Studio Canal / Kinowelt / Optimum

[peerpee]

I'll tell you when the French Studio Canal release will be out....

my last hope for a removable subtitles Blu-Ray is the US Magnolia release...

a last question about the subtitles :
I know "forced-subtitles" (which are not "hardcoded" (not burnt-in)) and can be remove with some software (VLC for instance if you play the blu-ray on your computer) and/or there' always the possibility to re-author the blu-ray and burn your own blu-ray with optional/removable subtitles...

by "Ingrained into the image" you mean that the subtitles are "burnt-in" ?

if this is the case I was wondering what happens when you choose the English SDH ?
I mean, they already have "ingrained into the image" the English subtitles for the non-English part (Spanish, French...)

so the image is free of subtitles for all the English spoken part/scenes ?
So, the English SDH are "common" subtitles ? (perhaps forced) and will complete the "ingrained English" subtitles when English SDH is selected, and then the English part have forced subtitles ? that's it ?
if this is the case, there's certainly a difference of quality of the subtitles (English vs English SDH on screen ?

and what happen for all audio descriptions (sound, etc...) when English SDH is selected ? you have some English SDH portion "over" the "ingrained into image" English subtitles during the Spanish and French part ? :-k
if this is the case the image is certainly overloaded by subtitles (and it's a scope movie).
Sorry for all these questions, but a T.Malick movie is a visual and sensorial experience for me, I have a video projection; was planning to bought the UK release instead of the French one but I realize that the French one (being StudioCanal could be even worse)

Yes, "ingrained into the image" = "burned in". The Spanish, French, and Italian spoken languages are ingrained into the image. The SDH English subtitles for English spoken language are optional and do not overlap with the ingrained subs (so there is no SDH info when the ingrained subs are displayed). Yes, the font, and quality of these two types of subtitles is slightly different, but less noticeably different than it would be on a DVD, for example.

[Rupert Pupkin]

I'll tell you when the French Studio Canal release will be out....

my last hope for a removable subtitles Blu-Ray is the US Magnolia release...

a last question about the subtitles :
I know "forced-subtitles" (which are not "hardcoded" (not burnt-in)) and can be remove with some software (VLC for instance if you play the blu-ray on your computer) and/or there' always the possibility to re-author the blu-ray and burn your own blu-ray with optional/removable subtitles...

by "Ingrained into the image" you mean that the subtitles are "burnt-in" ?

if this is the case I was wondering what happens when you choose the English SDH ?
I mean, they already have "ingrained into the image" the English subtitles for the non-English part (Spanish, French...)

so the image is free of subtitles for all the English spoken part/scenes ?
So, the English SDH are "common" subtitles ? (perhaps forced) and will complete the "ingrained English" subtitles when English SDH is selected, and then the English part have forced subtitles ? that's it ?
if this is the case, there's certainly a difference of quality of the subtitles (English vs English SDH on screen ?

and what happen for all audio descriptions (sound, etc...) when English SDH is selected ? you have some English SDH portion "over" the "ingrained into image" English subtitles during the Spanish and French part ? :-k
if this is the case the image is certainly overloaded by subtitles (and it's a scope movie).
Sorry for all these questions, but a T.Malick movie is a visual and sensorial experience for me, I have a video projection; was planning to bought the UK release instead of the French one but I realize that the French one (being StudioCanal could be even worse)

Yes, "ingrained into the image" = "burned in". The Spanish, French, and Italian spoken languages are ingrained into the image. The SDH English subtitles for English spoken language are optional and do not overlap with the ingrained subs (so there is no SDH info when the ingrained subs are displayed). Yes, the font, and quality of these two types of subtitles is slightly different, but less noticeably different than it would be on a DVD, for example.

thanks for your reply. Sorry for being a bit "picky" about this.

I watched the Blu-Ray UK and this is a bit too much for me. altough the "calligraphy" of the ingrained subtitles is not ugly, the subtitles are too high.
(whereas the English SDH are a bit on the scope picture, and a bit below)

I have some bad news about the upcoming US Blu-Ray release :
It's "Magnolia".
I happen to have a WEB HD transfer of the Magnolia US release (available via itunes US)
The movie starts with the "Magnolia logo" (no StudioCanal reference) and it has exactly the same "ingrained into image "subtitles for the French and all non-English part (exactly the same "calligraphy" than the Blu-Ray UK)
so the chance for a Blu-Ray US with optional subtitles are really small.


about the French Blu-Ray release (Metropolitan)
apparently it will be a bluray combo (+ a DVD)
you can see the trailer on their web site :
there's no "ingrained into image" subtitles for all the "voix off" French parts; which is logical; but there are some French subtitles for the English dialogues in the trailer (those French subtitles which looks like they will be "ingrained into image" - judging the font/calligraphy used) :

http://www.metrofilms.com/films/6006/a- ... eille.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

until the French Blu-Ray is not released, I'm a bit afraid... French parts and "voix of" is more than 50 % of the movie.
"Logically" these parts shouldn't be subtitled in French on the French Blu-Ray and according to the trailer hosted on Metropolitan web site it shouldn't be different. But who knows. Everything can happen in France :-# ](*,) :-"
And I'm not aware about T.Malick instruction about subtitling even the French part for the French people (considering it's a "visual poem" (sic)-


by the way, I loved your review especially the "she seems to be a very nice lady" about Olga...
there's a very interesting interview with Emmanuel Lubezki in Positif (French magazine) by the way.

to manicsounds and michaelB yes, I've seen some "ingrained into image" subtitles even on some Criterion release; this is familiar to me- but generally this are some small parts, whereas - for this particular movie - To The Wonder - for a French guy who listening the "...."very nice lady"..." Olga speaking in French - French dialogue is more than 50% of dialogue in this movie

[manicsounds]

"Broken" blu-ray review, not a good score on the picture quality,

[manicsounds]

"Broken" gets a better picture score on Blu-ray.com

[tenia]

Reading AVForums review, it seems that they focused strongly on the black levels weakness, which might well be lead to a photography decision. As such, IMO, their focus on this seems unfair, and that's not the first time I read such "unfair) (again, IMO) from them.

The difference is that blu-ray.com mentions exactly the same weakness (contrast fluctuation, a lot of either under- or over-exposed shots) but don't consider it as a transfer flaw, but as a production "choice". The "truth" probably lies somewhere in between.

[Roger Ryan]

Frequent TV viewers know that "weak black levels" are all the rage right now in commercials. Not sure why; it's a look I don't care much for.

BROKEN seems to have that look, although that may have been unintentional.

[peerpee]

I presume the "weak black look" is to replicate the flashed look of reversal stock, a 70s thing? Also part of this retro Instagram bollocks we're currently embroiled in.

[manicsounds]

Screencaps of the Studiocanal French BD of "Plein Soleil"

Looking at the colors, I first thought these were screencaps of the 50th anniversary "Peeping Tom"....

[EddieLarkin]

StudioCanal

Criterion

Imagine being region B locked.

[tenia]

The worst is, for me, from a level of details point of view. I know it's only caps, bla bla bla, but the SC is sourced from a new 4K restoration, when the Criterion was only 2K. And here, it looks as though the SC has less definition, less precision than the Criterion.

[andyli]

Exactly my feeling. Studio Canal has been so uneven. Their blu-ray for The Servant a few months ago was stellar!

[RossyG]

Imagine being region B locked.

I don't have to.

[tenia]

Exactly my feeling. Studio Canal has been so uneven. Their blu-ray for The Servant a few months ago was stellar!

They indeed have some waves of titles which are marvelous (there was also, with The Servant, Accident, which is said to look beautiful on BD), and then, no one knows what happens, they pull a Ran or a Third Man.

[manicsounds]

Blu-ray.com on Plein Soleil with a very negative PQ score.

[jsteffe]

Interestingly, here is what Independent Cinema Office has to say about the restoration:

This new 4K restoration has been produced by Studiocanal in association with the Cinémathèque Française, and with the Franco-American Cultural Fund’s support. 
 L’Immagine Ritrovata, a laboratory in Bologna, handled the restoration work.

I wonder who decided on the final color timing that is reflected in the Blu-ray release?

[zedz]

It's pretty shocking. Do they imagine that when Clement and Decae shot the film the look they were going for was the original prints plus a couple of stages of duping and thirty years of fading?

[jsteffe]

Probably a better term for what I meant was "color grading," since "color timing" harks back to the optical printer days, but yes, the caps seem problematic on more than one level.

I wonder if this reflects at all how the 4k restoration looked when it was projected at Cannes, or if this is something that happened along the way to Blu-ray (at Studio Canal, perhaps)? The publicity I read stated that L'Immagine Ritrovata did the actual restoration work, and they are surely one of the best facilities out there.

[tenia]

I understood that the print running in theaters look much closer to the Criterion BD than the SC BD. It might be, like Le samourai, somthing that happened at the encoding stage.

[Graham]

New press release from Studio Canal about Wicker Man search. Sounds like they found something. Blu-ray coming in October - hope they don't fuck it up like Don't Look Now and Purple Noon.

Following a public search for the original film materials relating to Robin Hardy's horror classic THE WICKER MAN, STUDIOCANAL UK will be making an announcement about what has been found on Monday 22nd July 2013.

The announcement will be made exclusively in a video message from director Robin Hardy, via the Facebook page that was set up for the hunt: facebook.com/wickermanappeal

Since its creation, the Facebook page has attracted comments from fans far and wide, and thrown up rare and fascinating stories from the film's history, as well as all-important clues as to where the elusive materials might be stashed...

"Over the years, the fate of THE WICKER MAN has been the subject of much discussion amongst the fans," says Studiocanal's General Manager UK Home Entertainment John Rodden, "We set up the Facebook page not only to act as a hub for information in the search, but also in order to give fans the chance to discuss their love for THE WICKER MAN, and to expound on some of the wilder myths and legends surrounding the film. The response has been amazing, and we're so grateful to all the people who have taken the time to join the conversation. We hope they will be pleased with what we've found. Look out for the announcement on July 22nd!"

2013 marks the 40th anniversary of the THE WICKER MAN'S original release. In celebration of this and as part of their continuing project to both preserve and showcase classic British cinema, STUDIOCANAL intends to restore and release the most complete version of the film possible.

THE WICKER MAN
Back in cinemas on 27th September
On BD / DVD 14th October

[MichaelB]

I understood that the print running in theaters look much closer to the Criterion BD than the SC BD. It might be, like Le samourai, somthing that happened at the encoding stage.

I've only seen the film in 35mm, and there's no question to my mind that the Criterion colours look far closer to what I remembered.

And Criterion doesn't always get the colour right when it comes to French films shot by Henri Decaë, so that's by no means a given.

[tenia]

I've only seen the film in 35mm, and there's no question to my mind that the Criterion colours look far closer to what I remembered.

And Criterion doesn't always get the colour right when it comes to French films shot by Henri Decaë, so that's by no means a given.

I don't know by myself, I've only seen the movie through Criterion's BD, but that's what I read here and there (mostly on DVD Classik, I think).

[Calvin]

Studio Canal have found the (an? isn't entirely clear) original cut of The Wicker Man

[JamesF]

There's some really interesting comments on posts elsewhere on the Wicker Man Appeal Facebook page from John Alan Simon, who was one-half of Abraxas, the film's original US distributor, who briefly had possession of the extended 35mm print. Pasted here for your delectation, with some emboldening by me:

Yes. I've been in touch with Studio Canal just a few months back. Their release of the the long version on DVD on Anchor Bay was from the old video master that we had created for the original release on videocassette and for the initial cable runs of the film. While we had North American distribution rights, we never owned the actual long version of the 35 mm print and neither did Corman (or Warner Brothers for that matter). The fate of that 35mm print is a long story and there's an article which included an interview with me in the last Rue Morgue magazine that goes into some detail. Simply attempt to set some mistakes here right. The original release by Media Home Entertainment - years before the Magnum release - was the extended version. It was mastered from the long 35 mm print - the only in existence as far I ever knew. I made both the Media Home and Magnum deals so this is something I know definitively. The Corman print was sent to Abraxas by John Davidson to look at prior to our making the distribution deal with a tax shelter group called Beachhead properties that owned the rights. That print was the version that included the six minutes of prologue on the mainland. Taht was the version we waned to release but were unable because the negative materials had been "accidentally" destroyed by British Lion/EMI, The version that was released theatrically by Abraxas was a "third" version approved by "Robin Hardy - something of compromise between the extended version and the 'butchered" Warner Brothers cut based on Corman's suggestions. So we would never have "borrowed" that third version print from anyone - since we created it. Cinefantastique and Film Comment covered all this extensively at the time. Thanks to Beachhead, the 35 mm print ended up with a TV syndication company in NY called Group IV who tried to show the movie on free TV in New York the same week we were opening it theatrically at the Paramount Theatre near Central Park. All of the successful U.S. playdates of the film for several month long theatrical runs in Boston and San Francisco and other markets were how The Wicker Man became a "cult" classic - and is something I remain proud of having worked on very hard and dilligently.

The "compromise" theatrical release version was necessary because without access to the original negative - dupe negative material had to be struck from the extended version 35 mm print and inserted into the short version Warner Brothers negative at Technicolor in New York. This was visually inferior and hence kept to a minimum. It was supervised by Robin Hardy and a former partner. Though I personally still would have preferred the mainland material at the beginning the "third version" is the one that ultimately received rave theatrical notices (for the most part) when it played in the U.S. and it's the one that audiences in America saw in theatres. And that both Robin Hardy and Chrisopher Lee participated so fully in publicizing. I was very adamant to release the original version on home video and got my way there at least since the long version 35 mm print was simply used to create a video master via telecine.

While I am in second to none in my admiration for Roger Corman, the fact remains that the "cuts" and changes to Robin Hardy's original version of The Wicker Man were evidently at his suggestion even though he did not end up acquiring the rights. -But the re-edit was taken by Warner Brothers when they "test-marketed" the film at drive-ins in Atlanta before shelving it. Roger similarly re-cut Monte Hellman's terrific Cockfighter - adding new footage and retitling the film "Born to Kill". I can state with absolute authority that the long version of the film was a 35 mm print. I carried the cans up to the projection booth so we could screen it and compare it to the Warner Brothers version.

So depending on which print they've used, it remains to be seen whether the mainland prologue will still be featured in the upcoming "Final Cut".

[Graham]

Press screening for The Wicker Man final cut is on August 5, so feedback should swiftly follow.

[manicsounds]

Seems extremely quick between the facebook plea until the actual screening, doesn't it? Makes me think that the whole thing was just a hype-builder and they had found the longer cut print a long time before...

Anyway, it'll be nice to retire the VHS mastered longer cut.