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GIANT RESTORATION

#1
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6/6/09 at 4:13pm
  • Joined: June 2009
  • Post Count: 1
Greeting Mr. Harris,

Thank you for the wonderful work you do and inspire in others. It is a great service to a business that can, at times, be rather short sighted.

I have two questions regarding screenings I saw a couple of years ago at the AMPAS Goldwyn Theater.

"Giant" was supposedly a new print, but turned out to be quite disappointing with the various reels being remarkably inconsistent in color and sharpness. Would you happen to know if this was just a bad print, or are the source elements just that heavily deteriorated.

I also saw the restoration of "Black Narcissus" that Granda Television did a few years ago. The image they presented looked like it was an HD resolution image rather than one done at 2 or 4K. Do you know if a better image exists?

Obviously every film's look and current condition is unique unto its-self. Am I expecting too much from a 50 to 65 year old 35mm original or have I just sited unfortunate examples? I have to admit your work may have spoiled my expectations!
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#2
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6/21/09 at 7:08am
  • Joined: February 1999
  • Post Count: 2,866

Re: GIANT RESTORATION

Giant is, and has been, a problematic film based upon negative processing and conformation decisions made during production and in post by the studio. What you saw most likely represented something derived from protection elements.

In regard to Black Narcissus, as long as the original elements exist and are handled properly, and I presume that they do exist, "restoration," as the term is currently understood by many of those who do the actual work, should not be necessary. A quality digital combine of the elements, a bit of clean-up and proper color are basically lab work. There should be no problems with BN. Better elements do exist, and the venue may have been running the UK Blur-ray.

Your expectations of a 60, or 70 year old film are not out of line.

RAH


Quote:
Originally Posted by FHM
Greeting Mr. Harris,

Thank you for the wonderful work you do and inspire in others. It is a great service to a business that can, at times, be rather short sighted.

I have two questions regarding screenings I saw a couple of years ago at the AMPAS Goldwyn Theater.

"Giant" was supposedly a new print, but turned out to be quite disappointing with the various reels being remarkably inconsistent in color and sharpness. Would you happen to know if this was just a bad print, or are the source elements just that heavily deteriorated.

I also saw the restoration of "Black Narcissus" that Granda Television did a few years ago. The image they presented looked like it was an HD resolution image rather than one done at 2 or 4K. Do you know if a better image exists?

Obviously every film's look and current condition is unique unto its-self. Am I expecting too much from a 50 to 65 year old 35mm original or have I just sited unfortunate examples? I have to admit your work may have spoiled my expectations!

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did."  T.E. Lawrence

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