A Few Words About A few words about...™ Spartacus -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Cine_Capsulas]

Next fall is the 55th anniversary. How about a 55th Anniversary Remastered Edition?

Hope's the last to die...

 

[OliverK]

Next fall is the 55th anniversary. How about a 55th Anniversary Remastered Edition?

The recent release of High Plains Drifter clearly demonstrates that a high quality scan is not impossible even at Universal and the Blu-ray seems to be essentially unfiltered and very detailed so there is still hope. I only hope that they will also get the colors right.Or maybe the existing turd will be polished another time to make it even more shiny than it already is...

 

[Dr Griffin]

The recent release of High Plains Drifter clearly demonstrates that a high quality scan is not impossible even at Universal and the Blu-ray seems to be essentially unfiltered and very detailed so there is still hope. I only hope that they will also get the colors right.Or maybe the existing turd will be polished another time to make it even more shiny than it already is...

Good example. High Plains Drifter looks great. Right, keep the present tranfer, but make it more shiny, just like a new piece of plastic.

 

[Patrick Donahue]

How about a 54th anniversary remastered edition this fall

 

[OliverK]

Until then we have the "current" high quality 50th anniversary release, to be seen in all its glory in a quality comparison by caps-a-holic:

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleiche/multi_comparison.php?disc1=4868&disc2=4867&hd_multiID=1988#auswahl

 

[Lord Dalek]

The recent release of High Plains Drifter clearly demonstrates that a high quality scan is not impossible even at Universal and the Blu-ray seems to be essentially unfiltered and very detailed so there is still hope. I only hope that they will also get the colors right.Or maybe the existing turd will be polished another time to make it even more shiny than it already is...

Yeah except Spartacus would have to be scanned at most 4X whatever resolution High Plains Drifter was to get the maximum image quality available.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Yeah except Spartacus would have to be scanned at most 4X whatever resolution High Plains Drifter was to get the maximum image quality available.

High Plains Drifter was a 4K scan, you could get excellent results with a new 4K film scan for Spartacus.

 

[Dr Griffin]

High Plains Drifter was a 4K scan, you could get excellent results with a new 4K film scan for Spartacus.

Yes, and that is still a lot to hope for, but Spartacus deserves the Lawrence treatment.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Yeah this is Super Technirama we're talking about, you want 8K at least.

 

[FoxyMulder]

Yeah this is Super Technirama we're talking about, you want 8K at least.

Yeah as Mr Harris stated earlier in the thread he feels a 4K scan is sufficient to get very high quality.

Keep dreaming, it might happen, i'll take an 8K scan but at this point 4K is much cheaper and would give excellent results.

Here is the post in which he says it, 35/8 perf at 4K is sufficient, whether has has changed his mind since then i do not know but i think i would take it over nothing at all, i'd certainly take it over the awful current blu ray release.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/294422-a-few-words-about™-spartacus-in-blu-ray/?p=3581723

A couple of further posts to read in relation to the above one.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/294422-a-few-words-about™-spartacus-in-blu-ray/?p=3581735

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/294422-a-few-words-about™-spartacus-in-blu-ray/?p=3581903

 

[OliverK]

As has been pointed out before a 4k scan means that the horizontal elements would be scanned 4k from perf to perf.
So we are actually talking about a roughly 6 by 4k scan for 8-perf vs. a 4 by 3k scan for 4-perf when looking at the frames the way they would be oriented on our screens.

Circus World and 55 Days in Peking are 2k scans by the way from perf to perf which would work out to 3 by 2k in those cases - not too shabby for a Blu-ray release but a bit less than what we would want for an upcoming 4k format.

Regarding Lawrence of Arabia and other 65mm features: These have about double the width from per to perf compared to 35mm and therefore in order to pick up a similar amount of information from their elements an 8k scan would be recommended although to my knowledge all 8k scans have been finished in 4k post.

 

[Vincent_P]

The thing about SPARTACUS is I doubt they'd go back to the Technirama elements to do a new scan. That would involve scanning the black-and-white seps and recombining them since the negative was already faded back in 1991, so who knows what it looks like now? Rather, they'd likely scan the Robert Harris-created optically-printed-from-seps 65mm restoration InterPositive. I wonder if that element would have more than 4K of usuable information? I'd think a 4K scan would be sufficient, but hell with a 16mm film like THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE having been given the 4K treatment, giving the 65mm IP an 8K scan then downrezzing to 4K wouldn't be objectionale

Vincent

 

[OliverK]

I would surely think that there is more information in the 65mm IP than in even the most pristine 16mm elements available for TCN

Going back to the OCN and where necessary the separations would be extremely costly, scanning the IP from the restoration on the other hand could yield very good results for purposes of a Blu-ray (if not 4k) release. I am also quite sure that scanning in 8k with a 4k workflow would not add too much cost over a 4k scan with 4k workflow anyway so 8k would probably be the scanning resolution of choice if it would yield even the slightest benefit.

But then it is Universal we are talking about and that means all bets are off. Anything is possible from a full blown no holds barred digital restoration to recycling the current hackjob for another 10 years

 

[Lord Dalek]

Either way you're dealing with a film format with significantly more resolution than regular old 35mm with the original Technirama elements being 8-perf horizontal and all. Transfering at 4k seems like you're losing more on top of the workflow.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Except that, as OliverK pointed out, the 4K is a measurement of perf to perf, not the width of the image. You have to turn your perception 90 degrees to get the "full picture". As indicated, the resolution for the length of the 8-perf image (again, rotate perception 90 degrees) would be closer to 6K. 6K x 4K would yield an image of 24 MP to use digital camera speak, which would compare favourably with an 8K 65mm scan. However, this would all be moot if the decision is made to scan the 65mm IP at 8K, which would be a fool's errand IMHO. Better to rescan the faded OCN or seps to harvest all available information and do a restoration with digital workflow, as restoration techniques have significantly advanced in the digital era, or of any preservation elements created by Messrs. Harris and Katz.

 

[ROclockCK]

How about a 54th anniversary remastered edition this fall

Heck, I'd even take a 56th Anniversary 'Missed It by That Much' Edition in about 18 months.

 

[Michel_Hafner]

Don't confuse scanning resolution and final master resolution. If a film element has about 4K of information (as is suggested for 35mm negatives) one scans for best result at more than 4K (6K or even 8K) and then downsamples to 4K for an optimal 4K master. Scanning directly at 4K would yield lesser results. For modern 65mm scanning at 12K or 16K would be best, and then downsampling to 8K. Downsampling to 4K will lose fine detail. Old 65mm is served well with a 4K master, loss of detail should be minimal.

 

[Dick]

I imagine that SPARACTUS is a film Mr. Harris is itching to be able to work on again to bring it up to real (as opposed to Universal) Blu-ray quality. He has remained mum about it on this forum for some time, having years ago said it probably wouldn't happen. Hopefully he is secretly working on it even now, and (through Criterion) will surprise us with it in 2015 as he did this year with MY FAIR LADY. Anyway, my fingers (and toes) remain crossed.

 

[Neil S. Bulk]

Anyway, my fingers (and toes) remain crossed.

Don't say "crossed" in this thread!

 

[youworkmen]

Its been some years since I last viewed Spartacus . Having purchased the Bluray when it was new I've not been able to watch it because its so bad. The Criterion dvd is actually better but I so want to watch it in HD.

With the universally negative comments the Blu has received is there any real chance of a new HD version appearing anytime soon?