhcCDE83M

[CelestialAgent]

Originally Posted by Dragun

Extras (translated from the Amazon.de link)

-Critical analysis by Prof. W. Evens
-Interview with Jean Claude Carriere
-Scene analysis by film critic Charles Tesson
-Interview with Charles Tesson
-trailers

The Criterion Blu has some good features not included here, so it might be worth waiting to see if Criterion releases a UHD in the US, for those of us who don't own the Criterion Blu.

Seems to be same extras as Buñuel boxset but don’t see A Walk Amongst the Shadows featurette listed

[rolf2056]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

Id like to think Fidelity in Motion are handling the encode otherwise it could be a gamble. Fingers crossed

Looks more like a gamble:

The 4K restoration was produced by STUDIOCANAL in 2022 with the support of the CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée). Restoration work was carried out by the L’Image Retrouvée laboratory using elements stored in the French Film Archives. The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K on Arriscan and, for certain parts of the negative that were too badly damaged, an interpositive was used to optimise the reproduction of the film in its original quality. Scratches, physical deteriorations and dust have been erased frame by frame. The colour grading was done with reference to the original 35mm elements in order to respect the image as supervised by the film’s director of photography Edmond Richard. The soundtrack has been restored from the original mix to recreate a sound consistent with the period.

https://www.studiocanal.com/news/the...estored-in-4k/

[Kyle15]

Originally Posted by rolf2056

Looks more like a gamble:

The 4K restoration was produced by STUDIOCANAL in 2022 with the support of the CNC (Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée). Restoration work was carried out by the L’Image Retrouvée laboratory using elements stored in the French Film Archives. The original 35mm negative was scanned in 4K on Arriscan and, for certain parts of the negative that were too badly damaged, an interpositive was used to optimise the reproduction of the film in its original quality. Scratches, physical deteriorations and dust have been erased frame by frame. The colour grading was done with reference to the original 35mm elements in order to respect the image as supervised by the film’s director of photography Edmond Richard. The soundtrack has been restored from the original mix to recreate a sound consistent with the period.

https://www.studiocanal.com/news/the...estored-in-4k/

They don't say anything about disc authoring there and they don't usually in press releases. A chunk of the time they go uncredited too.

[Waldorf]

Originally Posted by rolf2056

The colour grading was done with reference to the original 35mm elements in order to respect the image as supervised by the film’s director of photography Edmond Richard.

These press releases are always worded in an almost deliberately confusing manner - Richard died in 2018 so if this is a 'new in 2022' restoration he obviously was not involved. He was part of the restorations done over 10 years ago, however. So does that mean they referenced something he approved back then or the entire source is actually from back then?

The single SC Blu of 'Discreet Charm' looks good as far as color to me. Nothing heavily tinted in any direction. Obviously, I will wait for caps and reviews before getting this in any case.

[cochon]

Originally Posted by Waldorf

These press releases are always worded in an almost deliberately confusing manner - Richard died in 2018 so if this is a 'new in 2022' restoration he obviously was not involved. He was part of the restorations done over 10 years ago, however. So does that mean they referenced something he approved back then or the entire source is actually from back then?

The single SC Blu of 'Discreet Charm' looks good as far as color to me. Nothing heavily tinted in any direction. Obviously, I will wait for caps and reviews before getting this in any case.

I want to think "the original elements" is that interpositive they refer to which might have been an early attempt to preserve the film and might have been supervised by him. But you are right, most of those comments are of limited value. I prefer to wait until many independent people have seen it or I can see myself some screen captures.
Unlike The Cercle Rouge, in this particular case what I saw on the trailer is good enough for me to place a preorder.

[Waldorf]

I watched the 'old' SC single edition Blu last night and apart from the opening credit sequence which has always been a murky mess, there is little I can fault with it. At this point I'm more curious how much more detail can be wrangled from a 4K/HDR version from a source not exactly known for stunning filmic beauty.

[Kyle15]

My copy just shipped from Amazon UK. Came to $36 total which wasn't bad. I'll be taking one for the team if this one's garbo. Will post impressions as soon as it shows up.

[waxHead]

Originally Posted by Kyle15

My copy just shipped from Amazon UK. Came to $36 total which wasn't bad. I'll be taking one for the team if this one's garbo. Will post impressions as soon as it shows up.

Please do! Never seen any of Buñuel's films, I'm sure I'd enjoy this one based what I've read. I'll pick it up as long as it's not a botched SC release.

[Waldorf]

Originally Posted by Kyle15

My copy just shipped from Amazon UK. Came to $36 total which wasn't bad. I'll be taking one for the team if this one's garbo. Will post impressions as soon as it shows up.

Please do, I see it in stock at some US outlets now, too.

[KubrickKurasawa]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Mother****ers! I already own two copies of this from Studio Canal (original UK release and the Bunuel box) and the Criterion box!

[cirik]

UK edition came to me today.
BD-66, HDR10 only, avg. bitrate 53 Mb/s. So it doesn't look like it was encoded by FiM, but on the other hand I didn't noticed any serious issues with encode, unlike many other SC UHD titles.

Restoration is miles better than previous BD editions - much more film-like with nice grain and black levels instead of digital looking frozen mess with lifted blacks. If you saw Hitchcocks Family Plot on UHD vs BD then you should know what difference to expect in overall from this remaster.
HDR is quite subtle, you can even call it SDR in HDR container.

Despite being restored by Ritrovata, colors are IMO quite nice and much better than on old master, so rest assured if you can't stand teal or huge yellow tint, you won't find any of that stuff on UHD disc. On the other hand remastered Blu-ray has some yellow tint and blacks are not as dense as on UHD.
Unfortunately UHD sometimes has some obvious black crush and is too dark on a few scenes, and that's the only thing I have issue with. But there are also shots where shadow details are weaker on remastered BD, so overall I would call it a draw in that regard.

PLAYLIST REPORT:

Name:                   00010.MPLS
Length:                 1:41:50.000 (h:m:s.ms)
Size:                   46,850,381,376 bytes
Total Bitrate:          61.34 Mbps

VIDEO:

Codec                   Bitrate             Description     
-----                   -------             -----------     
MPEG-H HEVC Video       52997 kbps          2160p / 24 fps / 16:9 / Main 10 @ Level 5.1 @ High / 10 bits / HDR10 / BT.2020

AUDIO:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
DTS-HD Master Audio             French          1797 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz /  1797 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /  1509 kbps / 24-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             German          1557 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz /  1557 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /  1509 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio             English         1558 kbps       2.0 / 48 kHz /  1558 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz /  1509 kbps / 16-bit)

SUBTITLES:

Codec                           Language        Bitrate         Description     
-----                           --------        -------         -----------     
Presentation Graphics           French          33.551 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           German          33.345 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           English         28.660 kbps                     
Presentation Graphics           German          0.469 kbps                      
Presentation Graphics           English         0.460 kbps

[Kyle15]

SC's Howling encode is good so it looks like that stuck, if it were the same people.

I'm still waiting on mine as well. It's just one state over so I should have it by tomorrow or Monday at the latest.

[waxHead]

Originally Posted by cirik

Restoration is miles better than previous BD editions - much more film-like with nice grain and black levels instead of digital looking frozen mess with lifted blacks.

When the standard Drive 4K came back in stock at Orbit DVD yesterday I decided to grab this along with a few other recent releases. Glad to hear it's not one of the poorer SC 4Ks, thank you

[cirik]

Couple of screenshot comparisons between UK UHD and UK BD 2012, which is AFAIR using same master as Criterion.


https://slow.pics/c/zl9AaUUU

[waxHead]

Originally Posted by cirik

Couple of screenshot comparisons between UK UHD and UK BD 2012, which is AFAIR using same master as Criterion.


https://slow.pics/c/zl9AaUUU

Thanks for the comparison link, looks like a nice upgrade!

[tama]

Based on early accounts and the screen grabs it looks like his release isn't some massive regraded abomination but the colors are well within reason and look more accurate then that horrendous ancient master that was used by SC and Criterion.

Will be purchasing this upgrade.

[Kyle15]

Comparison 5 looks like a corrected day-for-night shot. Better framing too. Can't wait to actually see it on my TV!!

[Kyle15]

Just gave it a spin. Looks fantastic, better than those silly Youtube clips can barely convey. Actually looks like film this time! It's a gorgeous movie overall. Probably the first time it's ever looked so rightfully vibrant on home video. It is also thankfully not a teal or yellow mess for those biting their nails. And yes I was one of them! It sounds good too.

Fans and newcomers alike should eat this one up. Bunuel is excellent. Discreet Charm is a funny, charming, and even slightly creepy joyous watch.

[Waldorf]

Looks good based on those comparison photos. It's definitely HDR since all of the brightening needed to make legible images for SDR Blu is gone. Pic #5 is actually of an indoor set.