Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Blu-ray - Vampyres, US, 2010 (1974), Blue Underground (BU7019BD)


FPS: 23.976
Aspect Ratio: 1.85
Region: A

Film
No information.
I don't think this transfer is from the Original Camera Negative, an Interpositive at best. I also believe that the master used for this release is made of at least two different elements.

Normal quality element

Lower quality element


I'd like to add that I'm pretty sure Vampyres, just like Symptoms, was framed 1.37:1. I do find that on many occasions, the framing appears to be a little tight when cropped to 1.85. Here's an example.


Transfer
No information.
Looks quite like a Telecine.

Color Correction / Restoration
No information.

While rewatching Vampyres lately, I was surprised to see that José reused at least one shot from his previous movie, Symptoms.

Frame from Vampyres.

Frame from Symptoms. (1)

References:
1. Symptoms (Limited Edition) Blu-ray, 2016, US, Mondo Macabro (MDO164).






Blu-ray - Symptoms (Limited Edition), 2016 (1974), US, Mondo Macabro (MDO164)


FPS: 23.976
Aspect Ratio: 1.33
Region: A-B-C

Film
Transfer from Film Negative. (1)
Symptoms aspect ratio controversy.

Transfer
No information yet.

Color Correction / Restoration
Restoration at CINEMATEK - Royal Film Archive of Belgium. (2)

As natural and organic the transfer looks, I find that some scenes lack texture as if it had been degrained, properly degrained but still, degrained a tad too much. I would also point out that the color temperature and hue as well as the gamma can vary quite a bit from shot to shot during some sequences, in keeping, I suppose with the original material, the Original Camera Negative. I guess a reliable color reference for this movie was impossible to find so they probably decided not to color correct it rather than revisiting it which would explain why the movie colors appear that unbalanced.

Here's an example of 3 back to back shots that don't match.




References:
1. Back cover.
2. Slate at the beginning of the movie.






Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Blu-ray - Nightmares Come at Night, US, 2013 (1970), Redemption (R033)


HD Master Visual Essay on the restoration of Nightmares Come at Night.

FPS: 23.976
Aspect Ratio: 1.66
Region: A-B-C

Film
35mm Answer Print. (1)

Transfer
CNC, Paris, France. (1)

Color Correction / Restoration
Color Correction and Encoding by Crawford Media Services, Atlanta, US (1)(2)

References:
1. HD Master Visual Essay on the Blu-ray.
2. Slate at the end of credits.






Blu-ray - Don't Torture a Duckling, Germany, 2015 (1972), 84 Entertainment (8731)


Restaurationsvergleich featurette on the restoration of Don't Torture a Duckling. (German only) (1)

FPS: 23.976
Aspect Ratio: 2.35
Region: B

Film
2-perf 35mm (Techniscope) Original Camera Negative.

Transfer
Open Gate 2K Telecine on a Cintel DSX at LVR Video, Rome, Italy. (2)


Color Correction / Restoration
Color Correction and Restoration at TLEFilms, Brandenburg, Germany.

References:
1. Restaurationsvergleich featurette included on the Blu-ray.
2. Gianni Vittori at LVR Video.