173 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

[MichaelB]

My understanding is that Tales of Hoffmann is indeed the next all-stops-out Film Foundation restoration.

[Brianruns10]

My understanding is that Tales of Hoffmann is indeed the next all-stops-out Film Foundation restoration.

That's cracking good news. The oop Criterion release was great at the time, but there were some scenes that had bad fringing problems.

Perhaps while they're at it, they might come upon the shot-though-discarded alternate ending, which hews closer to the original opera by revealing Nicklaus is in fact Hoffmann's muse. Granted, I prefer The Archer's ending, but it'd be fascinating to see the original.

[Tommaso]

My hope for an upgrade of "Hoffmann" would be an inclusion of the 1964 Powell film "Herzog Blaubarts Burg", a film version of the opera by Bartok whose dvd release seems to be held up by rights issues about the music. As Bartok will be dead for 70 years in 2014, these troubles should be resolved quickly, and I hope that this last real masterpiece of Powell's will then finally see the light of day in a commercial edition (of course it's already floating around in a less than ideal version....)

[jwd5275]

Any restoration of Tales of the Hoffmann would have to be put out by Lionsgate though, since it is a StudioCanal licensed title. So maybe I Know Where I'm Going! can Criterion's full reissue upgrade treatment next.

[peerpee]

I've heard some pretty solid things about A CANTERBURY TALE being up next for a full restoration, alongside HOFFMANN. All the others (IKWIG, ROSALINDA, ELUSIVE, GONE TO EARTH, etc) can't come soon enough though!

This Criterion BLIMP Blu-ray is going to be a screamer (based on the new restoration) – I love the new artwork. My ITV Blu-ray SteelBook (one of the ugliest pieces of metal ever made) is being sold as soon as I get it back from my Dad.

The ITV Blu-ray only contains a 4-5 minute restoration demonstration with Scorsese, so an additional Scorsese interview, and a separate Schoonmaker interview look to be exclusives.

[triodelover]

The ITV Blu-ray only contains a 4-5 minute restoration demonstration with Scorsese, so an additional Scorsese interview, and a separate Schoonmaker interview look to be exclusives.

Not exactly, Nick. The ITV contains the 24-minute documentary A Profile of “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp which will also appear on the new Crit (and was on the old CC DVD). Everything outside the resto demo on the new CC BD was on the old DVD.

David's comments about color grading were spot on, although I don't think it's as a big issue in motion as it is when compared with the specific scenes in the resto demo. Given Criterion's rather mixed history with color, e.g. Ozu, Le Cercle Rouge, one might wait and see the result of their efforts before chucking the ITV which, all in all, is a stunning presentation. I just can see any reason to assume automatically that the CC will be better, since the ITV is so very good.

The ITV steelbook is no work of art, but the CC Blimp cover is one of the most disappointing they've ever done, particularly considering what they could have done with the poster art. (MoC wouldn't have put out a piece of crap like that for the film and you know it.) Like I said in the other thread, it's not evocative of the film at all - the profile of Candy could as well a propaganda poster "Hun" from WWI, and the Union Jack hour glass reminds me of those generic album covers in the discount bins of the '60s labelled "Greatest Hits of the British Invasion" performed by some third-rate house band with Beatle haircuts. At least ITV gives us Deborah Kerr - a photoshopped Kerr, but it's her nonetheless.

(However, after all is said, I'm so very fond of the film that I'll likely double dip, sh***y CC cover and all. )

[peerpee]

Not exactly, Nick. The ITV contains the 24-minute documentary A Profile of “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp which will also appear on the new Crit (and was on the old CC DVD). Everything outside the resto demo on the new CC BD was on the old DVD.

I should have made it clear that I was referring to newly made stuff. I watched the old 12-year-old ITV piece again, it contains some priceless interview footage, but could do to be edited down (removing clips from the film and a bit of Fry's flimflam).

David's comments about color grading were spot on, although I don't think it's as a big issue in motion as it is when compared with the specific scenes in the resto demo. Given Criterion's rather mixed history with color, e.g. Ozu, Le Cercle Rouge, one might wait and see the result of their efforts before chucking the ITV which, all in all, is a stunning presentation. I just can see any reason to assume automatically that the CC will be better, since the ITV is so very good.

Your examples (Melville, Ozu) are of grading work that Criterion did themselves a while ago. The grade for BLIMP has been locked down. The 2K master is finished. It would be very surprising if Criterion dicked with the colours on this in any way.

The ITV steelbook is no work of art, but the CC Blimp cover is one of the most disappointing they've ever done, particularly considering what they could have done with the poster art. (MoC wouldn't have put out a piece of crap like that for the film and you know it.)

MoC have put out quite a few crap covers recently (Onibaba/Clouzot/Chabrol/Yamanaka), so I could imagine a still with some text slapped on it. I'm afraid they're not following any logic at all anymore. Let's not get into a cover art scrap, though. We all know that Criterion like to put their own stamp on things, and they only very occasionally use the original poster art – when to do otherwise would be such a crying shame (ROSEMARY'S BABY and PICKPOCKET are good examples).

Like I said in the other thread, it's not evocative of the film at all - the profile of Candy could as well a propaganda poster "Hun" from WWI, and the Union Jack hour glass reminds me of those generic album covers in the discount bins of the '60s labelled "Greatest Hits of the British Invasion" performed by some third-rate house band with Beatle haircuts. At least ITV gives us Deborah Kerr - a photoshopped Kerr, but it's her nonetheless. (However, after all is said, I'm so very fond of the film that I'll likely double dip, sh***y CC cover and all. )

I agree that an original poster, especially when great ones exist, should be used when possible, and I wish Criterion would do it more (ROSEMARY'S BABY, PICKPOCKET, etc) but I don't agree that Criterion's new effort is "shitty" though. It's needlessly reimagined. Words cannot describe how much I hate ITV's SteelBook in comparison.

Back to the forthcoming Criterion Blu-ray!

[triodelover]

David's comments about color grading were spot on, although I don't think it's as a big issue in motion as it is when compared with the specific scenes in the resto demo. Given Criterion's rather mixed history with color, e.g. Ozu, Le Cercle Rouge, one might wait and see the result of their efforts before chucking the ITV which, all in all, is a stunning presentation. I just can see any reason to assume automatically that the CC will be better, since the ITV is so very good.

Your examples (Melville, Ozu) are of grading work that Criterion did themselves a while ago. The grade for BLIMP has been locked down. The 2K master is finished. It would be very surprising if Criterion dicked with the colours on this in any way.

Point taken. But if the grading and master are locked down, aren't we more likely to see a transfer that's essentially the same as the ITV? (Genuine question as I am uncertain how far one goes in the process before the things that David brought up cannot be changed.)

It's needlessly reimagined. Words cannot describe how much I hate ITV's SteelBook in comparison.

Your turn of phrase is ever so much nicer than mine. I don't hate the steelbook. It's certainly not great, but it at least reminds one of the film.

As you say, back to the forthcoming BD.

[peerpee]

Point taken. But if the grading and master are locked down, aren't we more likely to see a transfer that's essentially the same as the ITV? (Genuine question as I am uncertain how far one goes in the process before the things that David brought up cannot be changed.)

Yes – in this instance, I would be expecting a Criterion Blu-ray that looks very similar to the new ITV Blu-ray, that is, unless there is something wrong with the ITV. I'm not fully up-to-speed with what David has been saying about it, so I'll go back and read... If Criterion are using the same finished 2K master, the only things that we could conceivably expect to be different is the Blu-ray encoding technique, which might slightly affect certain aspects of the picture (but not major things).

[triodelover]

Thanks for the response, Nick. David's comments on the color balance start here.

[peerpee]

Thanks. Well, a good precedent for almost exactly the same workflow, with the same people, is THE RED SHOES Blu-rays (ITV and Criterion). Which were from the same recent Film Foundation top notch restoration and yet had very slight colour differences on the resulting Blu-rays, so David might be in luck, because THE RED SHOES was apparently slightly less pinky/red on the Criterion Blu.

[peerpee]

I wouldn't be surprised if such differences were actually down to different colour gamuts being used on different workstations with different colour spaces in different authoring houses – but that's only from cynical experience. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamut" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MichaelB]

I've heard some pretty solid things about A CANTERBURY TALE being up next for a full restoration, alongside HOFFMANN. All the others (IKWIG, ROSALINDA, ELUSIVE, GONE TO EARTH, etc) can't come soon enough though!

My understanding is that the Film Foundation is tackling Hoffmann while A Canterbury Tale is a BFI project.

[Minkin]

Bluray.com

[triodelover]

Bluray.com

So it's a tossup on the main feature between ITV and CC and the CC wins on extras (no surprise there).

[triodelover]

I don't know if Svet is reading this but I am going to ask him elsewhere to compare the three shots I remarked on from the Resto dem and the Crit movie files for color temp.

I did note no discernible difference in the one shot from the cafe (showing the band) common to his reviews of both discs. But that capture is not the same one you referenced in our earlier discussion.

[triodelover]

David, I'm not trying to pick a fight, please believe me. But I can't see enough difference in the screen caps (after logging in to see them at 1080p) to prefer one over the other. The differences to me are very slight and probably not that noticeable, if at all, in motion.

I've no way to verify this other than to say it, but I've always had an excellent eye for color. My very first job was dressing manikins in a high end men's shop and I got it because of my ability to match the fabrics of the suits with the colors and patterns of ties and pocket squares. Of course that was 1967, but despite my age the eye still seems to be there. Comparing this to this only allows me to conclude that the Crit is once again contrast boosted. There's no meaningful difference in the uniforms.

I'm not an expert on three-strip Technicolor and I defer to your knowledge, but I just can't see what there is to get exercised about. If I didn't own the ITV, I'd pre-order the CC tomorrow (actually, I would have already done so). But unless one deems the extras worth double-dipping, I can't justify adding the CC on top of the ITV.

[Napier]

DVD Beaver

[Matt]

It cannot be overstated how good this film looks on this Blu-ray. Now let's have a restoration of I Know Where I'm Going!

[swo17]

Now let's have a restoration of I Know Where I'm Going!

Hear, hear!

[movielocke]

It cannot be overstated how good this film looks on this Blu-ray. Now let's have a restoration of I Know Where I'm Going!

The 4K screening I saw at the Academy last summer was just absolutely mind boggling. better even than the 4K of Lawrence of Arabia or Wizard of Oz seen at the same place (otoh, I was about 100 feet further away for blimp, and off axis).

I Know Where I'm Going definitely needs an upgrade! I'm sure the bluray could hold the entirety of the bonus film as well, since the DVD is just an excerpt, iirc.

[triodelover]

I Know Where I'm Going definitely needs an upgrade! I'm sure the bluray could hold the entirety of the bonus film as well, since the DVD is just an excerpt, iirc.

The Edge of the World is available on an excellent Blu-ray from BFI. The extras include the complete Return documentary, among others.

[movielocke]

At last count I had 221 region one films I own and have never seen, aka blind buys, (and that's not counting numerous bonus film supplements, like on Blow Out or Kes), so there is absolutely zero reason for me to go region free when I can't even keep up with one region's releases. But much kudos to those people who can consume more than their region's worth of releases, that's pretty gobsmacking.

Not to mention, that I have probably 400 discs I've bought because I love the film, but I've never gotten around to watching the disc.

[cdnchris]

Edge of the World is region free.

[triodelover]

At last count I had 221 region one films I own and have never seen, aka blind buys, (and that's not counting numerous bonus film supplements, like on Blow Out or Kes), so there is absolutely zero reason for me to go region free when I can't even keep up with one region's releases. But much kudos to those people who can consume more than their region's worth of releases, that's pretty gobsmacking.

Not to mention, that I have probably 400 discs I've bought because I love the film, but I've never gotten around to watching the disc.

Wow. I only wanted to point out that there's a high-quality version available because you seemed to be interested in a complete version of the film. I'm not privy to your collection or your collecting habits. Sorry to intrude.