I’ve always considered it, even with it’s bright California sunlit exteriors in all their heavily warm-timed glory, to be daylight noir.
Paramount’s new 4k is a beautiful affair, rendering the film as it was originally seen in the first run of dye transfer prints, only struck for the original release, and just before the Technicolor lab went off the dye transfer standard, which occurred in December of 1974. From my memory, all additional prints struck were Eastman Color.
Beyond color, this release eschews the more recent desire to reproduce every grain, and more properly (in this archivist’s opinion) reproduces the appearance of the original prints.
Colors, density, the subdued grain structure, and black levels all seem correct.
I was going to call this one of the great films of the ’70s, but I’ll make a step forward.
Chinatown is one of the great films. Period.
And belongs in every serious cinema library.
There will be some who mourn the fact that the track has been re-recorded as 5.1, but the original monaural is still there in 2.0. The 5.1 works beautifully.
Most important is the bifold slip, collectible by some standards, which ups the normal printing of the paper insert to include a metallic layer.
Great extras should seal the deal.
Image
Forensic – 10
NSD – 10
Audio – 10 (Dolby TrueHD 5.1)
Pass / Fail – Pass
Plays nicely with projectors – Yes
Makes use of and works well in 4k – 9
Upgrade from Blu-ray – Yes
Worth your attention – 10
Slipcover rating – 4
Very Highly Recommended
RAH
Robert has been known in the film industry for his unmatched skill and passion in film preservation. Growing up around photography, his first home theater experience began at age ten with 16mm. Years later he was running 35 and 70mm at home.
His restoration projects have breathed new life into classic films like Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, My Fair Lady, Spartacus, and The Godfather series. Beyond his restoration work, he has also shared his expertise through publications, contributing to the academic discourse on film restoration. The Academy Film Archive houses the Robert A. Harris Collection, a testament to his significant contributions to film preservation.
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