Criterion Press Release: Dressed To Kill (Blu-ray) (1 Viewer)

[Derrick King]

Svet Atanasov/Pro-B (Blu-ray.com reviewer) posted the following at the Blu-ray.com forum:

NOTE:

Hey guys,

Criterion are aware of the issue. As usual, when there is enough helpful information, there will be a response.

The information will be made available here.

In the meantime, could we please drop the overreactions and move on? Thanks.

Pro-B

 

[ROclockCK]

I can tolerate a lot of grain. DNL and EE have to be what many here would call outrageously egregious (recall!) before it starts to bother me *a bit*. (Don't ask me about sound anomalies that most others would never even notice though...)


But when something that's supposed to be round doesn't look round...that drives me a bit nuts. My eye, quite possibly everybody's brain in fact, can immediately detect lack of circularity. The perfect shape instantly registers as imperfect, so something's wrong. End of story for me, whatever the reason.

I'm similarly cursed Craig. Line anomalies will always jump out at me more than colour grading issues.


So I have a couple of questions for our film production and exhibition experts here:

1. If we're seeing substantially more image on the left side of the frame than the right, and Dressed to Kill was a native anamorphic film*, shouldn't any presentation of the entire Panavision frame have been something closer to 2.55:1, like early full width CinemaScope?
2. And wouldn't the subsequent reduction of that wider native anamorphic image to 2.35:1 during the transfer stage explain the simultaneous inclusion of more left frame image than was ever intended to be seen with excessive de-anamorphosis in the middle of the frame?

* i.e. not merely extracted at 2.35:1 from a spherical full frame, like Super 35mm.

 

[haineshisway]

I have to see it for myself, and unfortunately that won't be until August 18th. Yes, in one of the caps Nancy Allen looks thin but I can't go by that - I just have to see the thing, then can give my opinions. I cannot tell anything about the color from those caps - I have the original Blu-ray, which, as I understand it, is the same transfer as the Arrow. So, we have that no matter what. But I'm extremely curious to see this.

 

[haineshisway]

The previous transfers are not stretched because faces aren't inhumanly alongated, ovals are ovals and triangles are triangles.


I'm baffled by the defenses this release has been getting on this forum. Is the alleged seal of approval of a director and Criterion's reputation so important that people are willing to accept a disc with a clearly, unmistakably DISTORTED image?


Dressed to Kill is not a Sokurov film, fellas.

How can anyone be defending this release on this forum when not one person has SEEN it? There may be something wrong, there may not be - we need to SEE it.

 

[ROclockCK]

In the meantime, here's one of Will's caps presented at 2.55:1:

Just a possibility to consider...

 

[Footstank40]

I have to see it for myself, and unfortunately that won't be until August 18th. Yes, in one of the caps Nancy Allen looks thin but I can't go by that - I just have to see the thing, then can give my opinions. I cannot tell anything about the color from those caps - I have the original Blu-ray, which, as I understand it, is the same transfer as the Arrow. So, we have that no matter what. But I'm extremely curious to see this.

What do you think of the MGM disc? I thought it looked just dandy and the color looked like pretty much every other version of the movie I ever saw.


I was never going to buy the Criterion version anyway but it will be interesting to hear what others like yourself have to say after viewing it. The screencaps posted on other sites look pretty darn green to me and if it ends up being confirmed I wonder what the explanation will be....what with the "director approved" marketing sticker and all.

 

[haineshisway]

What do you think of the MGM disc? I thought it looked just dandy and the color looked like pretty much every other version of the movie I ever saw.


I was never going to buy the Criterion version anyway but it will be interesting to hear what others like yourself have to say after viewing it. The screencaps posted on other sites look pretty darn green to me and if it ends up being confirmed I wonder what the explanation will be....what with the "director approved" marketing sticker and all.

I'd have to put it on again, but I remember being happy with it and thinking it looked as it should. Didn't get the Arrow as I knew it was the exact same master.

 

[Will Krupp]

In the meantime, here's one of Will's caps presented at 2.55:1:

PLEASE, I take NO credit for that cap. It came from blu-ray.com!

 

[ROclockCK]

Sorry about that Will. I didn't see any watermark on the image, so I assumed it was yours.


Regardless where it originated, that cap does show the additional left side real estate being captured off the original negative (presumably where the soundtrack would be laid in for release prints), and what that looks like transferred at a reduced 2.35:1 width.


Of course, in some of the other caps I've seen it doesn't appear that every shot was handled this way. So I agree, it's a curious thing which I hope Criterion will clarify.

 

[Lord Dalek]

How can anyone be defending this release on this forum when not one person has SEEN it? There may be something wrong, there may not be - we need to SEE it.

...you realize you're saying this to people who still complain about a green tint on The Fellowship of the Ring that was only on some bad miscalibrated screencaps right?

 

[NegativeCreep]

Svet Atanasov/Pro-B (Blu-ray.com reviewer) posted the following at the Blu-ray.com forum:

Ridiculous, and now the thread is locked...


That site really does get its knickers in a twist whenever criticism is directed towards Criterion.

 

[TheSteig]

It was becoming more than criticism and *Pro-B* Sven had asked the members to *cool it* on the discussion but as usual , members need to chime in talking about castrating themselves to idiotic comments like this below :


They deliberately did this just to make me angry and miserable on purpose. **** Criterion. They are sinking their reputation to the ground with this slapdash example of pure corporate greed. I wanted to own this disc and now I never will, there will be a gap in my life, being forced to buy the MGM disc because this is the ABSOLUTELY WORST THING THEY HAVE DONE TO ME!!!

THEY WILL NEVER FIX THIS, PERIOD.

 

[NegativeCreep]

It was becoming more than criticism and *Pro-B* Sven had asked the members to *cool it* on the discussion but as usual , members need to chime in talking about castrating themselves to idiotic comments like this below :


They deliberately did this just to make me angry and miserable on purpose. **** Criterion. They are sinking their reputation to the ground with this slapdash example of pure corporate greed. I wanted to own this disc and now I never will, there will be a gap in my life, being forced to buy the MGM disc because this is the ABSOLUTELY WORST THING THEY HAVE DONE TO ME!!!

THEY WILL NEVER FIX THIS, PERIOD.

Could have just deleted the comment and suspended him for the infraction to set an example. Trolls will see this and try and replicate the exact same behavior in other threads just to get them closed.


Anyway, my statement still stands. That place is still way too defensive when it comes to Criterion, whether it's their reviews that gloss over the obvious negatives, the moderators trying to silence people with valid criticism or the regular members entering mob mentality mode and gang attack the people with the contrarian opinion.

 

[Cine_Capsulas]

Svet Atanasov/Pro-B (Blu-ray.com reviewer) posted the following at the Blu-ray.com forum:

This is quite ridiculous.


It's an impending release that has just been reviewed in two sites and is creating concern in potential buyers.


Why censor an appropriate discussion instead of simply punishing offending members? Isn't that a discussion forum?

 

[Cine_Capsulas]

How can anyone be defending this release on this forum when not one person has SEEN it? There may be something wrong, there may not be - we need to SEE it.

I've seen screengrabs in two different sites.


Evidence is abundant.

 

[Cine_Capsulas]

...you realize you're saying this to people who still complain about a green tint on The Fellowship of the Ring that was only on some bad miscalibrated screencaps right?

You are suggesting that the evident stretching in the screencaps from both sites stem from mere "miscalibration".

 

[NegativeCreep]

This is quite ridiculous.


It's an impending release that has just been reviewed in two sites and is creating concern in potential buyers.


Why censor an appropriate discussion instead of simply punishing offending members? Isn't that a discussion forum?

I saw threads on that site a while ago and people were complaining about others discussing a Criterion release, saying that the fact that there was even discussion was a bad thing.


Absolutely horrible place, I try to avoid it when I can.

 

[Cine_Capsulas]

I saw threads on that site a while ago and people were complaining about others discussing a Criterion release, saying that the fact that there was even discussion was a bad thing.


Absolutely horrible place, I try to avoid it when I can.

Criterion cultists.

 

[NegativeCreep]

Criterion cultists.

Found a post I was referencing.


http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=9370062&postcount=431


"It will only lead to back/forth discussion, that is frowned on by this site."


Absolutely nuts.

 

[TheSteig]

This is quite ridiculous.


It's an impending release that has just been reviewed in two sites and is creating concern in potential buyers.


Why censor an appropriate discussion instead of simply punishing offending members? Isn't that a discussion forum?

It wasnt censored it was discussed before , during and after the review.. Does every forum member need to comment in order for it to be complete ? Not at all. The problem was discussed quite heavily for days, what else can be said other than Criterion will most likely make some kind of statement sooner or later as Sven said. Theres no further reason to rant and rave about it. That goes for any release with a problem, such as Madhouse. There was a problem, it was discussed, Kino now has a replacement disc program..