In a recent review, DVD Beaver’s Gary W. Tooze has posted a condemnation of yet another Criterion teal vandalizing, the victim in this case being John Boorman‘s Point Blank (’67) on an upcoming 4K Bluray (due on 4.21.26).
This is par for the course when it comes to Criterion’s teal gremlins, who have been teal-izing certain Blurays since 2018 or thereabouts, but the Point Blank ruination is doubly shocking because the forthcoming Bluray (a 4K and a 1080p version are included) has been “approved” by the film’s 93-year-old director John Boorman. How could Boorman have possibly okayed this? I’ve been looking at Point Blank for many decades, and I know what the colors look like so don’t tell me.
Presuming that the Tooze screen captures are accurate, this is another atrocity. Who was (or is) the evil maestro behind the teal tinting? The infamous Lee Kline or some anonymous Criterion stooge?
From Gary W. Tooze‘s recently posted DVD Beaver review of Criterion’s new Point Blank 4K Bluray (streeting on 4.21.26):
“Unfortunately the Criterion has a noticeable teal-heavy color grade in many scenes. This is part of a long-running complaint about Criterion’s modern 4K restorations, often called the ‘Criterion teal disease’ or ‘teal push’ in home video communities. Natural blues, greys, and even some skin tones or concrete surfaces in the film lean noticeably toward cyan/teal-green, which can make the image feel colder and more ‘modern/digital’ than the warmer, more naturalistic (yet still stylized) look of the earlier Warner Bluray or DVD releases.
“Dark blue suits [have turned] light blue and Angie Dickinson‘s orange bathrobe [has turned] deep red.
“[The film] still works cinematically, but color timing is the most divisive aspect of this restoration.”
