A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Searchers -- in High Defintion (11 Viewers)

[Robert Harris]

The 1997 DVD of The Searchers is so far off base as to what was originally intended, it is almost humorous.

The edition is a textbook case of attempted digital fixes to make skies blue and other colors pointed in directions so different from the way that the element was answering light changes, as to tilt the entire spectrum in the wrong direction.

Not a pretty picture.

And definitely NOT recommended as anything other than a coaster.

RAH

 

[Mike.P]

Hmmm, I'm going to have to side with Mr. Harris on this side of the argument. I've never once been let down by his recommendations. I took a peak at this over the weekend, and it looked fantastic! I think I'll watch it on Saturday.

 

[ppltd]

Likewise.

 

[Jari K]

Same here. I have already 10-disc "John Wayne - John Ford Film Collection" box set and Blu-ray, so it´s fair to say that my choice is done.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I've had The Searchers on HD for some time, even though I had never seen it. Finally cracked it open tonight, and had my first viewing in lovely HD.

I can't say I loved the film, but I certainly enjoyed it. The picture was absolutely beautiful, I might add.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

Interesting, thanks RAH.

I prefer the red brick on the opening credits, to the yellow of the CE & HD DVD.
From the DVDBeaver: "we have some positives and negatives about the HD-DVD. Although it is brighter, sharper and colors are far more vibrant, it appears to more closely support the CE's flawed color scheme. This is evident right from the titles sequence."
&
"This indicates that although many were hoping for a 'fixed' restoration using a better IB print - in fact - Warner have not and probably never will. This is it for the films hampered ratio and altered color palette."

RAH, is this a case of people (myself included) not knowing the original color palette of the film?

Also from DVDBeaver: "This (HD DVD)is an immense improvement over the CE with all the vast mono-sky shots, terrain vistas and blanketed snow scenes. This, to me, is the biggest difference to giving the most film-like appearance possible. It no longer looks like a great DVD folks - it looks like film. The sharpness becomes an added bonus - one that can actually distract from the narrative - it is so distinct. Be careful not to swoon too much!"
&
"The orangy / dusty-brown coloring in the CE is replaced by a more reddish image with brighter whites and darker blacks. I suspect that with HD's superior resolution they can get away with the higher level of contrast without impinging upon the clarity. "
&
The bad news: "One of the negatives of the new HD-DVD is the framing. For some reason we are actually losing some information on all 4 sides."

From the original standard SD DVD vs. the CE SD DVD release: "The framing - I was astounded at how much was removed from the original DVD image - mostly on the top, bottom and left edges! Using graphic programs to count pixels I estimate it to be almost 18%! This alone is a valid reason to lean towards the new issue.

Colors - here is where we require a certain amount of speculation. I've been informed by sources 'in-the-know' that the color scheme of this new release is way off - meaning it is quite different than when it was shown theatrically. Skin tones can tend to look very red/tan/yellow at times in the new Ultimate Collector's edition.

I have been in communication with many experts on The Searchers - people who have actual 35mm prints of the film and are extremely familiar with all aspects of this classic western. Here are some anonymous quotes:"

"Anyhow, I do think the color is "wrong." Which is not to say that the old color was "right." But they have really turned up the yellow, and I think too far."

"I've owned both 35mm and 16mm IB prints of the film - the first DVD, which was taken from the laserdisc transfer, obviously isn't nearly as sharp as the new transfer, but the color (especially on the laserdisc as opposed to the DVD, which had many other issues) was totally accurate on the laser transfer. At the time of the laserdisc release, I reviewed it for the Director's Guild of America magazine, not because I'm a reviewer, but because I thought it was an astounding restoration. I talked to the men who did it - they told me they timed the laser transfer to the Warners IB Tech reference prints, which was and is in excellent condition. That is why the blue of the sky is so perfect in that transfer - it takes your breath away and it's not a sickly greenish-white as in the new DVD. Just look at the shot where Wayne unsheathes his rifle before riding to the burning ranch - in the old transfer the sky is blue blue, in the new DVD it's white. Blechhh. "

"[Warner] have now admitted it, and are now fixing it, using an IB Tech print as a reference. "

"As an aside, for about ten years, in the 1980s, all the 35mm prints in distribution were ORANGE -- with green skies."

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[Robert Harris]

While I'm not suggesting that the latest incarnation of Searchers is color perfect, it does not have the forced color of the earlier version, which while a sky may be blue, has a myriad of other problems brought about by attempts to make the sky blue.

Like some hair colors, blue facial tones do not exist in nature.

As imperfect as it may be colorwise, the high definition version is a far better representation of the film than the laserdisc transfer.

As far as pixel counting, to see what may have been lost or gained in the area around the frame, none of it matters. VVLA is a huge piece of real estate. Matte the soundtrack area, an equal bit on the bottom, find a nice area of protection for splices that also doesn't reveal bits of the set, grip equipment or crew, lock it in and go with it.

In the area lost or gained of a few pixels... between exposure of the negative, reduction printing to matrices, and final cropping in theatres, we generally have a much more accurate exposed area in home video than was ever seen on the theatre screen.

RAH

 

[Mike.P]

Mr. Harris, thank you for your recommendation on this disc. I would have never watched this otherwise, being that the film precedes my birth by 17 years and I previously had little interest in Westerns. The excellent presentation and beautiful cinematography put this in my top 5 as far as HD-DVD's I own.

Great film, great disc.

 

[DeeF]

I agree with David Boulet about too much yellow (for my taste) in some of the recent classic titles released by Warners, which include Ben-Hur, The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and yes, The Searchers.

But my HD DVD of The Searchers is astounding to watch! It's a breathtaking film, and a breathtaking disk, and a breathtaking experience.

I have the CE too, and the 1997 edition DVD too.

I've watched The Searchers probably 10 times since I bought it a year ago on HD DVD.

 

[Ed St. Clair]

BIG thanks, Mr. Harris.

To me, DVDBeaver site shows three 'looks' (color schemes) for the three releases.
Very confusing for someone like myself, w/so little knowledge of this film.
As always, I enjoy (and learn from) yours posts!

 

[Richard--W]

Many posters on internet chat rooms have noted the over-saturation of yellow in classic WHV titles, and still others have noted what can only be described as a subjective re-coloring of classic WHV titles.

What is the reason for this?
How should this issue be addressed?
Can RAH suggest how to approach the problem, or how to bring a stop to it?

I foresee the next generation of young English and European tourists who grow up with this HD of THE SEARCHERS stepping off the tour buses for their first glimpse of Monument Valley, and expressing disappointment that Monument Valley isn't yellow like in the movie ...

 

[PaulDA]

I got this as a Christmas gift and I hadn't gotten around to watching this before now. I'd never seen it before, so to me it simply looked like a beautifully restored film--the look is gorgeous and I have to rank it among the best looking HD DVDs I've seen (about 20 or so, so I'm no expert, though I have some idea of what makes for a great image). I knew of no controversy until I opened this thread but I will not take sides there as I have no other viewing experience with this film with which to make a comparison. All I can say is this will get repeat viewings, with the picture quality a primary reason for them.

A beautiful film and an important cultural document.

Edit: I've now gone through the whole thread so I have a better understanding of the controversy. In some ways, I wish I hadn't read it though (sometimes ignorance is bliss). I've never been to Monument Valley, never really focused on its colour and upon learning (via the trailer) that it had been filmed there, I initially presumed the change of colour was meant to disguise the area as it was supposed to be Texas and New Mexico, among other places. Until this thread, I was content with that. I suspect that for all but the most devoted fans of the film, if they give any thought at all to the colour, they will conclude what I did if they don't wander in here. And, further, I suspect those people will enjoy this film and find it beautiful, as I did. Ah well.

 

[Mark-W]

Well, after reading this thread, I feel like I just want to crawl back into bed!

The Searchers was one of Fry's $9.99 Blu-rays this last Saturday, and
the film is too good not to own in the best possible format.

Thanks for all the information regarding this release.

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

The local Sam's Club was selling the BRD for $10 too. Odd how some of the older films on BRD are marked down so much.

 

[Mark-W]

I also noticed at Costco a few BD titles at $12.99 and $14.99.
(Hopefully this means more market penetration by the masses of this format.)

I watched one of the documentaries on the BD before starting to watch the film proper, and all I have to say is that my sentiments match those of many posters in here: I am quite happy with the BD of The Searchers and
this is the best it has ever looked to my forty-one year old eyes.

Thanks for the great review RAH!

 

[Tino]

RAH. Have you seen the bluray? I know there were some concerns with the color on the HDDVD. Just wondering if you have any follow up comments? I recently saw it for the first time on blu and thought it looked spectacular.

 

[Robert Harris]

RAH. Have you seen the bluray? I know there were some concerns with the color on the HDDVD. Just wondering if you have any follow up comments? I recently saw it for the first time on blu and thought it looked spectacular.

Needs to be restored using latest tech.

 

[Tino]

Any plans to do so?

 

[dpippel]

Needs to be restored using latest tech.

Thanks for the information Mr. Harris. In your opinion does the film need a full-on physical restoration or can what needs to be done be handled entirely within the digital realm?

 

[Robert Harris]

Thanks for the information Mr. Harris. In your opinion does the film need a full-on physical restoration or can what needs to be done be handled entirely within the digital realm?

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.