Press Release Criterion Press Release: Criterion's first 4k UHD releases (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

I would not be surprised if King Kong skips UHD should it ever come up.

Do you mean skips right to 4K or just gets a Blu-ray release and no 4K release?

 

[DanH1972]

I don’t think I’ll be buying any of these cause I don’t see the visual gain being that much better w the exception of The Red Shoes.

But make available Barry Lyndon, The Last Emperor, It’s a Mad Mad etc World and Heaven’s Gate and I’ll pay right now!

If it's done right, even an early B&W film can look better on 4k disc. Universal is releasing vol 1 of their classic monster films in 4k and if the digital 4k version out now is anything to go by, they will definitely be improvements over the prior 8 bit Blu-ray's. Then you have 4k Blu-ray's normally higher bitrate and lossless audio.

 

[DanH1972]

Do you mean skips right to 4K or just gets a Blu-ray release and no 4K release?

I imagine if any 4k release of King Kong (1933) happens, WB will do it themselves. Many studios are no longer handing out 4k content licensing to third party vendors, or being that much more stingy compared to standard HD.

 

[Patrick McCart]

Question for Robert Harris: Do the original three Technicolor negatives for THE RED SHOES still exist, and is there even the slightest chance that Criterion can utilize the same three-strip recombining process that has resulted in recent Warners Archives Blu-ray miracles like THE PRIVATE LIVES OF ELIZABETH AND ESSEX, TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME, etc.? I mean, while it's wonderful to have the Doris Day intro-vehicle ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS (1948) in true three-strip Technicolor, isn't an international classic like THE RED SHOES (also 1948) worthy of the same treatment, especially for the primo 4K UHD format?

I don't mean to reply for Mr. Harris, but here's the transfer notes for The Red Shoes from the 2010 Blu-ray...

"This new high-definition digital transfer was created from the 2009 4K digital restoration made from the original Technicolor negatives and optical tracks. The Red Shoes was restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the BFI, the Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films. Restoration funding was provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation.

Restoration supervised by: Robert Gitt, with the assistance of Barbara Whitehand.
Digital colorist: Ray Grabowski/Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging, Burbank, CA.
Film color timing: David Cetra/Cinetech, Valencia, CA.
Digital audio restoration: John Polito.
Digital Picture Restoration: Warner Bros. Motion Picture Imaging, in association with Prasad Corporation Ltd. (India) and MTI Film".

 

[Lord Dalek]

Do you mean skips right to 4K or just gets a Blu-ray release and no 4K release?

The latter. The film as it exists now is by and large sub-bluray quality so basically 4k's only good for asset preservation.

UHD would be considered a ripoff.

 

[JoshZ]

I imagine if any 4k release of King Kong (1933) happens, WB will do it themselves. Many studios are no longer handing out 4k content licensing to third party vendors, or being that much more stingy compared to standard HD.

And yet WB is licensing Citizen Kane to Criterion.

 

[Worth]

The latter. The film as it exists now is by and large sub-bluray quality so basically 4k's only good for asset preservation.

UHD would be considered a ripoff.

Well, Maniac, The Hills Have Eyes, the original Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Martin, and Mother! are available or coming soon on 4K disc, and they were all shot in 16mm.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Well, Maniac, The Hills Have Eyes, the original Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Martin, and Mother! are available or coming soon on 4K disc, and they were all shot in 16mm.

That's nice. I'm sure they all look awful too.

 

[Reed Grele]

I remember when a Criterion CAV box set would cost $125.

And a bit over $300 today adjusted for inflation.

 

[PianoPlayer]

Any speculation on what new supplements we'll get with The Red Shoes 4K release?

 

[Derrick King]

I would assume that UHDs of titles that they have already released on Blu-ray will not be getting any new supplements.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Any speculation on what new supplements we'll get with The Red Shoes 4K release?

None.

 

[TravisR]

None.

I'm inclined to agree but I think it's been about a decade since they originally released it on Blu-ray so it's not impossible that they'll make a new Blu-ray using the 4K transfer and add a film critic talking about the movie and/or about Powell & Pressburger.

 

[usrunnr]

I'm thrilled that Criterion is finally going to release 4K discs. I'm disappointed that one of their first 4K films is one of the most overrated and boring films in cinema history. Citizen Kane?!? Ugh! What will they choose next to bore us, 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Mark

My favorite all time film. But I'm looking forward to Kane with a "K" in 4K. Not a boring minute in either one.

 

[Gerani53]

Both are movies that became immortal because of how they used cinema to break exciting new ground in storytelling.

 

[ShellOilJunior]

Those looking for more details on The Red Shoes UCLA restoration:

https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/sites/default/files/RedShoesBooklet.pdf

 

[Capt D McMars]

​

​ ​ THE CRITERION COLLECTION AUGUST 11, 2021​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Our First 4K Ultra HD Releases​ We’re thrilled to announce Criterion’s first 4K Ultra HD releases, a six-film slate that includes Citizen Kane, Menace II Society, The Piano, Mulholland Dr., The Red Shoes, andA Hard Day’s Night. The first of these editions and their special features will be detailed in our November 2021 announcement next week, with others to follow in subsequent months. The most dazzling debut in cinema history, Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane was Criterion’s first laserdisc release 37 years ago. It now rejoins the library after a long absence, making its first appearance in 4K Ultra HD along with Allen and Albert Hughes’s riveting breakthrough Menace II Society; Jane Campion’s Academy Award–winning The Piano,starring Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin in her breakout role; David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr., a tale of love and jealousy in the city of dreams; Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s singular Technicolor fantasia The Red Shoes; and Richard Lester’s timeless movie musical A Hard Day’s Night, which brought the Beatles’ revolutionary talent and irreverent humor to the big screen. Each title will be available in a 4K UHD+Blu-ray combo pack including a 4K UHD disc of the feature film as well as the film and its special features on Blu-ray. Select films will be presented in Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. Stay tuned for more details in our November announcement!​

I can't wait to view this version!! Criterion, you've outdone yourself!! I'm still hoping that you;d remaster Orson Welles' 1949 classic "Black Magic " in Blu-ray or 4K formatted and remastered perfection!!!

 

[Lord Dalek]

People, they're not going to release Rules of the Game in 4k.

I stand corrected.

Because France doesn't know better.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Don’t understand why it’s necessary to make a derogatory comment about an entire country because a rights holder in that territory believes they have a product that could potentially generate some revenue for them.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I stand corrected.

Because France doesn't know better.

Not sure if you're just being sarcastic, but although there apparently aren't any additional details to be had (per the screencaps and as expected), the new 4K French release does look better in some ways nonetheless... at least viewed close enough on a 4K display anyway.

The grain resolves much nicer close-up in 4K, but not sure it'd matter to most (as most might not view close enough), and some blemishes were apparently fixed (or whatever was done)... though not sure if it's just caps-a-holic's HDR->SDR conversion or whether the blacks are really that crushed -- the contrast/tonality do look better than the Criterion screencaps if possibly a bit too dark and/or contrasty.

_Man_