haineshisway
Senior HTF Member
Over the years I've owned a rather large number of dye transfer prints, ranging from classics like The Wizard of Oz, Singin' in the Rain, and Vertigo, to the Bond films and many, many others. In my top ten of lustrous and stunning dye transfer prints was always Bonjour Tristesse. It was stunning, with its black-and-white (printed on color stock) weaving into the most glorious IB Technicolor - want to know what skin tones look like or blue skies or the ocean, look no further than Bonjour Tristesse.
I was at the HTF event for Twilight Time on Friday, just basically to hang out with my chums who own the company. And at the end of their wonderful chat they had a treat for everyone - they showed a bit of Tristesse and Rains of Ranchipur. Both looked really good. After, Nick was kind of enough to give me the check discs to watch, which I did today.
Bye Bye Birdie gave me hope - that was an Eastman color film and I don't think there were ever dye transfer prints, at least in this country, but that transfer looked just like IB Tech and it was glorious. But so few film transfers get the IB look and I'm always nervous about it, especially with a favorite like Tristesse.
Well, I'm more than happy to tell you that this transfer is a stunner. It is crisp and clear as can be, with wonderful contrast. But the best thing about it is the color. And yes, it really does capture the dye transfer look. Those BLUE skies, that deep BLUE water, Jean Seberg's RED bathing suit, leap off the screen with such incredible saturation, which is just the way it should be. If anyone anywhere on any board says "Wow, this is over saturated" you call them a ninny immediately. They won't know what a ninny is, but it's a good word.
The black-and-white sequences (all the "present" scenes are in black-and-white) look sharp as a tack and are gorgeous. A lot of that can be laid at the feet of the amazing Georges Perinal, whose work here is incredible. Preminger never gets enough credit, IMO, as a great director, but Tristesse tells the tale - his work is elegant, stylish, and simple, serving the story perfectly.
The cast - well, David Niven, Deborah Kerr - they're great, as always, and Jean Seberg is just so fresh and breathtakingly beautiful, and Mylene Demongeot is wonderful, as well. The score by Georges Auric is a big plus. The screenplay by Arthur Laurents does have its precious moments, but there's just something about the film that's hypnotic and mesmerizing.
Major kudos to Grover Crisp - he and his team's work on this is breathtaking. And kudos to Twilight Time for having the good taste to release it. It's worth a purchase JUST for the transfer - JUST to see what dye transfer used to look like - this transfer is like looking at my dye transfer print - that's how good it is.
And The Rains of Ranchipur is nothing to sneeze at either.
I was at the HTF event for Twilight Time on Friday, just basically to hang out with my chums who own the company. And at the end of their wonderful chat they had a treat for everyone - they showed a bit of Tristesse and Rains of Ranchipur. Both looked really good. After, Nick was kind of enough to give me the check discs to watch, which I did today.
Bye Bye Birdie gave me hope - that was an Eastman color film and I don't think there were ever dye transfer prints, at least in this country, but that transfer looked just like IB Tech and it was glorious. But so few film transfers get the IB look and I'm always nervous about it, especially with a favorite like Tristesse.
Well, I'm more than happy to tell you that this transfer is a stunner. It is crisp and clear as can be, with wonderful contrast. But the best thing about it is the color. And yes, it really does capture the dye transfer look. Those BLUE skies, that deep BLUE water, Jean Seberg's RED bathing suit, leap off the screen with such incredible saturation, which is just the way it should be. If anyone anywhere on any board says "Wow, this is over saturated" you call them a ninny immediately. They won't know what a ninny is, but it's a good word.
The black-and-white sequences (all the "present" scenes are in black-and-white) look sharp as a tack and are gorgeous. A lot of that can be laid at the feet of the amazing Georges Perinal, whose work here is incredible. Preminger never gets enough credit, IMO, as a great director, but Tristesse tells the tale - his work is elegant, stylish, and simple, serving the story perfectly.The cast - well, David Niven, Deborah Kerr - they're great, as always, and Jean Seberg is just so fresh and breathtakingly beautiful, and Mylene Demongeot is wonderful, as well. The score by Georges Auric is a big plus. The screenplay by Arthur Laurents does have its precious moments, but there's just something about the film that's hypnotic and mesmerizing.
Major kudos to Grover Crisp - he and his team's work on this is breathtaking. And kudos to Twilight Time for having the good taste to release it. It's worth a purchase JUST for the transfer - JUST to see what dye transfer used to look like - this transfer is like looking at my dye transfer print - that's how good it is.
And The Rains of Ranchipur is nothing to sneeze at either.
