I don’t want to be the singular naysayer, but I’m seeing a glass half full with the new 4k of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, from Kino via MGM.
Color has been a problem in the past, with a recent release having some shading problems, along with less than spectacular color densities, which were okay.
The new 4k no longer has shading problems. The tendency toward blue is also gone.
But in their place, someone has performed color who apparently has an eye for blacks without shadow detail. The blacks just need some air, and a bit more delicate touch.
And I’m not making the age-old reference here to HDR. The Blu-ray seems to track the 4k nicely. Grain is appropriate for 2-perf.
If you don’t mind losing shadow detail, I believe this is the best the film has looked on home video.
Quality extras appear to have been carried over, but it also appears that both the 4k as well as the Blu are the 162 minute cut. Which means that fans will want to pull the old Blu-ray of the extended and drop it into the new packaging.
Audio seems fine, but I’m not an expert on the matter.
Image – 4
Audio – 5
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from Blu-ray – Yes, for color
Recommended
RAH
Color has been a problem in the past, with a recent release having some shading problems, along with less than spectacular color densities, which were okay.
The new 4k no longer has shading problems. The tendency toward blue is also gone.
But in their place, someone has performed color who apparently has an eye for blacks without shadow detail. The blacks just need some air, and a bit more delicate touch.
And I’m not making the age-old reference here to HDR. The Blu-ray seems to track the 4k nicely. Grain is appropriate for 2-perf.
If you don’t mind losing shadow detail, I believe this is the best the film has looked on home video.
Quality extras appear to have been carried over, but it also appears that both the 4k as well as the Blu are the 162 minute cut. Which means that fans will want to pull the old Blu-ray of the extended and drop it into the new packaging.
Audio seems fine, but I’m not an expert on the matter.
Image – 4
Audio – 5
Pass / Fail – Pass
Upgrade from Blu-ray – Yes, for color
Recommended
RAH
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None of what I just read is entirely surprising to me; and neither am I being a naysayer, as well. There’s just something about the history of GBU and its plight for perfection that may never be achieved. Lord knows, KL has done their damndest, but the elusive balance of GBU is seemingly not in the cards. Each transfer has its trade offs; and now we have our plentiful picks of preference.
That said, and as an avid GBU fan, KIno Lorber will be seeing my early support; as each incarnation has been a fascinating lesson in all the nuances that a single film and its ensuing transfers can encounter. This, I should add, is also being posted by one who never had the good fortune of seeing a theatrical print of GBU during its initial year of release.
That said, and as an avid GBU fan, KIno Lorber will be seeing my early support; as each incarnation has been a fascinating lesson in all the nuances that a single film and its ensuing transfers can encounter. This, I should add, is also being posted by one who never had the good fortune of seeing a theatrical print of GBU during its initial year of release.
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titch
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It sounds good enough for me. Just wish they could have pulled the rabbit out of the hat, like Bue Underground are doing with their releases.
Joseph Goodman
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The shadow detail in this transfer was compromised when L'Immagine Ritrovata had their unflushed train station urinal grade ways with it; this may be the silkiest purse anyone can make out of this sow's ear (without spending tens of thousands on a new scan).
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A scan should not be tens of thousands.
Is a proper restoration still possible?
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Don’t see why not. It ain’t brain surgery. Plenty of reference.
Dave H
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It's almost as if there is something metaphysical about certain titles never getting a truly proper restoration. Or is it just a curse? Terminator 2 comes to mind. The original unaltered Star Wars another. Sadly, there are others.
With that said, it sounds as if this will be a nice upgrade over the prior BD.
With that said, it sounds as if this will be a nice upgrade over the prior BD.
Dave H
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L'Immagine Ritrovata is indeed the "Ugly" here.
Maybe someone could enlist the services of Arch Stanton.
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RICK BOND
Supporting Actor
I got the 4K UHD Digital on Amazon. Watched it yesterday. Looks Nice ! 
bgart13
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Robert, do you think HDR would’ve made much difference for this?
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Yes. I don’t believe HDR was used. Had it been, the film could have verged on unwatchable.
Billy Batson
Senior HTF Member
I dunno, is this a regrade of the L'Immagine Ritrovata yellow transfer? I'd think what you'd need is the raw scan to work from, but maybe that doesn't exist anymore, it would take up quite a few terabytes & maybe they needed the computer space.
Dave H
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Yes, straight regrade at SDR rec. 709. My pure speculation is, Kino had budget constraints and probably couldn't access the raw scan L'Immagine Ritrovata did several years back. So they are using the 4K MGM master that was created from that scan and re-grading it but with limitations as a result.
I haven't watched the 2014 MGM disc in a long time. But I recall the blacks being very "thin" in darker interior shots perhaps as a result of L'Immagine Ritrovata. Shadows poor. Their Once Upon a Time in America restoration had a similar look in this regard - I only own the Warner version as a result along with its fully saturated colors.
I have no freakin' clue what L'Immagine Ritrovata was trying to do with these two movies.
B-ROLL
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I believe they all attended
!
!I'm not sure if it would have even been possible within the BDA 4k specs, but I would hope they could have at least been able to use a wider color gamut than the limited Rec 709 gamut on this release (at least P3) even if they were not able to have a wider dynamic range to work with. Anybody know if they can do SDR with a Rec 2020 container (P3 or otherwise grade) or do you have to use HDR to encode a wider color gamut on 4k Blu-ray?
Perhaps with the source master they were given there were severe limitations with what they could squeeze out as well, as others have speculated. Kino has done decent HDR work on their other few 4k Blu releases IMHO, and they are using HDR with upcoming 4k projects.
Dave H
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Dan, I believe the UHD BD spec calls for wide color gamut to be paired with HDR and SDR to be with 709.
cineMANIAC
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Maybe he means a manual/photochemical resto?
cineMANIAC
Senior HTF Member
In GBU's case, maybe they were trying to recreate late afternoon desert hues? Misguided but (probably) well-intentioned - just poorly executed and unnecessarily revisionist. Glad the yellow is gone.
To the poster who lamented about T2 and other "cursed" films - it's studio luck of the draw. T2 has the misfortune of being controlled by Lionsgate - a "studio" who is only interested in their portfolio. They may as well be a pharmaceutical company or a Real Estate conglomerate. I guess as long as movies are financed by shareholders and investors, they'll always be treated as product, not art as they should be.
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