American Movie 4K UHD (1999) (Sony Pictures Classics)

[MifuneFan]

I watched this via Amazon Prime Video the other day for the first time. Very entertaining documentary.. I honestly thought it was scripted mockumentary initially, but the more I watched, it became obvious it was all too real. Mark Borchardt, and his friend Mike (who I learned sadly passed away in 2022 at just 56 years old) are quite the characters. The film doesn't exactly scream 4K, let alone Dolby Vision, so it's definitely a surprising choice now that I've seen it. Still, I am glad to see Sony taking chances, and putting titles like this out on 4K, even though I'm sure they don't expect it'll sell all that well. Hopefully Sony Pictures Classics does that with others in their catalog too going forward.

[Amiibro121]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The film doesn't exactly scream 4K, let alone Dolby Vision, so it's definitely a surprising choice now that I've seen it.

Yet sony won't put out monty python and the holy grail on 4k still. (Glad this film is getting a 4k tho)

[CoronetBlue]

Pardon my ignorance, but could someone explain to me how a movie shot on 16mm is going to benefit from a 4k release when the Blu-ray seemed to extract all the information inherent within it? The cynical side of me wonders if the reason COVEN was left off the Blu-ray is to maximize the potential double dip for this release. Great movie though.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by CoronetBlue

Pardon my ignorance, but could someone explain to me how a movie shot on 16mm is going to benefit from a 4k release when the Blu-ray seemed to extract all the information inherent within it? The cynical side of me wonders if the reason COVEN was left off the Blu-ray is to maximize the potential double dip for this release. Great movie though.

Isn't that the same case for Texas Chainsaw Massacre's 4K too? I believe it's considered to be an improvement over the BD release.

The movie is already available digitally on iTunes in 4K with DV I believe, if anyone wants to be a guinea pig and check it out.

https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/americ...0fvsw76ufw1zu3

Also on Vudu and Amazon in 4K, but not sure about DV:

https://www.vudu.com/content/browse/...an-Movie/15919

https://www.amazon.com/American-Movi.../dp/B000NMY7E0

[Dragun]

Originally Posted by CoronetBlue

Pardon my ignorance, but could someone explain to me how a movie shot on 16mm is going to benefit from a 4k release when the Blu-ray seemed to extract all the information inherent within it?

1. HDR/WCG
2. It should resolve the grain better than the Blu-Ray, especially with improved compression.

If the UHD and Blu are from the same master, it might not be a night and day difference, but if the Blu is from an old master, then the UHD will look better simply by virtue of being from a new master, if done properly.

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by Dragun

1. HDR/WCG
2. It should resolve the grain better than the Blu-Ray, especially with improved compression.

If the UHD and Blu are from the same master, it might not be a night and day difference, but if the Blu is from an old master, then the UHD will look better simply by virtue of being from a new master, if done properly.

It's should be the same master, it went up digitally in 4K around the time when the BD was released.

[DarknessBDJM]

Originally Posted by CoronetBlue

Pardon my ignorance, but could someone explain to me how a movie shot on 16mm is going to benefit from a 4k release when the Blu-ray seemed to extract all the information inherent within it? The cynical side of me wonders if the reason COVEN was left off the Blu-ray is to maximize the potential double dip for this release. Great movie though.

I have a handful of shot on 16mm films on UHD (including one that was not able to use the negative as the scan source), they all look better than their blu-ray versions including blu-rays that used 4K masters. If it was 8mm there likely would not be any need for a UHD, but 16mm benefits from the format from my observations.

As for the film I'm glad they are listing Coven as an extra again, I kept my dvd because the blu-ray didn't have it. It'd be nice if Coven was scanned and restored in hd as well.

[figrin_dan]

I just watched the old dvd for probably the second time since it came out. So enjoyable. It would be amazing to do a catchup with Mark and see where he is now.
My favourite line captures the film pretty well "That doesn't make any sense!"

[Tim n Tempe]

Originally Posted by figrin_dan

I just watched the old dvd for probably the second time since it came out. So enjoyable. It would be amazing to do a catchup with Mark and see where he is now.
My favourite line captures the film pretty well "That doesn't make any sense!"

I was heartbroken when I heard Mike Schank passed away a couple years ago.
There was an article about him wandering his neighborhood in Wisconsin, and waving or talking to anyone that cared. I still have my copy of FATE magazine where he wrote one of the letters about a magical deer he encountered.

[Telemachus]

Originally Posted by figrin_dan

I just watched the old dvd for probably the second time since it came out. So enjoyable. It would be amazing to do a catchup with Mark and see where he is now.
My favourite line captures the film pretty well "That doesn't make any sense!"

They should have put Mark's David Letterman apearances on the disc, I think I saw all of them. On the old imdb boards way, way back I saw an update on Mark that he got married and Mike was the best man at his wedding (or it was the other way around), I think that was like sometime before 2010, but they were still friends and Mark was still making movies around that time I think it was called Scare Me don't know if it came out. He did cameo in a ton of people's films in those days after he became a living meme.

[MifuneFan]

Pre-order is up at MovieZyng

https://www.moviezyng.com/american-m...t/043396638112

[MifuneFan]

Pre-order finally up at Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/American-Movi...%2C122&sr=1-88

[Geoff D]

And remember, dynamic range is not constrained by resolution

[Brian81]

I’ve got this in my Amazon cart but for someone like myself who has not seen this before, is it a doc that has replay value or is it something that is interesting but a likely one time watch?

[Hedrox]

Originally Posted by Brian81

I’ve got this in my Amazon cart but for someone like myself who has not seen this before, is it a doc that has replay value or is it something that is interesting but a likely one time watch?

This is the funniest and most rewatchable documentary I've ever seen. But it's also very earnest and inspiring. I remember discovering it through AVGN, which I imagine quite a few people did.

Top 30 Favorite Films Part 3 (10-1) Part 1 - YouTube

[jtarvainen]

Looking forward to hearing how Coven looks on this new release! The DVD transfer was pretty bad but hopefully this is a new scan of the original elements.

[shredking9000]

Looking forward to checking this one out--glad I passed on the blu-ray. I pre-ordered my copy from Amazon, who printed a USPS label but has yet to actually ship it. Now copies are available for next day Prime delivery. This will be the last time I pre-order anything from Amazon.

[jordanwalkert]

Originally Posted by jtarvainen

Looking forward to hearing how Coven looks on this new release! The DVD transfer was pretty bad but hopefully this is a new scan of the original elements.

Unfortunately it is not a new scan. I just checked and it’s the exact same crappy transfer as before, sorry!

[jtarvainen]

Ah, bummer.

[Telemachus]

I always assumed it was just a copy of the Coven VHS