World of Wong Kar Wai
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- Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:27 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
2046
Tartan DVD (Left) vs. 2021 Restoration Stream (Right)
(please forgive the poor borders on the images due to my rushed cropping. it's late)
Tartan DVD (Left) vs. 2021 Restoration Stream (Right)
(please forgive the poor borders on the images due to my rushed cropping. it's late)
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
It's surprising how many of these are quite similar with each other, and suddenly, some are now all green or gone from sepia to pure B&W or from yellow-green to a more natural tone on from quite saturated to quite bleak. It really feels like WKW is fine-tuning his movie 16 years later.
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- Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:00 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
I'm not too familiar with DVD Beaver (although I have seen it treated as an authority on such matters on some forums), but I don't know how anybody can take it seriously after reading "the rich tones began to look refreshing making primary colors; notable reds, greens, blues etc. - look far richer" in the In the Mood for Love review. Looking at those screencaps... how could that possibly be true?
- Finch
- Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
- Location: Edinburgh, UK
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
By and large, I like the look of the 2046 restoration. Hopefully there's going to be English-friendly stand alone releases of it in the rest of the world.
- Finch
- Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
- Location: Edinburgh, UK
- R0lf
- Joined: Tue May 19, 2009 7:25 am
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Looks like the colour timing has been updated to correspond with the different parts of the narrative. The green is flashbacks, natural is the present story, and the saturated look is for the internal sci fi story.tenia wrote: ↑Tue Jan 26, 2021 8:57 amIt's surprising how many of these are quite similar with each other, and suddenly, some are now all green or gone from sepia to pure B&W or from yellow-green to a more natural tone on from quite saturated to quite bleak. It really feels like WKW is fine-tuning his movie 16 years later.
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- Michael Kerpan
- Spelling Bee Champeen
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Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Looks like 2046 came through comparatively unscathed.
- soundchaser
- Leave Her to Beaver
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Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
I dunno...it could be Criterion's (really Pixelogic's) fault, but this screenshot looks pretty awful.
- tenia
- Ask Me About My Bassoon
- Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
It doesn't look like the usual Pixelogic LEGO-ish crappression, but rather some kind of noisy material
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- Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:27 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
This exact screenshot cause my eye too. I think the lighting is too dim and the black levels might be too high. But even still, it shouldn't look like that right?soundchaser wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 11:16 amI dunno...it could be Criterion's (really Pixelogic's) fault, but this screenshot looks pretty awful.
- mhofmann
- Joined: Sun Dec 06, 2015 7:01 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
There is a lot of posterization/banding, basically a huge loss of fine gradations, in many of the screencaps I have seen so far, across the films of the set. I'm not keeping my hopes high here.
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- Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 7:54 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Thanks a lot cowboydan for posting all the information, screenshots and obversations of the new restorations! As of right now I'm really looking forward to the new restorations of Happy Together and 2046, the others not so much. :-(
In order to be prepared once I get the Criterion set, I'm in the process of updating my blog on WKW which was mentioned upthread. I've already newly embedded the pictures in some of the mor important posts:
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... on-vs.html
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... -love.html
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... ut-vs.html
Inspired by cowboydan's careful comparison of the monologues in Happy Together, I've decided to take another look at the former remasters and wrote a summary of my observations:
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... art-i.html
In order to be prepared once I get the Criterion set, I'm in the process of updating my blog on WKW which was mentioned upthread. I've already newly embedded the pictures in some of the mor important posts:
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... on-vs.html
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... -love.html
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... ut-vs.html
Inspired by cowboydan's careful comparison of the monologues in Happy Together, I've decided to take another look at the former remasters and wrote a summary of my observations:
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... art-i.html
- rapta
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
- Location: Hants, UK
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Apparently the Region B set is still on its way, but has been put back to May rather than April. So us in the UK will have to wait a little longer...
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- Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2020 7:54 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Good to know, thanks! :-)
Where did you get that information? I've been looking for information on the Region B version but haven't found anything...
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- Joined: Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:27 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
You're welcome. I'm glad to see that other people have an interest in these small details.depp91 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 8:09 pmThanks a lot cowboydan for posting all the information, screenshots and obversations of the new restorations! As of right now I'm really looking forward to the new restorations of Happy Together and 2046, the others not so much.
In order to be prepared once I get the Criterion set, I'm in the process of updating my blog on WKW which was mentioned upthread. I've already newly embedded the pictures in some of the mor important posts:
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... on-vs.html
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... -love.html
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... ut-vs.html
Inspired by cowboydan's careful comparison of the monologues in Happy Together, I've decided to take another look at the former remasters and wrote a summary of my observations:
https://wong-kar-wais-love-odysseys.blo ... art-i.html
The information that you've compiled on your blog is unique and invaluable! I know some of it exists in books and elsewhere on the web, but it's neatly and cohesively compiled on your blog posts. It's a wonderful resource.
- rapta
- Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
- Location: Hants, UK
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Someone at BR.com just emailed the Mulvaney contact asking about April announcements and whether the Wong set was still coming that month (that's what the previous information was) and they replied that it was delayed slightly to May.
- Boosmahn
- Joined: Mon Sep 04, 2017 10:08 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Two months later, my Amazon UK order of the Artificial Eye Fallen Angels Blu-ray has miraculously shipped!
- DandyDancing
- Joined: Mon Feb 10, 2020 8:27 am
- Drucker
- Your Future our Drucker
- Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Me three. This was an order placed in November on my end!
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- Joined: Wed May 01, 2019 2:34 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Mondo is releasing a remastered ITMFL soundtrack this week, as well as a poster: https://theplaylist.net/in-the-mood-for ... -20210208/
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- Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:11 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
I’ve actually read quite a bit of this thread, but is the TL/DR version that WKW not only tinkered with the films, but in some cases made radical changes to them? Color timing, added dialogue, different music cues, etc? Thanks!
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
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Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Yes, and the major controversy is that these are the only versions being included.Fortisquince wrote: ↑Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:09 amI’ve actually read quite a bit of this thread, but is the TL/DR version that WKW not only tinkered with the films, but in some cases made radical changes to them? Color timing, added dialogue, different music cues, etc? Thanks!
(Compare and contrast with, say, Arrow's Thief, which includes - or included in the initial two-disc version, anyway - both Michael Mann's notorious blue-tinted "upgrade" and something much closer to the original theatrical release.)
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- Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2009 6:11 pm
Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
Ah, okay, I understand. I first noticed this kind of directorial “adjustment” about 10 years ago with new releases of The French Connection and The Godfather Trilogy. The color timing had clearly been changed, imo, just to make the films look like they had been shot in the 21st century, not the early 70s.
It’s fine with me if WKW wants to radically alter his films, but restored versions of the original films that were true to their original appearance should have been done as well.
Oh well...
It’s fine with me if WKW wants to radically alter his films, but restored versions of the original films that were true to their original appearance should have been done as well.
Oh well...
- MichaelB
- Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2006 6:20 pm
- Location: Worthing
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Re: World of Wong Kar Wai
The problem is that when you work directly with the filmmaker, as Criterion did, you basically have to go along with what s/he wants. Similarly, because Criterion worked directly with Michael Mann, they were only able to include the revisionist Thief, whereas Arrow (deliberately) chose not to involve him, licensed the revisionist version from Criterion *and* included the rightsholder-supplied master, as they were contractually entitled to do.
Indicator usually tries to include multiple versions where available (Eve being a particularly good recent example, with no fewer than four cuts), but their hands occasionally get tied too - at Ken Loach's request, their version of Carla's Song is the revamped version from 2005, although at least all the deleted footage from the 1996 theatrical release is also included (and it's arguably all too clear why it was deleted) and there's no reframing or regrading.
As for The French Connection, one of the most vocal opponents of William Friedkin's revamp was cinematographer Owen Roizman, who (reasonably) believed that he should have been consulted. So that was ultimately reissued in something far closer to the 1971 version.
Indicator usually tries to include multiple versions where available (Eve being a particularly good recent example, with no fewer than four cuts), but their hands occasionally get tied too - at Ken Loach's request, their version of Carla's Song is the revamped version from 2005, although at least all the deleted footage from the 1996 theatrical release is also included (and it's arguably all too clear why it was deleted) and there's no reframing or regrading.
As for The French Connection, one of the most vocal opponents of William Friedkin's revamp was cinematographer Owen Roizman, who (reasonably) believed that he should have been consulted. So that was ultimately reissued in something far closer to the 1971 version.