To go by screen captures contained in Gary Tooze‘s DVD Beaver review, Criterion’s 4k Bluray of Robert Altman‘s The Player (5.24) looks distinctly darker than New Line Home Video’s 2010 Bluray (which I own and am totally fine with). On top of which the Criterion version, cropped at 1.85:1, offers less picture information on all sides than the 1.78:1 New Line version. The cropping alone is a major issue, but coupled with the darker images = definite fail. You also have to consider that with the exception of McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Altman films have never offered super-captivating, exquisitely composed cinematography so in most instances creating 4K versions is a bit of a head-scratcher. I didn’t request this puppy from the Orange Media guys, and I’m not buying it either. God forbid the possibility of Criterion delivering a 4K Bluray of McCabe down the road. That candle-and-kerosene-lighted 1971 classic is already dark and hazy and murky — given their established tendencies the Criterion guys would probably take it even deeper into this realm. I couldn’t stand their darkened-down 4K version of Only Angels Have Wings.
