North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

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manicsounds
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North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#1 Post by manicsounds » Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:41 am


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brendanjc
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#2 Post by brendanjc » Mon Jul 20, 2009 3:37 pm

Great news, I thought I'd heard that it would be out on Blu by year's end. Now I need to check and see if Warner's book packaging will fit into my Warner Hitchcock box so I can just replace my current SD-DVD version - I'm betting the books are too wide though.

Jameson281
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#3 Post by Jameson281 » Sun Aug 23, 2009 3:21 am

Saw the new restoration earlier tonight; it looks great.

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Person
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#4 Post by Person » Sun Aug 23, 2009 5:24 am

Jameson281 wrote:Saw the new restoration earlier tonight; it looks great.
SD or Blu-ray?

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Jeff
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#5 Post by Jeff » Sun Aug 23, 2009 10:55 pm

Person wrote:
Jameson281 wrote:Saw the new restoration earlier tonight; it looks great.
SD or Blu-ray?
I'm assuming he saw it in 4k. It premiered in Hollywood last night. Jameson is in the industry and probably got invited.

Jameson281
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#6 Post by Jameson281 » Mon Aug 24, 2009 5:59 pm

Yes, I saw the 4K projected.

According to the rep from Warners, the biggest challenge about the restoration was that the blue layer of the Eastmancolor original neg had faded severely. For most of the film they were able to go to the yellow record of the separations to correct the problem. They did run into some difficulty because one short reel of the seps was missing, and the seps contained non-final opticals, but they were able to come with workarounds.

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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#7 Post by Jameson281 » Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:21 pm

david hare wrote:Do the opticals look "poppy" as a result of this? The Red Shoes resto (from three strip) also seems to go a little soft on the big optical shots and sequences, particularly in the ballet. It's not major but just noticeable.
The opticals aren't perfect, but they look quite good and are not very "poppy."

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mfunk9786
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#8 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:10 pm

I couldn't not order this.

Is everyone pleased with the cover art? It's probably not everyone's taste, but I think the packaging looks gorgeous with a capital GORGE:

Image

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Matt
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#9 Post by Matt » Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:46 pm

mfunk9786 wrote:Is everyone pleased with the cover art?
It's fine. A little busy, but they could package it in a ketchup-stained Wendy's bag and I'd still buy it.

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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#10 Post by denti alligator » Tue Oct 20, 2009 9:54 pm

Review at the Beaver of the Blu-ray does not look like the stunning new resto + high def transfer that I expected. Really underwhelming.

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mfunk9786
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#11 Post by mfunk9786 » Tue Oct 20, 2009 11:10 pm

I don't really see the issue with it. Particularly the "crane" shot of the miniature set-piece - it looks much more grounded than the Willy Wonka-ish transfer on the current DVDs. More color saturation isn't necessarily a good thing.

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domino harvey
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#12 Post by domino harvey » Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:14 am

This doesn't look right at all. The colors are muted, the contrast appears to have been wonked with, and the clarity difference is negligible.

Flike
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#13 Post by Flike » Wed Oct 21, 2009 9:31 am

DVD Beaver review was updated with comments from the ListServ, the general consensus being that it actually looks more accurate than the previous DVD.

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mfunk9786
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#14 Post by mfunk9786 » Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:24 am

I have to agree with the comments on the DVDBeaver review. I saw a crisp 1.66:1 open matte print of the film at the County Theater in Doylestown, PA about a year ago, and I can anecdotally attest to the image of the Blu-Ray being far more accurate than the old DVD. I don't ever once recall the image being as saccharine as it was on that DVD - the film was far more centered around blues and steely greys than reds and oranges. It seems like Warner finally did the original color tones of the negative some justice.

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Matt
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#15 Post by Matt » Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:41 am

The reduced resolution caps on DVD Beaver aren't doing the BD transfer any favors. Click on them and view them full size and you'll see they're pretty impressive. You can practically read the whole front page of The Evening Star (home delivery of the Daily and Sunday editions only $1.95 per month).

ezmbmh
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#16 Post by ezmbmh » Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:25 pm

This may have been mentioned elsewhere but I love that Gary includes the screen cap where EMS is pointing the gun at CG, with the boy at the table, after one take too many, stuffing his ears before the gun goes off. My favorite film flub.

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John Hodson
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#17 Post by John Hodson » Wed Oct 21, 2009 3:31 pm

david hare wrote:I presume you've read the reviews of the ITV 39 Steps at Bluray com? Despite being a former adversary during the seomwhat heated HD/BD format war shriekfest her last year, I am frankly grateful to Mr Atanasov for such a bluntly negative review which cheerfully let me cancel my order and save 14 quid. That sort of rehashed inferior couldnt-givea-fuck product is real rubbish.
It may be a minor but I think an important point; you've read the review since he retracted his initial assertion that it *was* an upscaled SD transfer? I haven't seen the disc myself (and I'm always wary until I have), but others, while being critical, don't give it quite such a kicking.

Apologies for the OT comment.

EDIT: Screenshot comparison between the new The 39 Steps BD (top) and the Criterion SD (bottom) here; click on each image to view full size. No, it's not perfect (far from it) - but it appears to be a damn sight better than any SD version I've seen.

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Matt
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#18 Post by Matt » Wed Nov 04, 2009 5:56 pm

Now that I have the disc, I'm reluctantly going to label it a disappointment. A VistaVision film in full 1080p HD should look astounding, but this does not. In fact, it's nearly as much of a disappointment as The Searchers, Warner Bros. other available HD VistaVision transfer. Now, I'm not talking about the colors, which is simply a matter of balance. The crispness and clarity is simply not there in these transfers. Paramount's HD transfer of John Sturges' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, a film shot one year after The Searchers and two years before N by NW, looks incredible, as if you could walk right into the picture (and I'm basing this on a recent 1080i HDNet Movies broadcast).

Though I am a fan of film grain, there is far too much of it visible on the two WB VistaVision transfers, and the way it is dealt with makes it look more like noise in some shots than film grain. WB claims that they went back to the VistaVision elements (and scanned them in 8K) to make these transfers, but the results look like they used 35mm reduction elements.

There is a slight fog over the image in N by NW (reminiscent of the 1970s technique of "flashing" the negative) which I doubt was a stylistic cinematographic choice, and it affects the saturation of color and the overall sharpness and contrast of the image. This is without a doubt the best available home video version of N by NW, and the image displays a lot of previously-unseen detail (poor Cary Grant shows every one of his 55 years, and maybe a few more), but I really think it could have been much better.

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fdm
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#19 Post by fdm » Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:50 pm

And I was beginning to wonder why just about every one else was raving about this turd... Nail on the head. Very disappointing (even on my teeny 60" screen).

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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#20 Post by perkizitore » Tue Nov 17, 2009 8:38 pm


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Zumpano
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#21 Post by Zumpano » Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:01 am

Robert Harris wrote:The elements were delivered to a group of nuns living somewhere nearby Mummelsee in the Black Forest. Here the delicate film elements were carefully unwound and treated with a secret formula created specifically for the purpose by Benedictine monks...It was this elixir that was used to regenerate the faded color layers, scene by scene, and in different proportions of chemicals. By the spring of 2009, the material was ready to be returned, and before going to the studio, spent several weeks at a monastery in an undisclosed location somewhere in Northern California, before making its way back to WB.
Anyone else taken by this? Is he talking about film reels or Rambo? Is this standard practice or Harris having a laugh? The image of the monks inspecting their handiwork and watching "NXNW" multiple times is an interesting thought.

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Highway 61
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#22 Post by Highway 61 » Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:37 am

Zumpano wrote:
Robert Harris wrote:The elements were delivered to a group of nuns living somewhere nearby Mummelsee in the Black Forest. Here the delicate film elements were carefully unwound and treated with a secret formula created specifically for the purpose by Benedictine monks...It was this elixir that was used to regenerate the faded color layers, scene by scene, and in different proportions of chemicals. By the spring of 2009, the material was ready to be returned, and before going to the studio, spent several weeks at a monastery in an undisclosed location somewhere in Northern California, before making its way back to WB.
Anyone else taken by this? Is he talking about film reels or Rambo? Is this standard practice or Harris having a laugh? The image of the monks inspecting their handiwork and watching "NXNW" multiple times is an interesting thought.
I think the whole story has to be bogus since Harris complements Ned Price in his "few words about" GWTW, but in this NXNW piece he spins this bizarre speculation that Ned Price doesn't exist.

I'd love for it to be true, however. I visited all kinds of monasteries when I was in Catholic school, and I was always struck by their meticulous craftsmanship in book binding, making various liqueurs, carpentry, or whatever they were into. And I just love the image of these monks over in Europe painstakingly restoring classic films!

Jonathan S
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#23 Post by Jonathan S » Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:13 am

Nothing to do with North by Northwest, but the Harris story reminded me of this (factual) article I found about a film collecting cleric of a century ago.
http://www.filmintelligence.org/abbes-treasure.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I particularly like:
There is a rich fund of stories of the Abbé's film collecting activities - how he would return from a foraging expedition, smuggling his films across the border under the folds of his cassock, making his impressive figure still more ample

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Ben Cheshire
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#24 Post by Ben Cheshire » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:15 am

Zumpano wrote:
Robert Harris wrote:The elements were delivered to a group of nuns living somewhere nearby Mummelsee in the Black Forest. Here the delicate film elements were carefully unwound and treated with a secret formula created specifically for the purpose by Benedictine monks...It was this elixir that was used to regenerate the faded color layers, scene by scene, and in different proportions of chemicals. By the spring of 2009, the material was ready to be returned, and before going to the studio, spent several weeks at a monastery in an undisclosed location somewhere in Northern California, before making its way back to WB.
Anyone else taken by this? Is he talking about film reels or Rambo? Is this standard practice or Harris having a laugh? The image of the monks inspecting their handiwork and watching "NXNW" multiple times is an interesting thought.
In his Forrest Gump review, Harris begins, "Life is life a box of chocolates." Is Harris being serious, or is he just making a reference to the film he's reviewing? I'd like to believe the former, but I've found few mountains with gooey centres, and why, if this comparison were to be at all valid, I think life would at least have to be a lot smaller. And with more pointy edges.
Last edited by Ben Cheshire on Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:19 am, edited 1 time in total.

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aox
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Re: North by Northwest: 50th Anniversary Edition

#25 Post by aox » Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:19 am

such a shame this blu opportunity was botched. :(

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