Despite clear evidence to the contrary, a couple of readers were still insisting a couple of days ago that WHE’s forthcoming 4K 2001: A Space Odyssey Bluray (11.20) is based upon the unrestored Chris Nolan nostalgia version that played in theatres last summer. That dog doesn’t hunt any more. Because it’s really, obviously not.

I agree that the Nolan authorship seemed apparent last June when WHE publicists told the world that the 4K version had been “built on the work done for the new 70mm prints” (i.e., Nolan’s yellow and teal-tinted version that premiered in Cannes). Then they double-confirmed this by releasing a 4K disc trailer that contained the dreaded yellowish-teal tinting. But somewhere along the road WHE honcho Ned Price got cold feet and decided to deliver a 4K Bluray that would present Stanley Kubrick‘s classic as it actually looked when it opened in 1968. Go figure.

The evidence is indisputable in these Discovery-tunnel comparison shots — one from the Nolan, the other from the 4K.

“Yellow peril” Nolan version.

From Bill Hunt’s pixel-capturing of 4K disc.