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A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Searchers -- in High Defintion (1 Viewer)

dpippel

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Yes. As in, both.

A physical scan of the necessary elements, color correction, clean, compositing, stabilization, conform.

Then a full-Rez record back to 35/8.

Have you heard any rumblings at all about the possibility of this project happening?
 
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haineshisway

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Yes. As in, both.

A physical scan of the necessary elements, color correction, clean, compositing, stabilization, conform.

Then a full-Rez record back to 35/8.

And someone in the room who actually understands what the color should be - the Blu-ray we now have, while nice and sharp, has nothing to do with the actual color of The Searchers, a film I know VERY well. They have an IB reference print and if they project it or use it with the light source for which it was timed (carbon arc) then they cannot fail.
 

Tino

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May I ask exactly what is wrong with the color on The Searchers disc?
 

lark144

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The bricks under the credits are very saffron looking....evocative of the robes Hare Krishna followers wore in the 70's..but not especially South Western. The same could be said for the brass band uniforms in THE MUSIC MAN. In fact, so saffron toned were those uniforms that I half expected to see sacred cows lolling about in Iowa, of all places.
 

Dave B Ferris

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Thee was also a frequent poster here, whom I no longer see posting here, who considered Rio Bravo to be just as bad as The Searchers.

When Rio Bravo was reissued (after the original <very early> release had gone OOP), there was some hope the new release would be fixed, but no.
 

Robert Harris

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Thee was also a frequent poster here, whom I no longer see posting here, who considered Rio Bravo to be just as bad as The Searchers.

When Rio Bravo was reissued (after the original <very early> release had gone OOP), there was some hope the new release would be fixed, but no.

Similar problems.

Wrong year.
 

John Hermes

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Man, I would love Warner to honor this film's 65th Anniversary with a 4K release from a new scan. Perhaps, RAH doesn't think a 4K/UHD release is necessary, but I still would love to see such a release.
At the least, I would like to see them tackle the yellow dye failure issue of the last release with the latest technology. The sharpness on that Blu-ray is outstanding.
 
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haineshisway

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There is no reason to do another The Searchers unless they fix the color. The color is terrible and it could have, in fact, been fixed before. And if the fellow who runs things over there is still there, it probably won't be fixed because it would mean having to admit there was a problem in the first place. I mean, he admitted they hadn't even looked at the dye transfer reference print. So, the film deserves the royal treatment (as does The Music Man, another yellow mess of a transfer, which I don't believe was made from the Technirama negative) and I would be a very happy camper if it came to be and if a 4K were done, which I think it would be, I would start doing 4K.
 

Robert Crawford

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There is no reason to do another The Searchers unless they fix the color. The color is terrible and it could have, in fact, been fixed before. And if the fellow who runs things over there is still there, it probably won't be fixed because it would mean having to admit there was a problem in the first place. I mean, he admitted they hadn't even looked at the dye transfer reference print. So, the film deserves the royal treatment (as does The Music Man, another yellow mess of a transfer, which I don't believe was made from the Technirama negative) and I would be a very happy camper if it came to be and if a 4K were done, which I think it would be, I would start doing 4K.
I believe Ned Price has left Warner so there shouldn't be any reason why Warner couldn't make this right.
 

Tino

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With virtually as much controversy stirring about Warners' digital restoration of The Searchers as to the proper means of handling the situation in Iraq, I can report that I've finally been able to view the film in HD DVD.

With slightly richer colors, blacker blacks, additional shadow detail, and six times the image resolution, the HD version of the film is not only a winner, but will be one of the films that spurs many to step up to the plate and purchase their HD player.

The skies in this DVD tend to track the original look of the negative. What this means is that blue skies go from a wispy off white to a rich Eastman blue, without hitting the overly saturated trademark Technicolor dye transfer look. As such, the film replicates what was on the original negative, now faded, and the preservation masters from which it was digitally derived.

Resolution-wise, I'm seeing detail that I don't recall from 16mm prints. My memory of 35mm is so untimely that it is of no value. As an example, something that I noted for the first time, is the clarity of Mr. Wayne's CSA belt buckle.

With the exception of a bit of day for night that I've noted in the past at the very end of the film, what I'm now seeing in HD is nothing less than a near miraculous re-working of the film elements into something not only quite representative of the production, but a stellar home video achievement.

While there will be those who long for the unnatural look of the dye transfer skies, this HD DVD, with its more natural look is a home video treasure, not to be taken lightly.

Highly Recommended.

RAH
Robert, Has your opinion changed from these comments?
 

haineshisway

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Robert, Has your opinion changed from these comments?
My memory is it changed pretty quickly. There were only a few of us back then, voices in the wilderness, who were regularly berated and put down by everyone - funnily, those same people now think the color is wrong. That's the way it goes.
 

Robert Crawford

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My memory is it changed pretty quickly. There were only a few of us back then, voices in the wilderness, who were regularly berated and put down by everyone - funnily, those same people now think the color is wrong. That's the way it goes.
So disagreement of opinion is now being berated and put down? Come on, people on different sides of such arguments are always passionate with their opinion. I still think the BD looked fine in 2006, but I recognized that there were issues with the colors and I know for a fact that Warner knew there were some issues too.
 

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