UHD Review The Last Picture Show (Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection, Vol 3) UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Todd Erwin]

Director Peter Bogdanovich’s 1971 classic, The Last Picture Show, arrives on 4K UHD Blu-ray as part of Sony’s 6-film Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection, Volume 3.



The Last Picture Show (1971)



Released: 22 Oct 1971
Rated: R
Runtime: 118 min




Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Genre: Drama, Romance



Cast: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd
Writer(s): Larry McMurtry, Peter Bogdanovich



Plot: In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.



IMDB rating: 8.0
MetaScore: 93





Disc Information



Studio: Sony
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution: 2160p HEVC w/HDR



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[Carlo_M]

Thanks for the informative review! I wonder if this will ever be released individually because there aren't that many other films in the V.3 box that I'm interested in...

 

[uncledougie]

Agreed. And is the theatrical version actually the OCN framing without the manipulations Bogdanovich later implemented?

 

[mop]

Which version of the film is on the Blu-ray? Theatrical cut or Director's Cut, or Definitive Director's Cut?

 

[jayembee]

Which version of the film is on the Blu-ray? Theatrical cut or Director's Cut, or Definitive Director's Cut?

There are three discs in the release:

(1) Theatrical Version on UHD.
(2) Definitive Director's Cut on UHD.
(3) Definitive Director's Cut on BD.

There's no (undefinitive) "Director's Cut" included.

 

[Wayne_j]

I haven't seen the disc, but a local theater played the 4K restoration last week (Without HDR) and it looked excellent. They are having a Jeff Bridges month with a different Jeff Bridges movie every Tuesday.

 

[Rob W]

I haven't seen the disc, but a local theater played the 4K restoration last week (Without HDR) and it looked excellent. They are having a Jeff Bridges month with a different Jeff Bridges movie every Tuesday.

The studios don't usually re-master their dcp's of their catalogue titles in HDR / Dolby Vision or Atmos - they almost always retain the original theatrical look and sound.

 

[Wayne_j]

The studios don't usually re-master their dcp's of their catalogue titles in HDR / Dolby Vision or Atmos - they almost always retain the original theatrical look and sound.

They actually marketed it as Director's Cut New 4K digital restoration.

 

[battlebeast]

Which version was included with the criterion release?

WhaT was dropped from the criterion release?

Is this better than the criterion release?

 

[Lord Dalek]

The big thing about the Criterion is its ONLY in the BBS box so you're paying for several other movies. Its also just the Director's Cut (at the request of Bogdanovich) and sourced from a third gen element (why the ONeg wasn't around when Sony did their restorations for that Criterion box I do not know).

Otherwise what's kept:

-2009 solo Peter Bogdanovich Audio Commentary

-"...A Look Back"

-"A Conversation with Peter Bogdanovich"

-Location Footage

-Trailers

What's dropped:

-1991 Criterion Laserdisc commentary

-"Picture This" (1990)

-Francois Truffaut Conversation

What's added:

-1972 Theatrical Cut (in 4k)

-1991 Reissue featurette

 

[Todd Erwin]

I just updated my review to reflect that the digital copy code for this film is for the Definitive Director's Cut only.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Great review, Todd. I particularly appreciated how you related the themes explored in the film to life in your town today.

 

[Rob W]

They actually marketed it as Director's Cut New 4K digital restoration.

None of which suggests it was done in HDR...just a new 4K restoration.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Agreed. And is the theatrical version actually the OCN framing without the manipulations Bogdanovich later implemented?

The framing is identical to the previous Criterion and 2009 discs.

 

[Wayne_j]

None of which suggests it was done in HDR...just a new 4K restoration.

I know I didn't see it in HDR, no theater near me has dolby vision. Chances are that it is the same restoration as the disc only without the HDR pass.

 

[Will Krupp]

Agreed. And is the theatrical version actually the OCN framing without the manipulations Bogdanovich later implemented?

What manipulations do you mean? Gary Brockette?

 

[uncledougie]

What manipulations do you mean? Gary Brockette?

Later prints were zoomed in to tone down the nudity, like in the pool scene that originally was more graphic and later reframed in the home video prints I have seen. Not sure if Bogdanovich had second thoughts about it or if some of the performers regretted it (I read he was very protective of Cybill Shepherd and her career after this film, at least for a period of time). But the period was a time when especially male nudity was becoming more common, filmmakers pushed the limits, after which there was the inevitable reaction push to tone it down. Nowadays with HBO and Showtime miniseries, it’s hard to go back to the early days and get in the mindset of filmmakers finding new freedoms to depict sex and violence starting in the late 60s through early 70s. Pretty revolutionary for awhile.
Edit: Yes, I believe that’s the character and scene in question; there may have been a few others.

 

[Will Krupp]

Later prints were zoomed in to tone down the nudity, like in the pool scene that originally was more graphic and later reframed in the home video prints I have seen. Not sure if Bogdanovich had second thoughts about it or if some of the performers regretted it (I read he was very protective of Cybill Shepherd and her career after this film, at least for a period of time). But the period was a time when especially male nudity was becoming more common, filmmakers pushed the limits, after which there was the inevitable reaction push to tone it down. Nowadays with HBO and Showtime miniseries, it’s hard to go back to the early days and get in the mindset of filmmakers finding new freedoms to depict sex and violence starting in the late 60s through early 70s. Pretty revolutionary for awhile.
Edit: Yes, I believe that’s the character and scene in question; there may have been a few others.

Well, that's why I was asking because, I have to admit, I did NOT know that was an intentional decision on the part of Bogdanovich. I had always assumed that Gary's disappearing "member" was a result of the older 4:3 video master opening up the matte and the way it appears in widescreen was always the intended way because I had never seen "that" shot in any 16:9 version. I don't know why, but it never occurred to me that he made editorial changes as regards the nudity but it makes perfect sense. Though he leaves Randy Quaid hanging in the wind but not Gary, lol.

To answer your question, the theatrical cut and the definitive director's cut have the same framing, as far as I can tell, all through the swim party.

They're both capital G gorgeous transfers, though the director's cut is the only way I really want to watch it anymore. The material he was forced to cut for time in 1971 is essential, IMO, and more time spent with Eileen Brennan is never a bad idea.

I tried spot checking the director's cut last night and the next thing I knew it was nearly 1:30am and was cursing myself because I had to be up for work in the morning! It was worth it.

 

[uncledougie]

“That shot” was fully revealing in the original theatrical showing ratio (1.85:1), but later zoomed and/or cropped, and I remember reading about other potential minor changes, but it’s been long enough ago I can’t recall the exact source. But I’ve never seen it 4:3, so that’s not where the discrepancy arises. I agree, the scenes reintegrated into the longer cut are very beneficial in enriching the character interplay. How absurd the Columbia execs would take issue with a few minutes of running time. No potential ticket buyer would think “I’m not going to see this film because it runs 126 minutes, and I don’t feel it should be longer than 118 minutes.”

 

[compson]

I don’t think this is correct. I have RCA’s original laserdisc with the 4:3 image, and the subsequent releases appear to be a normal 1.85:1 image from an open-matte source.