A Chinese Ghost Story Trilogy (Korean release)

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Looks like a 4K restoration is being released in theaters in China.

Very cool. The trailer quality isn't great but it's YouTube, and China seems to love low-bitrate video anyway. (This one maxes out at 720p to boot!) I'll reserve judgment for the inevitable day when Shout puts this film out in the US. I just hope that this transfer isn't so bad that they revert back to the 2K remaster made sometime around 2012/2013.

[The Mole]

Don't get your hopes too high. Could be one of those restorations announced last year using KI technology:

https://inf.news/en/entertainment/99...5770a7c176.htm

As a classic Chinese film, A Chinese Ghost Story has always been talked about by the audience for its unique artistic style and profound emotional connotation. However, as time goes by, the picture quality and sound effects of the original film can no longer meet the aesthetic needs of modern audiences. The launch of this 4K restored version is to solve this problem. The restoration team used advanced digital technology to finely process every picture of the film, improving the resolution and color reproduction, making the scenes in the film more realistic and delicate. At the same time, the sound effects have also been remade and remixed to enhance the immersion and atmosphere of the film.

[qw0aszx]

Originally Posted by The Mole

Don't get your hopes too high. Could be one of those restorations announced last year using KI technology:

https://inf.news/en/entertainment/99...5770a7c176.htm

No, it's not the same AI version on TikTok. I haven't seen this new 4K one but some reports saying it looks close to the previous 2K restoration (which was not released on any blu-ray so far), so at least it's a legit restoration even if it's 2K restored master upscaled to 4K.

[reason108]

I`m confused as now Shout is coming out with a box set in October (ish) on their HKCC label. Touted as a new 4k scan from the original camera negative, it is only 1080p. Cantonese DTS-HD Master Mono audio. Now, I certainly don't trust Shout as they don't seem to have the same reputation as either Eureka or 88. And, I thought that these kind of HK Cinema classics were normally going through either 88 or Eureka first before making their way to the U.S? I know that Shout recently secured "exclusive" rights to the Cinema City catalog but this seems more of a bigger "deal". As much as I want to pre-order, not sure I want to end up with another box set of "upscales". Cause, as we well know, a "new" 4k master could be anything from the last 20 years. The term "new" being relative. It doesn't say "A New 2025 scan from the original camera negative"; which would be something more concrete. That, and the price doesn't provide much faith either. Hopefully this is not some digital trickery of the image and would be a legitimate 4k remaster. Hard to believe that neither 88 nor Eureka didnt jump all over this. My Spidey senses are tingling!

[darry]

Originally Posted by reason108

I`m confused as now Shout is coming out with a box set in October (ish) on their HKCC label. Touted as a new 4k scan from the original camera negative, it is only 1080p. Cantonese DTS-HD Master Mono audio. Now, I certainly don't trust Shout as they don't seem to have the same reputation as either Eureka or 88. And, I thought that these kind of HK Cinema classics were normally going through either 88 or Eureka first before making their way to the U.S? I know that Shout recently secured "exclusive" rights to the Cinema City catalog but this seems more of a bigger "deal". As much as I want to pre-order, not sure I want to end up with another box set of "upscales". Cause, as we well know, a "new" 4k master could be anything from the last 20 years. The term "new" being relative. It doesn't say "A New 2025 scan from the original camera negative"; which would be something more concrete. That, and the price doesn't provide much faith either. Hopefully this is not some digital trickery of the image and would be a legitimate 4k remaster. Hard to believe that neither 88 nor Eureka didnt jump all over this. My Spidey senses are tingling!

Doesn't Arrow have access to all the same titles that shout does?

[thebrid]

Originally Posted by reason108

I`m confused as now Shout is coming out with a box set in October (ish) on their HKCC label. Touted as a new 4k scan from the original camera negative, it is only 1080p. Cantonese DTS-HD Master Mono audio. Now, I certainly don't trust Shout as they don't seem to have the same reputation as either Eureka or 88. And, I thought that these kind of HK Cinema classics were normally going through either 88 or Eureka first before making their way to the U.S? I know that Shout recently secured "exclusive" rights to the Cinema City catalog but this seems more of a bigger "deal". As much as I want to pre-order, not sure I want to end up with another box set of "upscales". Cause, as we well know, a "new" 4k master could be anything from the last 20 years. The term "new" being relative. It doesn't say "A New 2025 scan from the original camera negative"; which would be something more concrete. That, and the price doesn't provide much faith either. Hopefully this is not some digital trickery of the image and would be a legitimate 4k remaster. Hard to believe that neither 88 nor Eureka didnt jump all over this. My Spidey senses are tingling!

These titles were in licensing purgatory until recently. The owners did not want to license individual titles in the way the Golden Harvest & Shaw Bros titles have been. Shout was the only company to pony up the cash & they licensed the whole catalogue for the whole world, minus select Asian territories. Arrow then sublicensed the entire catalogue from Shout for the UK market. Neither 88 nor Eureka would have been able to meet the cost of licensing directly.

From everything I've seen so far, they're doing it properly. They are indeed going back to original elements in Hong Kong and scanning them using the latest tech and recording new special features. Everything indicates they are not doing it on the cheap. The initial batch of titles is available on streaming already and the feedback that I've seen has been positive so far. So I think the fundamentals should be good. They could of course mess something up on the way to Blu but I think we're in with a very good chance. That we have both Shout & Arrow to choose from gives me hope that at least one (probably both) will be good. I haven't yet decided which I'll go for. Arrow is a bit more convenient for me as I won't have to import and there's a good chance of a Fidelity in Motion encode to tip the scales in its favour.

[apollo828]

Yeah, they're definitely not going to bother with upscales. They may go for the occasional double dip (e.g., this box set, which I'd imagine will probably get a 4K release eventually) but I guarantee they're not going to dig up the ancient DVD masters. Those are history.