HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Do The Right Thing - Recommended - Page 2

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.

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. 

I had the opportunity to meet Ernest Dickerson today at Sunset Gower Studios, and was able to speak with him about the Universal Blu-ray and the Criterion laserdisc of this title.   Ernest confirmed to me that he supervised the color timing of both the Criterion disc and the 2009 Universal Blu-ray.  He acknowledged that the original theatrical run of the film and the Criterion disc were timed with a distinctly warm filter.  He said that when he timed the Universal Blu-ray, he did not do that.  He feels the movie still looks very hot, and that the colors are quite saturated.  But this is a matter of him revisiting a movie he had not seen in many years and approaching it with his perspective today.  In response to what he heard about the complaints, he said that if there was a mistake made here, he was the one who made it.   But he didn't feel this was a bad transfer or that Universal did a bad job with the release.  He also confirmed that Spike Lee saw and approved of the release. 

 

I'm happy to finally end any speculation about this title, even if it comes 2 years after the release...

 

I am greatly appreciative of Ernest Dickerson for taking the time to discuss these issues.  He was in the middle of a day of filming and could easily have avoided this.  He is a very nice man and it's funny to hear that one of his greatest concerns regarding Blu-ray at this time is to know when the heck they're going to release Lawrence of Arabia on Blu.