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I was distracted yesterday, to say the least. And then I saw Amelia, which I'm not supposed to get into for a couple of days. And then I came home and watched the North by Northwest Bluray, which looks like a mint-condition celluloid print and not some digital recreation, which feels right. It's "film" and not some razor-sharp, spiffily tweaked upgrade, all glistening and heightened to a fare-thee-well. It's like watching it on opening day (8.6.59) at the Radio City Music Hall, dead center in the twelfth row.
Some of the shots and scenes seem a tiny bit darker than expected. Eva Marie Saint's face looks a bit washed out and lacks sufficient detail here and there (like the base she's wearing is too light and she's wearing too much of it). And there's an overall sense of the color having been slightly pushed. But I love that you can now see a distinct criss-crossy pattern in Cary Grant's medium gray suit, and for the first time I noticed the wood grain that frames the phone booth that Saint is speaking inside of (i.e., conversing with Martin Landau) during the Union Station scene in Chicago.
There are tons of other observations, but the mover (a friendly Russian guy named Steve) will be here in 40 minutes and there's still more to do. I've been up and packing stuff since 5:30 am. Back into it sometime around noon.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 20, 2009 at 4:26 AM
comment #1
NotImpressed1Yet
says ...
That's awesome news about the NbNW blu-ray.
I'm glad you made some time to watch it, and hopefully had a couple hours of silly intelligent Hitchcockian escapist fun to give your mind a rest from your family loss. Movies like this are perfect for that, and have definitely helped me cope with bad times in the past.
Posted by NotImpressed1Yet
at October 20, 2009 6:19 AM
comment #2
Glenn Kenny
says ...
The wood grain of the phone booths: YES! That really popped for me, too. Funny how that works sometime.
Good luck with the move and condolences on your loss, sir. I look forward to further comparing notes on NXNW.
Posted by Glenn Kenny
at October 20, 2009 6:30 AM
comment #3
Rich S.
says ...
I know it's generally not your thing, Jeffrey, but you should also be paying attention to the restoration work Disney is doing on its animated catalog. I watched Pinocchio a couple days ago and it was nothing short of revelatory. You could see the individual brushstrokes on the background paintings. And in the scene after Pinocchio escapes from Stromboli's wagon, I could swear it looked like the wagon had been rotoscoped.
I don't know exactly what they're doing, but as far as I can tell, there is no grain, and I know that's a big thing with you. Pinocchio looked like it had been animated yesterday. Only the limitations of the soundtrack indicated that it was almost 70 years old.
Posted by Rich S.
at October 20, 2009 6:52 AM
comment #4
DeafBrownTrashPunk
says ...
*ahem* so what did you think of AMELIA?
Posted by DeafBrownTrashPunk
at October 20, 2009 6:53 AM
comment #5
Glenn Kenny
says ...
@Rich S: The philosophy Disney and Lowry apply to their restoration is that film grain is an anomaly that detracts from the cel artwork, rather than an intrinsic part of the photographic image itself. Actually a defensive position. Hence, their restorations try to get as close to the original artwork as humanly and digitally possible. I got into it a bit in an article about Blu-ray for Popular Mechanics earlier this year:
http://www.popularmechanics.co.za/content/tech/singlepage.asp?fid=1673&pno=1
Posted by Glenn Kenny
at October 20, 2009 7:31 AM
comment #6
Glenn Kenny
says ...
Sorry, "defensible" rather than "defensive."
Posted by Glenn Kenny
at October 20, 2009 7:32 AM
comment #7
62Lincoln
says ...
@DBTP: Jeff mentioned early on that he can't discuss Amelia for a 'couple of days'.
Posted by 62Lincoln
at October 20, 2009 8:07 AM
comment #8
Rich S.
says ...
Thanks, Glenn. I'll set aside some time to read that article, because it looks pretty comprehensive. All I know is that the Disney HD stuff I've seen so far has been stunning.
Posted by Rich S.
at October 20, 2009 8:15 AM
comment #9
NightWriter
says ...
I very much look forward to NBNW in Blu-ray...except all of my Netflix Blue-ray discs are arriving cracked. Is anyone else having this problem? Short of buying the disc, what else can I do. Very frustrating.
I've contacted Netflix, of course, and their explanation is that USPS is allowing these more-fragile discs in their electronic sorters which is causing the damage.
$301 for a new Blu-ray player and I'm back to standard definition...
Posted by NightWriter
at October 20, 2009 9:37 AM
comment #10
NotImpressed1Yet
says ...
I rent almost exclusively blu-ray discs from netflix and haven't had a single problem. I'm in Chicago though and wouldn't be surprised if these problems are region-specific based on your distribution center and quality of your local mail carriers.
Posted by NotImpressed1Yet
at October 20, 2009 10:00 AM
comment #11
bents75
says ...
Do you still buy dvd's Nightwriter? Because if you do, then the gap in cost difference between the two formats is really gettting smaller and smaller - although it requires some effort to seek out sales.
Between Amazon, and even the weekly sales at Best Buy which seems to fluctuate their costs at random between an excellent deal and a blatant rip off - I've purchase quite a few in the last couple months for only $10-$15 a piece. I've never paid more than $25, and that was only for something I couldn't wait for a price drop on.
If all you do is rent them, then I suppose this is a moot point - although to answer your actual question, I usually get at least 6 to 8 blu-rays from netflix a month and I've never gotten a cracked one. I've gotten a few that were scratched up and skipped - but never unplayable. That sucks.
Posted by bents75
at October 20, 2009 10:01 AM
comment #12
the sordid sentinel
says ...
Great to read that they did this title justice. I'm definitely looking fwd. to seeing NBNW on blu ray. The last couple of months of '09 should be blu ray nirvana..some great titles hitting shelves.
BTW, sorry to read about the tough time you're going through Jeff. I lost a brother when I was 18 and it was nothing short of brutal. Hang in there.
Posted by the sordid sentinel
at October 20, 2009 11:09 AM
comment #13
Jonathan Spuij
says ...
Well I happened to be at a screening of the movie the other day here in the Netherlands. It wasn't a new cleaned up print but it was okay. Only thing was it had an intermission right at the middle of the film. That middle was precisely coinciding with the buildup to the cropduster scene. One of the most exciting and suspenseful scenes ever put and edited onto film. Perfect scene. So Thornhill is standing there watching the second car go by, and then BAM "Intermission" . Right there. It was insane.
Posted by Jonathan Spuij
at October 20, 2009 11:18 AM
comment #14
NightWriter
says ...
Thanks for the feedback.
I can't imagine the USPS sorting is much different in NYC, where I live, from Chicago, NotImpressed, but then again who knows? A lot of NYC's federal infrastructure is pretty decrepit.
Posted by NightWriter
at October 20, 2009 11:20 AM
comment #15
dangovich
says ...
Did they digitally erase the kid who covered his ears before the gunshot?
Posted by dangovich
at October 20, 2009 11:49 AM
comment #16
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
"Do you still buy dvd's Nightwriter? Because if you do, then the gap in cost difference between the two formats is really gettting smaller and smaller - although it requires some effort to seek out sales."
Eh? Not particularly....if there's a movie I really wanna buy on DVD, I'll keep an eye open on it when glancing at the Amazon/Best Buy sales every week. Inevitably, I will rarely pay more than $3.99. Granted, you can talk on a few extra bucks to this if it's a double-discer or a "special edition," but you're still going to undercut the BD by at least $10 or so.
Same as it ever was.
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at October 20, 2009 2:04 PM
comment #17
CitizenKanedforChewingGum
says ...
And I really hope not @ dangovich!
Posted by CitizenKanedforChewingGum
at October 20, 2009 2:05 PM
comment #18
bents75
says ...
That may be so Citizen, but if you're right, I'd still say the cost in general has decreased - now you're paying $15 to $5 versus the $25 to $15 which seemed to be the norm just 2 or 3 years ago. I don't think the value of the dollar has gone down quite that much (although I'm sure someone will nit pick me on this point as well).
I assume when dvd's dropped to about $15 a piece you weren't still buying movies on VHS just because they were a fraction of the cost.
I know you hold outs like to claim that the jump in quality isn't as drastic as it was between those formats - but I couldn't disagree more. Anytime I'm stuck watching something on dvd now it just feels like a watered down, half assed, version of what the experience should be.
Posted by bents75
at October 20, 2009 4:01 PM
comment #19
Gordon27
says ...
"I know you hold outs like to claim that the jump in quality isn't as drastic as it was between those formats - but I couldn't disagree more."
You can disagree all you like; it's still a provable fact that the improvement from VHS to DVD was bigger than the improvement from DVD to Blu-Ray, and that's even discounting the "extra features" like commentary tracks or letterboxing. However, that's purely based on the technical limits; actual mileage may vary, and depends largely on the individual movie and when/how the digital master was made, and all sorts of variables like that.
Posted by Gordon27
at October 20, 2009 6:56 PM
comment #20
LYT
says ...
How is AMELIA still embargoed when there are reviews of it all over the place? Gotta love the arbitrary rules.
Posted by LYT
at October 20, 2009 9:51 PM
comment #21
btwnproductions
says ...
Variety crash-landed it: http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941396.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
Posted by btwnproductions
at October 21, 2009 8:10 AM
comment #22
Luis
says ...
Actually the steel blueish hair of Grant in this movie always distracted me. Is it fixed now?
Posted by Luis
at October 21, 2009 12:02 PM
comment #23
scamanti
says ...
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