Recent content by English Patient

Karen's voice is easily the most beautiful sound I've ever heard. In her version of "(They Long to Be) Close to You," she can effortlessly convey flirtatious innocence, sensual longing and wistful world-weariness in the span of a few notes. Her vocals on "Solitaire" are breathtaking and...

Very interesting poll, and the results aren't surprising to me given the HTF audience. I would be interested how other, more average and casual film buyers would respond. I'd wager most have the attitude that film grain is like dirt on a windshield that needs to be wiped away - and anything that...

Yes, Coppola asked Spielberg to convince Paramount to restore Godfather back in '07 or thereabouts, that was the origin of the Robert Harris restoration from that time.

I'd wager that most filmmakers (and artists in general) view their works as 'living documents,' never quite finished, and they can't resist the urge to tinker and experiment. (Coppola himself probably started the trend way back in '77 when he released The Godfather Epic chronological version for...

The Australian label Imprint released David Mamet's The Winslow Boy - my all-time favorite film. Sure, the transfer is a bit dated, but it's a huge step above the old DVD, which had a transfer that made the movie look as if the camera had been coated in Vaseline.

I know - that's why I still have mixed feelings about the 2022 version, although I do like it in a lot of ways. Yes, it has a grain-less, clean, modernistic sparkle that's attractive in its own way. But it departs from the look intended by Willis in '72 and which was captured in your great '08...

That's a good point, hadn't thought of that Storaro example. His Univisium aspect ratio, though, from what I gather, was retroactively applied to the DVD release and wasn't what the movie originally used. In the case of The Godfather, since Willis' 'four points yellow, one point red' look was...

That's an excellent point - when the ultimate author of a work approves a particular version of the work, it's hard to argue that version is incorrect, a betrayal, or whatever. This isn't a case of a home video label releasing something without the director's input. And if Coppola himself isn't...

The 4k version is attractive, but I think it would be more embraced if Gordon Willis hadn't designed the photography and post-processing to achieve a very specific look that the new version departs from. I agree with you, changing the tint/coloring doesn't alter the power of the film at all...

Since so many home video releases of movies over the years have been subtly or not-so-subtly changed over the years (color timing, different aspect ratios, etc.), it makes me wonder how truly important cinematography is to many directors. I'm sure it is important and they all value great...

It almost seems as if home video executives feel that in order for older catalog titles to compete better in the marketplace, films like The Godfather need to have much of the clarity, sharpness, lack of grain, etc that modern movies have. I admit to being often susceptible to thinking a version...

Aside from the movies themselves, what I'm most looking forward to in this set is the special feature on the latest restoration process, which should be a good bookend to the fascinating "Emulsional Rescue" feature from the original bluray set. I wish more releases had these kind of features...

I had the same reaction. I didn't think it was anywhere near the quality or tone of Chinatown. Chinatown had a low-key subtlety that made it seem realistic; Two Jakes felt too overblown, like it was trying too hard. For one example, there's a scene in which Jake goes ballistic on someone in a...

Wholeheartedly agree. I think with the technological advances of this modern era (4K digital restorations, etc.), we know there is the capacity for a near perfect presentation of a movie, so a lot of people automatically expect that every blu-ray release will be near perfect. It's a complete...