A Few Words About While we wait for A few words about...™ Lawrence of Arabia -- in 4k/UHD Blu-ray (5 Viewers)

[DP 70]

Hello Robert Harris do you know the status on Lawrence Of Arabia as far as when that might get a 4K blu-ray release?

What makes me laugh is we have The Evil Dead filmed on 16mm on 4K UHD but not this filmed on 65mm.

 

[Michel_Hafner]

Does not look restored, rather recreated to please the digital age.

 

[Robert Harris]

Does not look restored, rather recreated to please the digital age.

Restored would be b/w, and grain.

 

[skylark68]

Yeah, in the old car world, this would be known as a "restomod"

 

[OliverK]

What makes me laugh is we have The Evil Dead filmed on 16mm on 4K UHD but not this filmed on 65mm.

Until now there obviously is an unwritten rule in place among all major studios to not release any older titles that would look really exceptional on UHD, so movies shot in large format processes need not apply

The first exception to that rule will be 2001 but then I never considered it to be among the best looking titles shot in 65mm.

Edited as it was meant to be more tongue in cheek, most movies shot in large format also seemed to take their time to arrive on Blu-ray, at least the ones that look really good.

 

[OliverK]

Does not look restored, rather recreated to please the digital age.

There! Somebody said it, I already thought I was the only one thinking what a bad idea this was at least if that is all we get from his efforts. How about you give us not only this alternate version Mr. Jackson, in neon colors if you like, but also a proper restored version in black and white with the correct aspect ratio and actual film grain?

 

[TravisR]

There! Somebody said it, I already thought I was the only one thinking what a bad idea this was at least if that is all we get from his efforts. How about you give us not only this alternate version Mr. Jackson, in neon colors if you like, but also a proper restored version in black and white with the correct aspect ratio and actual film grain?

Not to speak for Jackson and company but I assume an intent of the documentary is to make it easier for viewers to connect to the people who fought in the war. From the clips that I have seen, I feel they achieve that by colorizing the footage, losing the grain and having it run at the correct frame rate.

That being said, I agree with your suggestion of including the footage in its original state too.

 

[Tony Bensley]

What makes me laugh is we have The Evil Dead filmed on 16mm on 4K UHD but not this filmed on 65mm.

To paraphrase Ashley from the EVIL DEAD Series, "Why are we being tortured like this? why?"

CHEERS!

 

[Mike Frezon]

There! Somebody said it, I already thought I was the only one thinking what a bad idea this was at least if that is all we get from his efforts. How about you give us not only this alternate version Mr. Jackson, in neon colors if you like, but also a proper restored version in black and white with the correct aspect ratio and actual film grain?

Yeah. I thought about this a while. There have been a few similar efforts in recent years (the TV series America in Color is one which comes to mind).

I think I'm okay in cases like this with that kind of manipulation in order to tell a story (a "love letter", if you will, to those who sacrificed).

There is also the addition of sound effects which add a particular ambience (albeit fake) to the footage.

I think the most striking manipulation is the speed correction. This is the thing which, for me, makes the most dramatic difference. It really does make the people in those films seem more "real." And I have a hard time believing that the news photographers at the time wouldn't prefer for their efforts to be seen in the speed in which the events really happened. So I like that effect a lot.

The rest I could take or leave. But since they've been given, I'd really like to see this project and decide for myself seeing it in toto.

 

[OliverK]

Not to speak for Jackson and company but I assume an intent of the documentary is to make it easier for viewers to connect to the people who fought in the war. From the clips that I have seen, I feel they achieve that by colorizing the footage, losing the grain and having it run at the correct frame rate.

That being said, I agree with your suggestion of including the footage in its original state too.

And I applaud the effort to bring this to a bigger audience but still I would like to also have the original files to get those movies as a document of the time they were shot in. Now it seems to look like somebody entered a time machine and made a documentary about these people with todays technology.

 

[Robert Harris]

I have no problem with this production.

It widens our digital ability, allowing better tools that might be used toward restorative effort.

This is not a restoration. It is a re-imagining, and to quite extraordinary effect.

 

[Mark-P]

What I think you guys are overlooking, is that this project uses raw documentary footage. It is not a finished documentary movie from the era, like say Frank Capra's Why We Fight, or Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will which should be preserved as they were actually shown. A filmmaker using raw footage has the creative license to edit, crop or manipulate the footage to his own purpose. Does anybody really object to the way documentary footage was used in Forrest Gump?

...Now it seems to look like somebody entered a time machine and made a documentary about these people with todays technology.

I know you mean that as a criticism, but actually that's pretty high praise for what Mr. Jackson has achieved.

 

[OliverK]

I know you mean that as a criticism, but actually that's pretty high praise for what Mr. Jackson has achieved.

It actually was meant in a neutral way. I assume that it is the intended effect so that means mission accomplished but still I have issues with the original footage not being accessible, too. Obviously Peter Jackson can do as he chooses so this is a preference on my part, nothing more.

 

[Dee Zee]

I have to see the Peter Jackson film, looks like a game changer.

 

[Robert Harris]

 

[Robert Crawford]

Ron Epstein has a thread about this development, but the question remains is it coming out on disc or is simply going to be available digital-wise.

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...s-release-its-a-wonderful-life-4k-uhd.359647/

 

[Robert Harris]

Ron Epstein has a thread about this development, but the question remains is it coming out on disc or is simply going to be available digital-wise.

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...s-release-its-a-wonderful-life-4k-uhd.359647/

Confusing, as the material reads - digital 4k copies available 11/20.

Clarification has been requested.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Confusing, as the material reads - digital 4k copies available 11/20.

Clarification has been requested.

Yeah, we're kind of confused whether this is going to be another "War of the Worlds" situation in which this film title is only available digitally in 4K/HDR.

 

[atfree]

Yeah, we're kind of confused whether this is going to be another "War of the Worlds" situation in which this film title is only available digitally in 4K/HDR.

"The studio spent over a year painstakingly restoring this treasured film, using the original nitrate negative along with two fine grain masters made in the 1940s. Each element was carefully scanned using the very latest technology to both preserve the delicate negative and create the best possible digital image. Fortunately, 13 of the 14 reels of the original negative survived, but portions had begun to deteriorate so the best image was selected from one of the three original sources on a shot-by-shot basis. The result is a more vibrant and detail-rich picture than has ever been available before.

The release will also include new interviews with contemporary filmmakers and restoration experts about the movie’s extraordinary sound, music, cinematography and visual effects, as well as the meticulous process of preserving and revitalizing this iconic masterpiece."

If they did all this work and it's only a digital release, I will be hugely disappointed.

 

[Mike Frezon]

If they did all this work and it's only a digital release, I will be hugely disappointed.

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