UHD Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ Night of the Living Dead -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Noel Aguirre]

Why is Criterion wasting time and money on this low budget release when they have so many others in their catalogue some which desperately warrant a 4K release. Too bad they couldn’t have given us a 4K of Romero’s Dawn of the Dead instead- a much more interesting film IMHO and never released by them. Their release lately are getting more and more obscure with limited marketability. What’s next a 4K Mutiple Maniacs?

 

[madfloyd]

I think this movie is a classic and well deserved as a Criterion release, but apart from the potential benefits of HDR (which we didn't get), it's not worthy of a 4k release (when they've already released a great version). I'm guessing this was planned with HDR but when they couldn't get permission, they released it anyway. They should have cancelled it.

 

[Kyle_D]

I'm picking this up today in the Criterion Flash Sale, as the only copy in my library is a 20 year old public domain DVD, and I have a $10 coupon that obviates the price difference between the Blu-ray and UHD.

I'm firmly in the camp that nothing shot and originally finished on film "needs" or even really benefits from HDR, so the lack of HDR does not bother me. The slightly better resolved grain structure and more sophisticated compression on the UHD is worth it to me.

 

[albert_m2]

Its one of my all-time favorites so I bought it! It came in a regular Blu-ray case which I prefer over digibooks anyway

The fact that it comes ins a regular case is tempting...

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Why is Criterion wasting time and money on this low budget release when they have so many others in their catalogue some which desperately warrant a 4K release.

Because as a classic cult horror film (arguably the best selling catalog physical media category) it will sell well, and the proceeds from the sales will help Criterion finance other releases that will not sell as well.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think this movie is a classic and well deserved as a Criterion release, but apart from the potential benefits of HDR (which we didn't get), it's not worthy of a 4k release (when they've already released a great version). I'm guessing this was planned with HDR but when they couldn't get permission, they released it anyway. They should have cancelled it.

I'm picking this up today in the Criterion Flash Sale, as the only copy in my library is a 20 year old public domain DVD, and I have a $10 coupon that obviates the price difference between the Blu-ray and UHD.

I'm firmly in the camp that nothing shot and originally finished on film "needs" or even really benefits from HDR, so the lack of HDR does not bother me. The slightly better resolved grain structure and more sophisticated compression on the UHD is worth it to me.

I couldn't pull the trigger on this 4K release today while I was ordering my titles during the Flash Sale. Next month, I might change my mind when Barnes & Noble has their November sale. Hell, I still haven't watched the 2018 Criterion Blu-ray yet which I plan to do this month during our HTF Horror Movie Challenge.

 

[Robert Harris]

I couldn't pull the trigger on this 4K release today while I was ordering my titles during the Flash Sale. Next month, I might change my mind when Barnes & Noble has their November sale. Hell, I still haven't watched the 2018 Criterion Blu-ray yet which I plan to do this month during our HTF Horror Movie Challenge.

Watch the earlier Criterion and enjoy it. It’s a beautiful release. Save your $$.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Watch the earlier Criterion and enjoy it. Save your $$.

Which is why I held off because if I'm satisfied with the Criterion Blu-ray than that's all I think I need right now. I ended up purchasing "One Night in Miami" BD along with three other titles which will probably come out on 4K disc in the near future.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Because as a classic cult horror film (arguably the best selling catalog physical media category) it will sell well, and the proceeds from the sales will help Criterion finance other releases that will not sell as well.

It’s called double dipping. I’m sure anyone wanting this title already bought it on blu and it’s not like it’s out of print. More importantly this review doesn’t recommend upgrading. Other titles given a 4K release would benefit more and hence probably sell better. It’s a shrewd move by Criterion if that’s their objective as you state. Also no one can predict how it will sell or know why Criterion made this decision. Their release titles recently have been weak as was their decision to enter so late into the 4K market so it’s not like it couldn’t be a bad decision.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It’s a shrewd move by Criterion if that’s their objective as you state.

Yes.

 

[FanboyZ]

Double Indemnity was in high dynamic range, Night of the Living Dead should have been.

 

[Robert Harris]

Double Indemnity was in high dynamic range, Night of the Living Dead should have been.

Why?

 

[Kyle_D]

Double Indemnity was in high dynamic range, Night of the Living Dead should have been.

The Max Frame Average Light Level for Double Indemnity was only 86 nits, within the range of SDR. As far as I can tell, the only portion of that disc that utilized HDR was the modern Universal logo...

 

[Capt D McMars]

I compared this new 4k with my Criterion bluray. I could not detect any difference between the two (in my projection setup). I feel this purchase was a waste of money.

Thanks, I just grabbed the BD of this during the Criterion Flash sale the other day...This and Carnival of Souls, also done by Criterion BD!! Both have the same pluses and minuses, in regurads to restroration and 4K upgrading.

 

[Richard Kaufman]

Just looked at screen grabs of the new Classic Monsters from Universal in 4k on DVD Beaver. Terrible amount of grain, which reminds of of RAH's comments here ... the only thing you get with 4k is more grain on old films like this which are distant from the source material.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Just looked at screen grabs of the new Classic Monsters from Universal in 4k on DVD Beaver. Terrible amount of grain, which reminds of of RAH's comments here ... the only thing you get with 4k is more grain on old films like this which are distant from the source material.

I'm looking at the actual 4K discs this afternoon and I'm not seeing terrible amount of grain on my OLED.

 

[Lord Dalek]

The ability to perceive grain will depend on the viewing distance from the screen.

 

[madfloyd]

Just looked at screen grabs of the new Classic Monsters from Universal in 4k on DVD Beaver. Terrible amount of grain, which reminds of of RAH's comments here ... the only thing you get with 4k is more grain on old films like this which are distant from the source material.

Beaver mentioned that his conversions from HDR to SDR for the screenshots is not a perfect process.

 

[Richard Kaufman]

True, nothing is perfect. But Beaver thinks the film looks better in 4k but his frame grabs certainly don't inspire me to spend money on the 4k discs.

 

[madfloyd]

True, nothing is perfect. But Beaver thinks the film looks better in 4k but his frame grabs certainly don't inspire me to spend money on the 4k discs.

Having spent a couple hours with Bride of Frankenstein last night where, instead of just appreciating the movie (which I had never seen before) I couldn't help compare the 4k with the blu. I have both movies ripped and could easily switch back and forth and I would watch a scene or two on one and then re-watch it on the other.

I have a decent projector setup with both madVR and Lumagen for converting HDR to SDR and while I normally love HDR, I could not appreciate this title in 4k. I tried tweaking settings to see if I could get the 4k to look as good as the blu (which I think looks fantastic) but failed. The deep blacks contributed to both black crush and dark grain which would look very noisy on brighter objects including faces. There were times where I might think that there was more information in a scene (or at least more grain) but it never led to the impression there was any more detail and often I felt like it obscured detail and just looked softer.

YMMV of course.