HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Do The Right Thing - Recommended

This should settle the issue.  The fact that both Lee and Dickerson approved this transfer explains the matter. 

To be honest, I've been a little taken aback by comments on various boards where people have been opining that Spike Lee would sit by quietly while one of his movies was being presented in a fashion he didn't want.  In some places, I read comments where it was stated that the lack of comments must mean that Lee was unhappy with the new transfer.

I hope this will explain the situation and put everyone on the same page.

That's good to hear. Is this source reliable? In the sense that was it someone involved with the film or the transfer itself? I would hate for it to be just someone at Univeral saying, "Yeah, it's approved, etc.", just to ease Internet chatter and possibly not admit a mistake (if that were the case - not saying).

And if indeed this is the case, I wonder how it would compare to Dracula. There they have said that the new release is different because it's the first time they've been able to get close to the look of the OAP. I accept that, and I like the new transfer a lot.
But it's a lot more different than a simple color filter chang/white balance as seems the case here.

In this case, it seems more simple - just a color filter difference that was prevalent across the whole film. Added to this is the fact that Dickerson approved the Criterion 2001 DVD. And in 2001, the technology was there if he wanted a cooler look (if that were indeed the way the OAP looked). So is this just a bit of revisionist? I'd be fine with that if someone involved with the film says why and how, etc. Maybe Spike (as he says in the documentary) feels the atmosphere in NY since 1989 has gotten a lot better, so it's "cooler". Not sure. Just a wild guess.




Edited by urbo73 - 7/16/2009 at 02:36 pm GMT
Edited by urbo73 - 7/16/2009 at 02:38 pm GMT
Edited by urbo73 - 7/16/2009 at 02:39 pm GMT

The source is reliable.  It's a person at Universal that deals with these matters, in a position to know about this question.  It's not someone just idly speculating without basis.

I'm not sure about how this compares to the Dracula situation, to be honest.  Other than that Coppola and company decided to make public comments about their new transfer while Spike Lee and Ernest Dickerson have not felt it necessary to do so.

And we should keep in mind that Ernest Dickerson actually approved the 1995 Criterion laserdisc.  This same transfer was anamorphically encoded for the 2001 DVD.  As I understand it, the differences between the two Criterion releases are really in terms of the addition of a few more video extras, such as the "Return to Bed-Stuy" and the interview with the editor. 

As far as the question of whether this is a revision of some kind, I agree that would be up to Spike Lee or Ernest Dickerson to address if they wish to do so.  I have read on multiple other boards that people were going to ask Lee about this at various publicity events (like his signing at Barnes and Noble in NYC), but have never heard about anyone actually asking him that question.  My only objection there has been that in the absence of public comment, some people were then assuming that this meant disapproval.  Again, if Spike Lee thought that someone had mishandled his film, I think we'd hear about that loud and clear. 

Well, if it's a revisionist situation, at least they're not going back and make *all* their films look substantially cooler too like some other cinematographer we know. 

Maybe they'll eventually decide to give us both versions for the 25th anniversary, if people continue to complain (and resist buying) enough...

_Man_

Kevin already addressed this as I gave him a heads up before I posted it.  They are very reliable.  That it why it took a couple of days just to re-verify.  Keep in mind the relationship between the studios and their filmmakers is a very important one.  A studio isn't going to lie when the upside is moving an extra 200 units and the downside is severely harming or destroying a relationship with a successful filmmaker.

Any one else reminded of the color timing/brightness debate over the Image-distribbed Orion The Silence Of the Lambs DVD versus the Criterion and (later) the MGM release?