North By Northwest Restoration for 2009? (1 Viewer)

[Jim Peavy]

Resurrecting this topic, 'cause I notice the original disc has gone OOP. Surely this is indicative of a new, SD DVD and Bluray release for the film's 50th.

 

[DavidBC]

edit: oops. wrong thread....

 

[Osato]

Is there any further news on this title being released? It would be great for this to come to blu ray as well.

 

[Simon Howson]

It is being released this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary. It will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. It will be a new transfer because the previous HD master was made in 1080i. I think it will be significantly different, because the previous Lowry restoration was too video like, too smoothed out, and unfilmic.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I was under the impression that the previous DVD was mastered in SD, not HD. It wasn't really a restoration; no film elements were physically restored, and no new preservation or printing materials were made. It was more of a video digital remastering, and considering that the entire yellow layer of the film has faded away, I think it looked pretty darn good. Should be exciting to see what they can do with technology ten years later.

 

[Simon Howson]

From here:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/chat/warner07.txt

 

[Simon Howson]

Blu About The Slow Release of Classic Titles On Blu-ray? Take Heart! | High-Def Digest

 

[Simon Howson]

Edit: Posted in wrong thread.

 

[Jack Theakston]

The new 4k restoration of NxNW was premiered last night in Hollywood. It looks and sounds stunning-- unlike the film has ever looked or sounded before (in a good way). You will not be disappointed with the BD.

 

[Simon Howson]

Originally Posted by Jack Theakston

The new 4k restoration of NxNW was premiered last night in Hollywood. It looks and sounds stunning-- unlike the film has ever looked or sounded before (in a good way). You will not be disappointed with the BD.

According to the Blu-ray press release, the restoration was done at 8K resolution.
http://www.dvdtown.com/news/50th-anniversary-edition-of-north-by-northwest-on-dvd-and-blu-ray/6849

 

[Jack Theakston]

The scan-in was done at 8k and downsized to 4k for restoration.

 

[Steve...O]

Forgive my ignorance please, but would utilizing the full 8k scan for the disc have resulted in any appreciable improvement in the presentation on the disc or is 4k all that the human eye can recognize given the limits of Blu Ray technology?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer this.

 

[Jack Theakston]

8k is a little bit of overkill for even a VistaVision production in color, but because of optics, it's always advisable to scan in at a higher rate and downrez from there.

To answer your question, there wouldn't be a difference on BD, since the maximum resolution resolved from HD is 1080p. The restoration was done at nearly four times that.

 

[rich_d]

Originally Posted by Jack Theakston

The new 4k restoration of NxNW was premiered last night in Hollywood. It looks and sounds stunning-- unlike the film has ever looked or sounded before (in a good way). You will not be disappointed with the BD.

Good to hear. I am so looking forward to its release.

 

[Adam_S]

Originally Posted by Steve...O

Forgive my ignorance please, but would utilizing the full 8k scan for the disc have resulted in any appreciable improvement in the presentation on the disc or is 4k all that the human eye can recognize given the limits of Blu Ray technology?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can answer this.

iirc, 8k is approximately the full resolution a frame of negative film holds, the full resolution of a frame of positive film is somewhere between 4 and 6k, I think. 1080p, the max for BluRay is slightly less than a 2k digital presentation, though for all intents and purposes the two are the same. By scanning at 8k, restoration can be done at a lower resolution, that digital restoration if done with a resolution independent 'layer' so to speak, can then be applied to the full res scans and printed back to film.

I'm jealous Jack saw the 4k of North by Northwest, I saw the 4k Wizard of Oz premiere back in August and it was unbelievably fantastic looking. Jack, any chance that North by Northwest will get a week run in 4k at the Landmark like Blade Runner did? or Wizard of Oz or Gone with the Wind?

 

[Jack Theakston]

iirc, 8k is approximately the full resolution a frame of negative film holds, the full resolution of a frame of positive film is somewhere between 4 and 6k, I think. 1080p, the max for BluRay is slightly less than a 2k digital presentation, though for all intents and purposes the two are the same. By scanning at 8k, restoration can be done at a lower resolution, that digital restoration if done with a resolution independent 'layer' so to speak, can then be applied to the full res scans and printed back to film.

The resolution of different stocks vary wildly. Film resolution is quantified by the number of black and white line pairs that are resolvable across 1 mm worth of film at certain contrast ratios (the lower the contrast, the less the resolution). SMPTE test loop PA-35, better known as "RP-40", for example, measures theater screens usually for a resolution of 68 lp/mm. At .825 x .602 in (21 by 15 mm), the projectable area of the Academy format, 1428 x 1020 lp/mm, or 2856 x 2040 lines/mm.

Negatives are much higher resolution than prints (in the range of 80-100 lp/mm), as there are effects in printing such as slippage that cause a downgrade in resolution (usually about half, unless they are step printed). Thus, it is advisable that in order to get the full resolution of film in a digital scan in, one must scan the film in at 4K (4096×3072 pixel) resolution. Unfortunately, most films today have their digital intermediates scanned in and outputted at 2k, thus, severely retrograding the quality of modern stocks. For consumer 1080 resolution, however, a 2k scan is more than ample.

I'm not sure what stock NxNW was shot on (whether it was 5248 or 5250 is a point of debate), but even if it was as low as 50 lp/mm on the negative (Bob Harris might have this info), you're still clearly working with a large area-- 37.72 mm x 24.92 mm, which would translate to 3772 x 2492 pixel resolution to get the minimum amount of info.

I'm jealous Jack saw the 4k of North by Northwest, I saw the 4k Wizard of Oz premiere back in August and it was unbelievably fantastic looking. Jack, any chance that North by Northwest will get a week run in 4k at the Landmark like Blade Runner did? or Wizard of Oz or Gone with the Wind?

Possible, but doubtful. I talked to Ned Price after the show and he confirmed for me that there were no further plans to show the uncompressed 4k at this time, largely because the infrastructure isn't there yet. Regardless, I think the BD will looks superb. But, should it come up at the Landmark or anywhere else, don't miss it!

 

[Robert Harris]

There is no debate. The film was shot on the only available stock, EK 5248. Please keep in mind that there are differences between HD and 2k/4k, etc beyond resolution, ie. 4-4-4.

Originally Posted by Jack Theakston

I'm not sure what stock NxNW was shot on (whether it was 5248 or 5250 is a point of debate), but even if it was as low as 50 lp/mm on the negative (Bob Harris might have this info), you're still clearly working with a large area-- 37.72 mm x 24.92 mm, which would translate to 3772 x 2492 pixel resolution to get the minimum amount of info.

 

[cmgiulini]

Just saw North by Northwest restore at Chicago International Film Festival. Martin Landau was there, but no one from the technical team. Compared to the fuzzy bleedy prints that have been in circulation, the images are razor sharp. (There is however, one brief closeup of Martin Landau that's very soft and grainy - reminds me of the shot of James Stewart exiting Kim Novack's hotel room in Vertigo, left in at the previous bad quality as a reminder of where Bob Harris had to start from.) In this kind of film, where so much is playing on differences in scale, especially between Cary Grant and his often threatening surroundings, the increased sharpness, especially when shown on a large screen, really brings out the quality of this extraordinary work. In the crop duster sequence, you can actually see buildings far on the horizon. Sometimes the contrast is almost too much, as in scenes where the person in the foreground is so supersharp, they really pop out from the background, so soft it looks like rear projection (even when it's not?) Perhaps an artistic decision.

 

[Simon Howson]

Yay! My copy of the Blu-ray shipped from DVDpacific.com this morning!