"Dark City: Director's Cut" coming to Blu-ray on July 29 (1 Viewer)

[RobertR]

Quote:

I predict that when the disc is viewed, some people will see DNR and EE. Others will say they don't see it (partly because of their setups), or will say it's still better than the DVD and that's good enough for them.

 

[Dave H]

match the look of 35 mm film is irrelevant to the issue of excessive DNR (and EE). The issue is that their excessive use by morons who think that such digital manipulation is "good" takes the look much farther from the look of film than Blu-ray is capable of and HAS achieved.

Definitely.
I'm not sure why some of us keep apologizing or rationalizing for studio mistakes. Maybe to feel better about the purchase? Either way, I think it's important to stay objective.

 

[Will_B]

Where is the controversy? New Line uses DVNR. They have for a long time. We knew this was a possibility and now we know it has happened.
The surprise here is that they used a very old transfer (must be ten years by now) and spliced in the new stuff.

I guess the filmmaker is to blame for that, right? It was him who reedited the film, so all those months he spent working on it, he should have noticed.

 

[Ruz-El]

Definitely.
I'm not sure why some of us keep apologizing or rationalizing for studio mistakes. Maybe to feel better about the purchase? Either way, I think it's important to stay objective.

Who apologized or made excuses for the studios mistake? I just commented that not all screen grabs are accurate, as seen in many threads in the past where aspect ratios and the likes where all skewed in some way. This all sounds like "The Searchers" all over again, when the UC version came out, and everyone grabbed their pitch forks and torches because the colour timing was off, until a industry professional ( I think Robert Harris) interviewed the fellow responsible and it was discovered that the colours were correct for the first time in home video history (all previous versions had the colour tweeked), despite all those found rememberances folks who saw it in the theaters... so sorry if I don't put a lot of weight in to detail missing from a viewing remembered 6 years ago. Seems like there's supposed to be a bramoter of fandom, where if a transfer is "good enough", then your not really a film fan. Whatever, I got over that type of debate years ago.
As far as Dark City, I have no idea whats "wrong" with the transfer, I haven't seen it. It's cheap enough I'm going to pick it up and hope for the best, seeing as it's a film I mearly enjoyed, as opposed to dedicated my life over.. Has it been confirmed that an old transfer was used? Is this a true Directors Cut, or one of those "Extended Edtions" that the film maker had nothing to do with?

 

[RobertR]

Seems like there's supposed to be a bramoter of fandom, where if a transfer is "good enough", then your not really a film fan.

The issue is not "are you a film fan". It's "what are your quality standards". Some ask for what the format is capable of. Others are happy with significantly less.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Interesting that you should bring up RAH. He has yet to comment on the film, and I'd put a lot more weight on what he has to say about the film because film is his career and his lifeblood. There are so many variables we don't know about here, and memory is not always reliable.
RobertR, you say you saw a 70mm blowup of Dark City about 6 years ago at the Samuel Goldwyn theatre? Given that 70mm blowups haven't been produced for some time, and that there's no indication anywhere on the various 70mm sites that a blowup of Dark City was ever produced, I find that difficult to believe. Dark City was also a Super35 production and as such would have looked like shite in 70mm, with the graininess of the Super35 origins amplified to absurd degrees.
I say we wait until the experts weigh in.

 

[Ruz-El]

RobertR, you say you saw a 70mm blowup of Dark City about 6 years ago at the Samuel Goldwyn theatre? Given that 70mm blowups haven't been produced for some time, and that there's no indication anywhere on the various 70mm sites that a blowup of Dark City was ever produced, I find that difficult to believe. Dark City was also a Super35 production and as such would have looked like shite in 70mm, with the graininess of the Super35 origins amplified to absurd degrees.

...can happen. So yeah, I guess you could say that I value Robert Harris's time that he puts in here.
Note too, where I haven't denied that the DCDC might be a total mess, I'm waiting for those professionals I trust to comment, or for my copy to arrive, whatever comes first.

 

[RobertR]

RobertR, you say you saw a 70mm blowup of Dark City about 6 years ago at the Samuel Goldwyn theatre?

Sorry, I was responding to a question about detail in Patton. It was that film I saw at the Samuel Goldwyn theater. No 70mm blowup, since it was filmed in 70 mm.

 

[Dave Mack]

I just posted that link to the screengrabs so we could get an IDEA. No need for everyone to get so hot under the collar. True, they don't tell the whole story and everyone should make up their mind but they can indeed give one an idea about the transfer. Then maybe some could choose to rent first before they commit to buy.

 

[DavidS]

Check around Riff Raff, errr... Richard O'brien's hat for instance.

Don't feel bad, I make that mistake all the time...

 

[Carlo_M]

Well it's less than a week away now, and I hope this thread continues to cool down a bit. This is one of my favorite movies of all time (and to think I only saw it by accident because the movie I wanted to see was sold out), and I didn't think anything could lessen my excitement for a new edition in HD...until this thread started devolving .
Could there be something wrong with the disc? Absolutely. This wouldn't be the first or highest profile film to be overly DNR'd, grain removed, and/or EE'd. And New Line's been as guilty as any other studio.
But I think there is another side. Post-processing of some kind is usually required when something that is analog (film) in nature is transferred and compressed into a digital format. The key is to use it sparingly, and to do as little damage as possible. That example Dave Mack posted of the "Force Field Cop" is certainly eye opening and alarming. But at the same token, some other screen grabs posted earlier do not show EE where you'd think there should be, if the whole transfer were marred in the same fashion as the cop.
So while screengrabs are helpful, I think it's wise for us to wait until the transfer is released and judge it as a whole before decrying the entire transfer as a catastrophe.

 

[Ruz-El]

I'm really curious to see if the potential EE issues are one the SD, could be a case of where it's sloppy Blu mastering hightening something you don't see on good ole SD.

 

[JonZ]

Yet another disappointment. Man, Id hate to pass on this disc.
Add this to Patton and Gangs of NY - both of which pissed me off and I passed on. Why is it so hard for them to get it right????
sigh:frowning:

 

[Dave Mack]

Well it's less than a week away now, and I hope this thread continues to cool down a bit. This is one of my favorite movies of all time (and to think I only saw it by accident because the movie I wanted to see was sold out), and I didn't think anything could lessen my excitement for a new edition in HD...until this thread started devolving .
Could there be something wrong with the disc? Absolutely. This wouldn't be the first or highest profile film to be overly DNR'd, grain removed, and/or EE'd. And New Line's been as guilty as any other studio.
But I think there is another side. Post-processing of some kind is usually required when something that is analog (film) in nature is transferred and compressed into a digital format. The key is to use it sparingly, and to do as little damage as possible. That example Dave Mack posted of the "Force Field Cop" is certainly eye opening and alarming. But at the same token, some other screen grabs posted earlier do not show EE where you'd think there should be, if the whole transfer were marred in the same fashion as the cop.
So while screengrabs are helpful, I think it's wise for us to wait until the transfer is released and judge it as a whole before decrying the entire transfer as a catastrophe.

agreed, carlo.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I, for one, am curious to see if this turns out to be sourced from an old D-Theater master. I remember when the Superbit of Lawrence of Arabia came out and it turned out that the EE on that release was actually applied to the master and couldn't be removed.

 

[Michel_Hafner]

So while screengrabs are helpful, I think it's wise for us to wait until the transfer is released and judge it as a whole before decrying the entire transfer as a catastrophe.

Absolutely. Problem is, how to watch it without buying if renting is not a realistic option. If I can rent I will to get the complete picture.

 

[brap]

It is tragedy to have the transfer corrupted with DVNR and I truly hope New Line reads this, but all we can do is lament that this is a transfer we will be stuck with. Dark City was not a big money maker. New Line is not going to spend the time and money to correct this.

If it sells big New Line might reconsider, but will probably not since the last transfer sold so well. For those "DNVR = NO SALE" people, definitely use the vote with your wallet method. There will not be another transfer though and you will be missing out a great movie.

The only thing we can hope for is New Line stopping this practice on future releases.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Big bummers if this one really is marred significantly w/ DNR/EE. Hopefully, it's at least not approaching the level of Patton and GoNY. I already preordered it from WHV directly -- and it would be hard to let it pass anyhow... :frowning:
_Man_

 

[Michael Reuben]

I hope this thread continues to cool down a bit.

I second that emotion!
If anyone wants to read a message into that, they're probably right.

M.

 

[Cassy_w]

This release will be available as a rental online and at many Blockbuster stores, so all of us who want to see it without rewarding New Line for their shoddy work can avoid buying.