And Soon The Darkness (1970) UHD/BD Mediabook [Camera Obscura]

[FantasticMrFox]

Release: July 5, 2024
Price: €34,95
Shop link: Cover A - Limited to 1000 - Cover B - Limited to 350 (exclusive to CO shop)

Technical Specifications:

UHD:
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono, German LPCM 2.0 Mono
Video: 1,85:1, 4K, 23,98 fps HDR (High Dynamic Range)
Subtitles: German
Runtime: 99 min (uncut original version)

Blu-ray:
Audio: English LPCM 2.0 Mono, German LPCM 2.0 Mono
Video: 1,85:1, HD 1080p, 23,98 fps
Subtitles: German
Runtime: 99 min (uncut original version)
Region: B

Extras: (* with optional German subtitles)
Audio commentary by Director Robert Fuest and Co-Author/Co-Producer Brian Clemens and Journalist Jonathan Sothcott.*
Interview* with Film historian Kim Newman
EnglishTrailer
Radiospot
German Essay by Tobias Hohmann

[DaylightsEnd]

Excellent development. Their uhd of Blue Sunshine is a banger. Hopefully they'll do this SC-provided transfer some justice in the mastering, as well.

[BobSimms]

I still need to get Blue Sunshine on UHD. Wasn’t sure if an American label would do it.

[Dickieduvet]

Originally Posted by BobSimms

I still need to get Blue Sunshine on UHD. Wasn’t sure if an American label would do it.

Synapse are working on it now.

[Ruined]

vs

Today I got in the CAMERA OBSCURA 4K UHD of "AND SOON THE DARKNESS". The new Kino 4K UHD is not out yet, but using the existing Blu-ray as a proxy is actually a "fair fight" as the new Kino 4K UHD is SDR coming from exactly the same master as the Kino 1080p Blu-ray. Therefore, the only difference between the Kino 4k UHD and 1080p will be the resolution and compression.

That being said, the difference between the Kino and Camera Obscura master is substantial. Instead of being SDR, the Camera Obscura disc is 4K HDR, and I watched in HDR10 - metadata says MaxCLL 512, MaxFALL 264 - well utilizing HDR, so this is not just SDR in an HDR container. This is interesting, as Camera Obscura worked off of Studio Canal's 4K master just like Kino.

So, ignoring the resolution of grain and detail (which was significant), these releases look quite different. The Camera Obscura looks fully color- and brightness- corrected, while the Kino disc while still looking good has a bit of the semi-faded color 70s-master type look. The colors are very vibrant on the Camera Obscura disc, but do not look oversaturated; instead, they simply appear fully saturated rather than the moderate desaturation and subdued brightness seen on the Kino disc.

On first glance, the Camera Obscura disc seems to easily beat the Kino disc (and thus, would beat the Kino 4K as the color difference is substantial). But, I suppose some will ask which is "right." For this movie, I can't see a reason why the Camera Obscura would be wrong, but it is most definitely a more vibrant and contrasty color grading than the Kino/StudioCanal 4K SDR master.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by Driver78

My copy is out for delivery.

Did I miss that the Kino 4K is already out?

I really like this film so I'm happy to hear it's a winner. I also happen to like the remake.

The Kino isnt out but the specs say the master is identical to the Blu-ray, and it's a 4K SDR disc. Which means the only difference between kino Blu and 4K will be resolution and compression. Once you pop in the CO disc I think you'll see the difference is much larger than just that

[DaylightsEnd]

My order still hasn't shipped. I'm guessing it's because I ordered both mediabook options (A & B covers), and I'm assuming one of them is not in stock yet.

Edit: 7/23 - Just showed up on my doorstep out of the blue. Another shipment they dispatched days ago without ever emailing me a shipping notice. Odd, that. VS does it all the time now, too.

Can't wait to check this out tonight.

[PGW]

Thanks to this thread, I chose this release over the Kino. Without having seen the latter, I can say I'm glad I did. I concur with Ruined's comments - it's very colorful, but not over-saturated and, to my eyes, looked fantastic. Lots of grain. Lots of detail.

[FantasticMrFox]

Down to 19,99 EUR with Camera Obscura direct

https://cameraobscurafilms.de/produc...rkness-cover-a
https://cameraobscurafilms.de/produc...rkness-cover-b