- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
- Messages
- 18,397
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money is not an antique film. It is not in dire need of restorative efforts. Which means that the new Blu-ray from Disney should be a veritable slam dunk.
My first exposure to the film was via a 70mm blow-up, with 6-track stereo.
Every grain as captured by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus' camera was there on the screen. Color, densities, shadow detail, all gorgeous.
It was, in every way possible, not only a beautifully produced film, but a masterwork, and one of Paul Newman's most enduring performances.
I've mentioned here before that when something goes wrong, it affects everything to do with a film, and allows even major works to take on an unfortunate visage.
Disney's new Blu-ray of The Color of Money, is one of those unfortunate releases.
The Color of Money, which is a film that I love, is no longer quality entertainment.
Simple as that.
What appears to be original grain is there, but it's out of focus. There is neither sharpness, resolution, nor any detail whatever. There are definite digital problems. The image tends to meander around the screen, never quite certain if or where it wishes to light.
It appears that someone was given an old transfer, told to "fix it," and just kept turning knobs until the all the old problems went away.
And new ones appeared.
I'd run a budget for a proper image harvest for the film -- forget about the audio -- it's good enough for Blu-ray, and we'll not worry about it. But if I ran that budget, it might be overly embarrassing to the wonderful folks at Disney, as it wouldn't be high enough to even bring the concept of releasing what is on this Blu-ray disc into conversation.
I don't understand what's going on here. They're spending far too much money on their animated library, and then allow one of the live action jewels in their crown to go public in an manner in which it should never be seen.
It's almost as if they have something against the filmmaker, and this is one way of showing their corporate displeasure.
The new Blu-ray of Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, which strangely won Mr. Newman an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, is garbage, plain and simple. What is unfortunate is that if this were to be one's only exposure to the film, viewers might find it difficult to understand why anyone was even nominated for anything.
It makes the film look like low-budget product, filmed by a hack.
Image - 0
Audio - 4
Recall!
RAH
My first exposure to the film was via a 70mm blow-up, with 6-track stereo.
Every grain as captured by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus' camera was there on the screen. Color, densities, shadow detail, all gorgeous.
It was, in every way possible, not only a beautifully produced film, but a masterwork, and one of Paul Newman's most enduring performances.
I've mentioned here before that when something goes wrong, it affects everything to do with a film, and allows even major works to take on an unfortunate visage.
Disney's new Blu-ray of The Color of Money, is one of those unfortunate releases.
The Color of Money, which is a film that I love, is no longer quality entertainment.
Simple as that.
What appears to be original grain is there, but it's out of focus. There is neither sharpness, resolution, nor any detail whatever. There are definite digital problems. The image tends to meander around the screen, never quite certain if or where it wishes to light.
It appears that someone was given an old transfer, told to "fix it," and just kept turning knobs until the all the old problems went away.
And new ones appeared.
I'd run a budget for a proper image harvest for the film -- forget about the audio -- it's good enough for Blu-ray, and we'll not worry about it. But if I ran that budget, it might be overly embarrassing to the wonderful folks at Disney, as it wouldn't be high enough to even bring the concept of releasing what is on this Blu-ray disc into conversation.
I don't understand what's going on here. They're spending far too much money on their animated library, and then allow one of the live action jewels in their crown to go public in an manner in which it should never be seen.
It's almost as if they have something against the filmmaker, and this is one way of showing their corporate displeasure.
The new Blu-ray of Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money, which strangely won Mr. Newman an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, is garbage, plain and simple. What is unfortunate is that if this were to be one's only exposure to the film, viewers might find it difficult to understand why anyone was even nominated for anything.
It makes the film look like low-budget product, filmed by a hack.
Image - 0
Audio - 4
Recall!
RAH
