A Few Words About A few words about...™ 2001: A Space Odyssey -- in BD & HD (1 Viewer)

[Josh Steinberg]

I returned to City Cinemas Village East on Friday night to see "2001" again - I know, I know, I'm crazy - and I was pleasantly surprised by the experience.

First, it seemed that their print was replaced, because what I saw was immaculate - there was still all of the damage built in from the element these prints were made from, but no damage caused by the venue. Additionally, whatever projectionist was on duty Friday night was really good at his job, because the film was much steadier and with better focus throughout. The difference really was night and day. When the second half of the film began, I kept waiting for those ugly scratches to appear, and they never came... and by the end of the film I had this ear to ear grin on my face. It's still not a perfect print, but having a good presentation really went a long way to make up for the shortcomings baked into the thing.

BTW, for any Boston-area residents, the Somerville Theater is an outstanding place to see a movie. I used to live just up the street from them, and they have an incredibly talented projectionist who really cares about his craft, and every presentation that I ever saw there was perfect.

 

[Craig Beam]

I thought it looked great here in Portland yesterday.... I wish the sound had been a bit louder (those nightmarish choral pieces should absolutely overwhelm the viewer), but overall----- quite pleased.

 

[John Hodson]

Long story short; Vue completely buggered the screening of the 4k DCP. And as for their handling of the intermission...

However, beyond that, I could see a finely detailed, nicely coloured, unmarked digital file. Which bodes well for the UHD release.

 

[Dave H]

Sorry if I missed it, but has someone seen the 70mm viewing and the 4K DCP? If so, was the color and overall 'look' about the same for the 4K DCP?

 

[DP 70]

Sorry if I missed it, but has someone seen the 70mm viewing and the 4K DCP? If so, was the color and overall 'look' about the same for the 4K DCP?

The 70mm was unrestored the new 4K DCP is restored.

 

[Synnove]

I thought it looked great here in Portland yesterday.... I wish the sound had been a bit louder (those nightmarish choral pieces should absolutely overwhelm the viewer), but overall----- quite pleased.

Indeed it was a little quieter than the remixed soundtrack that has played there before... though this version hurt my ears more (I'd say it's due to the former being remasted/eqed to be more listenable at higher volume).

Per the new DCP: some people at blu-ray forum have stated that the color and look was similar to the 70mm presentations

 

[Mellotronmaniac]

Teal? What Teal?
As someone lucky enough to have seem both the unrestored 70mm and now the restored DCP, I have good news.
Having just returned from seeing the 4K, I have been reminded in no uncertain terms as to how beautiful this film is.
I think whoever prepared “that” YT trailer, was winding people up. Actually to these eyes, the 70mm contained more teal in its colour palette that the DCP. When I saw the 70mm, I was alarmed by the duck egg blue Earth just after the famous edit. I needn’t have worried, the Earth is mostly blue.on this. The sky, just before the edit is blue. The full on Moon shot could almost be in black and white, not a drop of teal. The “Open the pod bay doors Hal” sequence which is very teal in the trailer is nowhere near as intense on the digital.
Some of the shots that I was looking forward to/ dreading, were some the Dawn of Man scenes. The Blu-ray is very fuzzy into the lower corners. These artifacts were missing on the DCP. Very nice. In my opinion, the internal whites of the various spaceships were very natural. At times, there was if anything, a tinge of blue rather than teal, but I am being picky. One thing I must say. The picture quality overall was great, and will look even better I’m sure on our screens at home. But the overall definition seemed to go up another notch from the stargate sequence through to the end.
Those interiors were truly beautiful.
OK, so the blacks were not nearly as dark as I would like, but I don’t think I will ever see deep blacks on screen in the same way as I remember the original showing, but my mind might be playing tricks on me.
The only slight disappointment, was the sound funnily enough. As a musician, one of my pet hates in modern sound production is the heavy use of dynamic compression. And I felt that some of the dynamic range I heard with the 70mm had been smoothed out on this. However, it was very detailed, and, yes, digital! The soundscape during the stargate journey and beyond was sensational. You can’t have everything.
So fear not. It’s hard to see how our fav film could be improved further. The colour palette seem to have been sensitively handled. There was a pleasant amount of grain, so it looked very cinematic. And yes, I have to admit, while I really enjoyed the recent 70mm, but I loved this. It looked and sounded gorgeous.

 

[CarlosMeat]

Great news ! Now why do we have to wait till October ?

 

[Michel_Hafner]

OK, so the blacks were not nearly as dark as I would like, but I don’t think I will ever see deep blacks on screen in the same way as I remember the original showing, but my mind might be playing tricks on me.
.

Projector issue. The UHD on Oled will have pitch blacks if it was graded that way.

 

[Robert Harris]

Projector issue. The UHD on Oled will have pitch blacks if it was graded that way.

And there lies the potential rub

 

[CarlosMeat]

And there lies the potential rub

'
Robert,
As I've stated before most DCI projection struggles with low APL performance with contrast hovering around 2000:1 (except Dolby Cinema) would you elaborate on your post a bit for us ?

 

[Robert Harris]

'
Robert,
As I've stated before most DCI projection struggles with low APL performance with contrast hovering around 2000:1 (except Dolby Cinema) would you elaborate on your post a bit for us ?

“If it was graded that way”

 

[Synnove]

2000:1 is ideal on and off, with ANSI being in the hundreds. If the film print is any indication, the black levels weren't raised.

 

[Synnove]

Let’s leave... Mr. Vitali out of this, I doubt that he would approve.

I heard it from Mr Vitali's own lips just this last Saturday.

So, given what you've said elsewhere about the new prints being "an embarrassment to all but those involved in their creation", I suppose we'll have to add Mr Vitali to the list of the damned.

Unfortunate given that he is an incredibly sweet and kind man.

 

[Robert Harris]

I heard it from Mr Vitali's own lips just this last Saturday.

So, given what you've said elsewhere about the new prints being "an embarrassment to all but those involved in their creation", I suppose we'll have to add Mr Vitali to the list of the damned.

Unfortunate given that he is an incredibly sweet and kind man.

There have been so many false, misleading and incorrect stories regarding this release, being set forth with no sense of cohesion, that I believe nothing as fact, and would draw no conclusions.

You’re free to add anyone to any list that you like, but I would suggest you not.

There’s far more (and less) here than meets the eye. Adding your 1 + 1, in this case, will not = 2.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I heard it from Mr Vitali's own lips just this last Saturday.

So, given what you've said elsewhere about the new prints being "an embarrassment to all but those involved in their creation", I suppose we'll have to add Mr Vitali to the list of the damned.

Unfortunate given that he is an incredibly sweet and kind man.

It's unfortunate that you would attempt to stroke that fire again as I thought we have moved past that part of this discussion thread. Lets move on please.

 

[Synnove]

???

Mr Harris saw fit to contest a claim of mine in a dismissive manner; is it improper of me to support my words, especially when they were confirmed by Mr Vitali himself directly to my face (bypassing the multiple journalistic intermediaries that Mr Harris claimed couldn't be trusted)?

I guess I see Mr Harris fanning the flames of hyperbole elsewhere (when, it seems, he hasn't even seen the print or DCP himself), seemingly denigrating many professionals in the process, and I find it hard to ignore a fire that isn't really out.

 

[Michel_Hafner]

2000:1 is ideal on and off, with ANSI being in the hundreds. If the film print is any indication, the black levels weren't raised.

In what way is 2000:1 ideal? It's far from ideal.

 

[Robert Crawford]

???

Mr Harris saw fit to contest a claim of mine in a dismissive manner; is it improper of me to support my words, especially when they were confirmed by Mr Vitali himself directly to my face (bypassing the multiple journalistic intermediaries that Mr Harris claimed couldn't be trusted)?

I guess I see Mr Harris fanning the flames of hyperbole elsewhere (when, it seems, he hasn't even seen the print or DCP himself), seemingly denigrating many professionals in the process, and I find it hard to ignore a fire that isn't really out.

Because I think you're trolling him right now.

 

[Synnove]

In what way is 2000:1 ideal? It's far from ideal.

2000:1 is the on/off contrast ratio quoted for the average D-Cinema projector under ideal conditions. Of course, many cinemas use silver screens now to make up for decreased brightness so that could change contrast ratio. Laser engine machines are also capable of a higher ratio. In any case, ANSI is far far less.

Because I think you're trolling him right now.

The section you've bolded refers to Mr Harris' words here:
http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=73384&page=4#entry498160

I may be lacking in tact but I do not fabricate claims.

The meeting with Mr Vitali was at the Hollywood Theatre post a screening of Full Metal Jacket after 10PM, Saturday night*. While I have an audio recording of the event, I broached my question after meeting with him personally after the Q&A ended, though his involvement with the recent prints & transfer (specifically color correction, which is what Mr Harris claims has been botched, among other things) is referred to by the presenter and indirectly by Mr Vitali during the Q&A itself. This claim is also referred two in a couple publications about Mr Vitali's new film "Filmworker".

Mr Harris implied that it was reckless of me to claim that Mr Vitali was involved with the new prints/transfer (even though it's referenced in multiple publications**). So, I had an opportunity to ask the man myself and did so.

On an aside, the guy is incredibly sweet and paints an incredible picture of his time working for Kubrick.

*https://hollywoodtheatre.org/events/full-metal-jacket/
**https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/filmworker-doc-leon-vitali-stanley-kubrick-w519964 & https://filmmakermagazine.com/10532...ssion-and-his-stanley-kubrick-doc-filmworker/