What silent film would you most like to see on 4K? (1 Viewer)

[OliverK]

Given that they have titles like The Leopard and Richard III, among many others, that could really benefit from 4K, I find the title choices bizarre from a quality perspective - although I understand the historical reason for CK.

The Leopard (35mm 8-perf), Playtime (65mm) and IAMMMMW (65mm) come to mind as worthy choices for a 4k release from Criterion from a technical point of view. I would have to revisit Richard III but I remember that due to the many indoor scenes it did not really look that detailed.

 

[MarkantonyII]

Richard III is VV and previously mastered in 4K so the work is already done!

 

[OliverK]

Richard III is VV and previously mastered in 4K so the work is already done!

Same for the others, they all have a 4k master but so did Citizen Kane.

I know that Richard III is VistaVision I just do not think that there is that much detail on display for most of the movie. Not because of the scan not being OK, it is just the way it was shot. That being said it will still look a lot better than Citizen Kane!

With that being said it is quite obvious that people will buy their favorite movie in HDR and it does not matter if it is a good release candidate for a 4k release or not. Ever since the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was released quite early into the format and supposedly selling well it was clear that people like to buy "their" movies in the best possible format, no matter if it makes sense or not.

 

[Kent K H]

The Lost World
I want that Willis O’Brien animation as clear as can be. Even the stuff that’s not so good.

 

[Kent K H]

I can't think of a single B&W/silent* film pre-1940 that would benefit from a 4K home release, especially as in so many cases the OCN no longer exists to create a 4K from.

By all means master from the best materials available in 4K for archival purposes, but the home release will not be appreciably better than a Blu from the same master - especially if already owning a decent copy on Blu.

I applaud Criterion releasing 4K's, but Citizen Kane (No OCN)/For All Mankind (primarily 16mm OCN) and others will not convince those sitting on the fence that this is a game changing format. Given that they have titles like The Leopard and Richard III, among many others, that could really benefit from 4K, I find the title choices bizarre from a quality perspective - although I understand the historical reason for CK.

*I caveat B&W as certain three-strip technicolor productions have benefited from a 4K/HDR release and show benefits over a Blu from the same master.

M

I get Kane purely on name recognition as the “best film ever made” and Mulholland Drive because Lynchian cinephiles will eat it up with a spoon. Hard Days Night because of the Beatles doc, I guess? I haven’t picked any of them up. I hope they’ll announce some Wes Anderson soon.

Then again, I’m still waiting for a Fiend without a Face upgrade after all these years, so who knows how long it will take.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Like most other films shot let’s call it pre-1930, there is no 4k imagery in Napoleon. The best surviving is footage from the La Marseillaise sequence, which was scanned in 4k from the camera negative, and even that tops out at around 2.5 or thereabouts.

What has been presumed to be the M-G-M version, released in 1928, has been scanned at 6k, but there are no shots that hit 2k resolution. For those following the history of the film, the negative acquired from M-G-M, which was copied from a 35mm print, has turned out not to conform to that release version.

While it has the M-G-M main and end titles, some proper sequences, and a couple of others from a longer M-G-M test version, cut before release, probably half the footage was taken from other versions (possibly UK), and used to repair the only surviving print in the library.

While the original final cutting continuity survives, the actual film version does not, unless an unknown print is secreted away, or waiting in permafrost.

I was specifically thinking about the Triptych with respect to Napoleon. Thanks, RAH.

 

[Noel Aguirre]

Kino’s recent 4K restoration of The Hunchback of Notre Dame available on blu-ray. Release it in its native mastering- on a 4K disc?

 

[battlebeast]

Never mind 4k, I’d like to see a legit DVD/Blu of THE CROWD, ALIBI, THE RACKET and SEVENTH HEAVEN. (Region 1/A). One of those middle two is a talkie, I know.

 

[Peter McM]

Mel Brooks' Silent Movie (1976)

 

[mike--]

The Phantom Of The Opera, Ben-Hur, A tale of The Christ, The Man Who Laughs

 

[richardburton84]

Seems as good a place as any to put this. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari will be getting a 4K UHD release in Germany on May 13.

Ein Meilenstein der Filmgeschichte: Stummfilmklassiker Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari erscheint erstmals auf Ultra HD Blu-ray - Blu-ray News

Ein Meilenstein der Filmgeschichte: Stummfilmklassiker "Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari" erscheint erstmals auf Ultra… - News & Nachrichten auf bluray-disc.de

bluray-disc.de

 

[Dick]

I don't need any of the silents on 4K. I'm still waiting for better copies of existing blu's (PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, for example) and just good ol' blu-rays or at least excellent DVD releases for, say, THE LAST LAUGH (Kino), plus many, many unreleased titles (THE WIND, GREED, THE CROWD Warner Bros.). It's frustrating to see movies that have been released multiple times already getting their 4K's while the ones I mention above are simply left behind on DVD or Blu. Yeah, I understand the bottom line, but really...

I have to correct my own post of a month ago (I'm surprised no one else caught it). Suddenly I am looking at the list I made of silent films I feel need DVD or Blu release, and realize that THE LAST LAUGH has been out from Kino on Blu-ray for years. The title I meant to cite is BROKEN BLOSSOMS. A gut-wrenching powerhouse from D.W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. Apologies to Kino...except that they also have the rights to BROKEN BLOSSOMS!

 

[bujaki]

I have to correct my own post of a month ago (I'm surprised no one else caught it). Suddenly I am looking at the list I made of silent films I feel need DVD or Blu release, and realize that THE LAST LAUGH has been out from Kino on Blu-ray for years. The title I meant to cite is BROKEN BLOSSOMS. A gut-wrenching powerhouse from D.W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. Apologies to Kino...except that they also have the rights to BROKEN BLOSSOMS!

The exquisite original print of Broken Blossoms that is in MoMA's collection is unbeatable for its sheer beauty. No home release has ever done it justice.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

I've never seen the MoMA's Broken Blossoms print. The DVDs are pretty awful PQ wise so I'd JUMP at the chance to get a gorgeous BD (at least) of this phenomenal classic and with orchestral score if possible.

 

[usrunnr]

Could Visconti's "The Leopard" benefit from another scan? And If so, what would be improved? Thank you.

 

[OliverK]

Could Visconti's "The Leopard" benefit from another scan? And If so, what would be improved? Thank you.

Hard to say without seeing the scan. This has been scanned in 6k quite recently and it may be more worthwhile to revisit the original data from that scan in order to improve shadow details and color timing.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Could Visconti's "The Leopard" benefit from another scan? And If so, what would be improved? Thank you.

Hard to say without seeing the scan. This has been scanned in 6k quite recently and it may be more worthwhile to revisit the original data from that scan in order to improve shadow details and color timing.

Most recent work on The Leopard was done with support from the Film Foundation by Cineteca di Bologna and [at the time] 20th Century Fox. It's a Technirama title, but if memory serves, there was some negative damage. If elements are handled correctly, it could look rather nice in 4K.

 

[bujaki]

I've never seen the silent version of The Leopard.

 

[Robert Harris]

I've never seen the silent version of The Leopard.

I believe this may be a reference to Rupert Julian’s The Leopard Lady - 1928.

 

[bujaki]

I believe this may be a reference to Rupert Julian’s The Leopard Lady - 1928.

It'd be great to see this lost film even in .5K!