Cronos 4K UHD (1993) (Criterion Collection)

[hanshotfirst1138]

Can Criterion release DB and PL in 4K, or have their rights lapsed?

[drush9999]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Can Criterion release DB and PL in 4K, or have their rights lapsed?

Weirdly I was just thinking what might happen with Devil's Backbone. I just bought the vanilla Pan's Labyrinth on 4K, so if that magically makes it happen, you're welcome.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by hanshotfirst1138

Can Criterion release DB and PL in 4K, or have their rights lapsed?

Originally Posted by drush9999

Weirdly I was just thinking what might happen with Devil's Backbone. I just bought the vanilla Pan's Labyrinth on 4K, so if that magically makes it happen, you're welcome.

Devil's Backbone was already released on 4K as part of the Sony Pictures Classics set:



It's possible that Criterion may still do a release of their own later on though, but it may not be a priority with that release existing. They've done a couple 4K titles that were previously locked to a Sony box set, like The Last Picture Show and Punch Drunk Love.

[biggquis]

Anyone who owns the blu planning on upgrading to the UHD?

[Dingus1539]

I’ve had the Criterion Blu-ray forever, big fan of it. I think it looks fantastic. I was excited to hear he was bringing it to 4K, but I am not interested in any new color timing. I’ll be sticking with the Blu. I am really looking forward to the Blade II in 4K and a new Mimic, both of which I only own on DVD. So it’s a no-brainer either way.

[skads_187]

So Blu Ray is the way to go on this release?

[JohnCarpenterFan]

Went into this one with an open mind and was nothing but completely disappointed with the presentation. I mentioned over in the BFI thread about the framing discrepancies after seeing direct comparisons between both the new and old master. I thought the UHD looked much more consistent but after seeing this in motion, I think that the tighter framing on the Blu-ray is absolutely more preferable (despite it having a couple questionable moments itself).

I was so distracted throughout the UHD presentation because of the framing. Some shots seemed fine but it looked far too "zoomed out" for a significant chunk of the film. Not only that but inharmonious elements would constantly creep into the left side of the frame which threw off so many compositions. A vignetting effect would also appear here and there as seen in this site's screenshot:



The colors looked desaturated for the most part and the whole image looked flat and didn't resemble any sort of photochemical grade. It may not have had the signature greenish yellow tint of Ritrovata's masters from a few years ago, but it sure as hell has unconvincing black levels and an unfilmic roll-off of both highlights and shadows.

Putting in the Blu-ray afterwards, I was kind of shocked to see how much more appealing the grade on that looked despite it being an old master at this point. Sure, the detail/sharpness isn't as good as the UHD but it actually looks closer to something finished on film. I spot checked a few shots that I found incredibly distracting on the UHD and they looked absolutely fine on the Blu-ray. The funny thing about the color is that the Criterion booklet comes with in-depth notes written by GDT in 1991 where it talks about the light and color which bascically describes the look of the older Blu-ray grade as opposed to the new one done for the UHD.

In the 'Director's Notes' it states that the past should be sepia although there's not much difference between the past and present on the UHD. The scenes with the Grises are supposed to have earthy colors "filtering towards an almost golden light" veering "toward cold light for when the only source is the moon" which is respected on the Blu-ray and not the UHD. Scenes with the De la Guardias are distinct and cold on both the Blu-ray and UHD however (as described in the same notes).

This has got to be one of the most disappointing UHDs in my collection and one that I won't be revisiting anytime soon. Whenever I want to watch the film in the future, I'll definitely be sticking with the Blu-ray. If I didn't know better, I'd have assumed that this was simply an unfinished master which required more grading work and finalized framing. I can't recommend this to anyone who already owns the old Blu-ray as the increase in detail and better-resolved grain on the UHD is not worth sacrificing better framing and a better grade IMO.

Edit: I forgot to mention that during the scene where Gris is first grabbed by the scarab-like device, you can now see an obvious string connected to it which is not visible on the old Blu-ray's framing.

[JohnCarpenterFan]

Originally Posted by skads_187

So Blu Ray is the way to go on this release?

I'd say so.

[BorisKarloffice]

I'm good with my Trilogia set I think.

[Snowekim]

Originally Posted by JohnCarpenterFan

Went into this one with an open mind and was nothing but completely disappointed with the presentation. I mentioned over in the BFI thread about the framing discrepancies after seeing direct comparisons between both the new and old master. I thought the UHD looked much more consistent but after seeing this in motion, I think that the tighter framing on the Blu-ray is absolutely more preferable (despite it having a couple questionable moments itself).

I was so distracted throughout the UHD presentation because of the framing. Some shots seemed fine but it looked far too "zoomed out" for a significant chunk of the film. Not only that but inharmonious elements would constantly creep into the left side of the frame which threw off so many compositions. A vignetting effect would also appear here and there as seen in this site's screenshot:



The colors looked desaturated for the most part and the whole image looked flat and didn't resemble any sort of photochemical grade. It may not have had the signature greenish yellow tint of Ritrovata's masters from a few years ago, but it sure as hell has unconvincing black levels and an unfilmic roll-off of both highlights and shadows.

Putting in the Blu-ray afterwards, I was kind of shocked to see how much more appealing the grade on that looked despite it being an old master at this point. Sure, the detail/sharpness isn't as good as the UHD but it actually looks closer to something finished on film. I spot checked a few shots that I found incredibly distracting on the UHD and they looked absolutely fine on the Blu-ray. The funny thing about the color is that the Criterion booklet comes with in-depth notes written by GDT in 1991 where it talks about the light and color which bascically describes the look of the older Blu-ray grade as opposed to the new one done for the UHD.

In the 'Director's Notes' it states that the past should be sepia although there's not much difference between the past and present on the UHD. The scenes with the Grises are supposed to have earthy colors "filtering towards an almost golden light" veering "toward cold light for when the only source is the moon" which is respected on the Blu-ray and not the UHD. Scenes with the De la Guardias are distinct and cold on both the Blu-ray and UHD however (as described in the same notes).

This has got to be one of the most disappointing UHDs in my collection and one that I won't be revisiting anytime soon. Whenever I want to watch the film in the future, I'll definitely be sticking with the Blu-ray. If I didn't know better, I'd have assumed that this was simply an unfinished master which required more grading work and finalized framing. I can't recommend this to anyone who already owns the old Blu-ray as the increase in detail and better-resolved grain on the UHD is not worth sacrificing better framing and a better grade IMO.

Edit: I forgot to mention that during the scene where Gris is first grabbed by the scarab-like device, you can now see an obvious string connected to it which is not visible on the old Blu-ray's framing.

Does the 4k release includes the old master for the regular bluray? Or the Bluray has the same colors as the 4k bluray?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Snowekim

Does the 4k release includes the old master for the regular bluray? Or the Bluray has the same colors as the 4k bluray?

It does have the old master.

[ukulelemonster]

Originally Posted by ukulelemonster

Does anyone know yet if SDH has been added to the english sections of the film? The previous edition only has english subtitles during spanish dialogue.

Now that the 4K disc is out, is there anyone who is able to confirm if this release has an actual SDH option or just is it just english subtitles for spanish dialogue?

[nothingtogein]

Was just gonna bite on this 4K upgrade due to a 30% off Amazon coupon...glad I read everyone's feedback in this thread! Definitely just sticking with my blu instead.