A Few Words About A few words about...™ High Noon -- in Blu-ray (2 Viewers)

[iDarren]

Is there any chance this will be released in a non USA territory, with the previously produced extra features intact?

 

[John Hodson]

Is there any chance this will be released in a non USA territory, with the previously produced extra features intact?

It's *possible*; Paramount themselves released their own restoration on DVD a while back in Europe.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

A question for the highly estimable Robert Harris
This may be v. trivial but then again .....
I just received the Olive transfer of High Noon on Blu Ray, and switched aspect ratio to 4:3 before inserting the disc. The result was a horizontally squashed image of insect-like characters. Turned out that although the screen size was 4:3, I had to view it in anamorphic widescreen mode (16.9) to get the proper screen dimension.
My previous Lionsgate DVD of the same movie was in native 4:3 resolution, and of course, going to 16.9 meant horizontal distortion of the opposite kind.
Is this transfer method used by Olive the best means of presenting 4:3 material? Or doesn't it really matter .. as long, that is, that we can change aspect ratio to suit. This was on my sitting-room 49-inch plasma monitor; I haven't tried it yet on my 110-inch downstairs projector via my Oppo, which somehow miraculously selects the correct ratio .. I guess if I'd tried viewing first on that set-up, I would never have noticed this apparently odd transfer methodology.
Anthony

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by AnthonyClarke /t/322358/a-few-words-about-high-noon-in-blu-ray/270#post_3964436
A question for the highly estimable Robert Harris
This may be v. trivial but then again .....
I just received the Olive transfer of High Noon on Blu Ray, and switched aspect ratio to 4:3 before inserting the disc. The result was a horizontally squashed image of insect-like characters. Turned out that although the screen size was 4:3, I had to view it in anamorphic widescreen mode (16.9) to get the proper screen dimension.
My previous Lionsgate DVD of the same movie was in native 4:3 resolution, and of course, going to 16.9 meant horizontal distortion of the opposite kind.
Is this transfer method used by Olive the best means of presenting 4:3 material? Or doesn't it really matter .. as long, that is, that we can change aspect ratio to suit. This was on my sitting-room 49-inch plasma monitor; I haven't tried it yet on my 110-inch downstairs projector via my Oppo, which somehow miraculously selects the correct ratio .. I guess if I'd tried viewing first on that set-up, I would never have noticed this apparently odd transfer methodology.
Anthony

Off the top of my head, I'd believe that the aspect ratio should not have been set to 4:3, as it isn't. It should be 4:3 inside of 16:9.

RAH

 

[JoshZ]

I just received the Olive transfer of High Noon on Blu Ray, and switched aspect ratio to 4:3 before inserting the disc. The result was a horizontally squashed image of insect-like characters. Turned out that although the screen size was 4:3, I had to view it in anamorphic widescreen mode (16.9) to get the proper screen dimension.
My previous Lionsgate DVD of the same movie was in native 4:3 resolution, and of course, going to 16.9 meant horizontal distortion of the opposite kind.
Is this transfer method used by Olive the best means of presenting 4:3 material? Or doesn't it really matter .. as long, that is, that we can change aspect ratio to suit. This was on my sitting-room 49-inch plasma monitor; I haven't tried it yet on my 110-inch downstairs projector via my Oppo, which somehow miraculously selects the correct ratio .. I guess if I'd tried viewing first on that set-up, I would never have noticed this apparently odd transfer methodology.

To expand a little on what RAH just said...
Blu-ray is a natively 16:9 video format with 1920x1080 square pixels. A movie with any aspect ratio other than 16:9 requires black bars to fit within the 16:9 frame, either on the top and bottom for widescreen movies or on the sides for 4:3. The High Noon Blu-ray is "pillarboxed" with bars on the sides. You will see this on other 4:3 (or 1.37:1) movies such as Casablanca and Gone with the Wind on Blu-ray.
DVD works differently. That format has non-square pixels and can be formatted as either 4:3 or 16:9, depending on the movie. That's why you need to adjust your TV's aspect ratio control when watching 4:3 movies on DVD.
You do not need to adjust your TV's aspect ratio when watching any Blu-rays. The TV should always be set for 16:9.

 

[Paul Penna]

A question for the highly estimable Robert Harris
This may be v. trivial but then again .....
I just received the Olive transfer of High Noon on Blu Ray, and switched aspect ratio to 4:3 before inserting the disc. The result was a horizontally squashed image of insect-like characters. Turned out that although the screen size was 4:3, I had to view it in anamorphic widescreen mode (16.9) to get the proper screen dimension.

The 4:3 and 16:9 settings on your player are for telling it the aspect ratio of your screen, not the correct aspect ratio of the disc content. So yes, if your screen is 16:9, a 16:9 setting on your player is what you need to view any disc content at its correct ratio. Note, however, that players often have an additional setting called "16:9 full," "16:9 stretch" or the like which will distort 4:3 material to fill the width of your 16:9 screen. Don't use those.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

thanks to all three of the respondees ... I understand now -- I hadn't realised that all Blu rays use 16.9 as their 'native' resolution as distinct to DVDs.
cheers, Anthony (in Australia)

 

[Keith Cobby]

I have not owned High Noon on DVD and have been put off buying the Olive Blu-ray by the comments on this forum. However I have just watched it in high definition on Channel 4 (UK) and was amazed at how pristine the picture was. I don't know which source they used but I couldn't fault it.

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Keith Cobby
I have not owned High Noon on DVD and have been put off buying the Olive Blu-ray by the comments on this forum. However I have just watched it in high definition on Channel 4 (UK) and was amazed at how pristine the picture was. I don't know which source they used but I couldn't fault it.

What is the resolution of Channel 4?
My problems with High Noon were not that it was bad. Merely that it could have very easily been somewhere between better and perfect.
RAH

 

[EddieLarkin]

I believe all UK HD channels broadcast in 1080i

 

[John Hodson]

Correct. If memory serves from the last UK HD showing, it came complete with a Paramount ident at the end so the source should be precisely the same as the US BD. It's one of my very favourite films, but I'm determined not to upgrade my (really very good) Dutch DVD (from Paramount) to BD while (a) the leap to HD won't be as pronounced as for some (this isn't a The Quiet Man situation), and (b) there is a raft of excellent supplementary material missing from the Olive disc.

 

[Lromero1396]

At least The Quiet Man didn't wind up being as bad as High Noon... What concerns me about the half-hearted effort on High Noon by Olive and Paramount is that no asset protection was done using the OCN. High Noon is an orphan film with a nitrate negative, and if proper preservation methods are not employed...I shudder to think about what may become of the OCN. But, I can't say with any degree of certainty where the OCN is or if any efforts have been taken to preserve it. Mr. Harris, are you aware of any such efforts that you may legally discuss in this forum?

 

[David Weicker]

At least The Quiet Man didn't wind up being as bad as High Noon... What concerns me about the half-hearted effort on High Noon by Olive and Paramount is that no asset protection was done using the OCN. High Noon is an orphan film with a nitrate negative, and if proper preservation methods are not employed...I shudder to think about what may become of the OCN. But, I can't say with any degree of certainty where the OCN is or if any efforts have been taken to preserve it. Mr. Harris, are you aware of any such efforts that you may legally discuss in this forum?

Do we know for certain that there wasn't asset protection? I don't recall seeing an announcement that it was not done (or needed to be done). David

 

[Lromero1396]

Do we know for certain that there wasn't asset protection? I don't recall seeing an announcement that it was not done (or needed to be done). David

I was specifically refering to whether or not new modern polyester IPs have been struck directly from the nitrate OCN. This would attain the highest possible level of detail if the OCN is not too far gone. ALL films of High Noon's age need asset protection in the form of modern polyester film elements created from originals or from digital work done at 4k or higher. This is due to risk of further nitrate deterioration and potential for the onset of vinegar syndrome (if said problems are not underway already).

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Lromero1396
I was specifically refering to whether or not new modern polyester IPs have been struck directly from the nitrate OCN. This would attain the highest possible level of detail if the OCN is not too far gone. ALL films of High Noon's age need asset protection in the form of modern polyester film elements created from originals or from digital work done at 4k or higher. This is due to risk of further nitrate deterioration and potential for the onset of vinegar syndrome (if said problems are not underway already).

High Noon would warrant a polyester fine grain master. IPs are color.
I cannot imagine, going back to the work that Paramount's Barry Allen was performing, that he would not have created a new fine grain. Hopefully, they've struck a second.
There is a safety composite fine grain master at UCLA, along with other elements -- three reels of picture neg, track, etc. I took a quick peek and did not see a nitrate OCN.
What makes you believe it was nitrate?
RAH

 

[Robert Crawford]

Originally Posted by Robert Harris
High Noon would warrant a polyester fine grain master. IPs are color.
I cannot imagine, going back to the work that Paramount's Barry Allen was performing, that he would not have created a new fine grain. Hopefully, they've struck a second.
There is a safety composite fine grain master at UCLA, along with other elements -- three reels of picture neg, track, etc. I took a quick peek and did not see a nitrate OCN.
What makes you believe it was nitrate?
RAH

More than a few years ago when Paramount maintain on their website the film restoration work they accomplished on individual titles, I'm pretty sure High Noon was listed with a new fine grain then. There were several Republic titles listed there.

 

[Lromero1396]

High Noon would warrant a polyester fine grain master.  IPs are color. I cannot imagine, going back to the work that Paramount's Barry Allen was performing, that he would not have created a new fine grain.  Hopefully, they've struck a second. There is a safety composite fine grain master at UCLA, along with other elements -- three reels of picture neg, track, etc.  I took a quick peek and did not see a nitrate OCN.   What makes you believe it was nitrate? RAH

You refered to the original element as being nitrate in your first post in this thread. So I just assumed nitrate. Didn't all studios switch to acetate by about 1950-51 or so? Also, thanks for correcting me on the difference between an IP and a fine grain.

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by Lromero1396
You refered to the original element as being nitrate in your first post in this thread. So I just assumed nitrate. Didn't all studios switch to acetate by about 1950-51 or so? Also, thanks for correcting me on the difference between an IP and a fine grain.

I'll have to send myself an email about this. Have no idea why I was presuming nitrate. Probably an incorrect assumption. That's what one gets for multi-tasking, when one is not multi-task oriented.

 

[Lromero1396]

More than a few years ago when Paramount maintain on their website the film restoration work they accomplished on individual titles, I'm pretty sure High Noon was listed with a new fine grain then.  There were several Republic titles listed there.

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[John Hodson]

More than a few years ago when Paramount maintain on their website the film restoration work they accomplished on individual titles, I'm pretty sure High Noon was listed with a new fine grain then.  There were several Republic titles listed there.

I remember that - and yes, I'm sure you're right; they had lists of ongoing restoration work on separate pages for both their own (Paramount) titles and their Republic properties.