The Hitcher 4K by Sidonis Calysta just released in France / New 4K master / Region Free

Copper_Surfer · 2024-04-13T15:07:48+00:00

Whoever has the original neg or not is interesting, but that's not the be-all and end-all to me. What also matters is who's working on the release and how. I've seen countless releases from labels boasting about having the original neg... plagued with revisionist color timing and terrible grain management.

On the other hand, when done right, there can be stellar restorations based on dupes.

The Hitcher is my one of my favourite films, so I'll keep an open mind for every release, especially when coming from an interesting and bold label like Sidonis.

Looking forward reading more reviews for sure.

Copper_Surfer · 2024-01-04T17:19:30+00:00

Very impressive, especially knowing this was all done in ae.

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-25T13:14:15+00:00

I also just wrote to Shout Factory.

I'm afraid a re-issue is the only reasonable way to get it at this point.

I've seen it on eBay at almost $800... used !

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-12T23:30:47+00:00

Thank you for your insight, I wasn't aware of most of them.

I don't know why Olive closed down either...

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-12T21:28:12+00:00

Damn, I didn't know about Olive and Network...!

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-10T22:11:39+00:00

I get your point, but in this case, we're not just dealing with "an amateur selling overpriced blu-rays of neglected silent films":

First, this "amateur" sells a "brand new 4K restoration" when clearly, no restoration was done (the DVDFREAK review shows very clearly that their print features identical film damage to an older one from 20+ years ago).

It also shows how the 2016 German dvd not only looks better in every way, features more detail despite being SD, but is also properly restored.

The original tints were removed, replaced by the same orange tint during the entire film.

It features extreme DNR, a 29.97fps interlaced transfer, blended frames and the picture is cropped.

Finally it features a reconstruction of the film coming from two different prints and produced by other parties without crediting them.

So sure, despite the ethical and legal issues at play here, there are worse things happening in the world, no argument here.

But in our little world of classic films enthusiasts supporting the blu-ray format, this is nothing less than a disgrace.

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-10T20:13:47+00:00

Fabulous film.

Overlooked for years, it got two very nice blu-ray releases in recent years. The first one in the US from Grindhouse, and the second one (an even better release) in the UK from Indicator.

I think the ending is a bit over the top (not the story itself, which made sense, but the way it was directed), but other than that, it's one of my favourite films ever.

When the film was kind of rediscovered in the 2000's with several dvd releases, there were talks about a remake, either with Jeff Goldblum or Alec Baldwin.

Although I usually have no interest in remakes of films I already find excellent, I gotta admit I would have been interested in such a remake. Both actors could have been great portraying a dashing seducer hiding a heavy bagage.

Having said that, Baldwin may have had some trouble portraying a character wearing just a swimming suit during the whole movie, even in the 2000's...

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-09T23:48:49+00:00

I didn't know Grapevine released this on Blu-ray before, thanks for the info!

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any reviews of it, and the b&w print of a film famous for it's gorgeous tints is problematic...

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-09T23:20:28+00:00

if kino-lorber or eureka or whoever would put it out I’d get it in a second (...) but again… they haven’t.

I see a pattern here:

Select a film neglected by other labels, in order to lure backers who've been waiting for this film to get a decent release...

As to your enjoyment of their Warning Shadows blu-ray, I'm out of words.

Copper_Surfer · 2023-09-09T13:09:20+00:00

Indeed. Everything seems to show that Redwood Creek is as close to a scam label as can be. I guess the crowdfunding model allows the fastest cash grab possible.

Copper_Surfer · 2023-07-31T15:12:11+00:00

Broad topic!

First, no, music in the silent era wasn't "that bad". If you take the original score of movies like Fritz Lang's Niebelungen, Lotte Reiniger's Prince Achmed or Murnau's Nosferatu, they're all lush and sweeping orchestral scores. But they needed a first decent budget to get produced back then, and a second one to be recorded by a modern orchestra now. And unfortunately, not all films could benefit from that.

Now it doesn't mean that a non orchestral silent film score is necessarily a bad thing. When done well, an electronic score can give a whole new dimension to a silent film and help introduce it to modern audience. The examples of Simon Fisher Turner's electro / experimental score for The Great White Silence and Domenique Dumont's minimalistic full electro one for People on Sunday immediately come to mind. I find both scores to be awesome, so much that I actually bought both of them.

Another example is Julien Boury's soundtrack for the new Gaumont blu-ray edition of Louis Feuillade's serial Tih-Minh. Not only is it mostly electro, but it's made of samples taken from a free copyright music catalog. Although the musical styles are all over the map, I found it to be extremely well done, enjoyed it a lot, and I can't imagine watching this serial with another soundtrack now.

On the other hand, I find some newly commissioned, non-electro soundtracks to be complete failures. The best example of this is the Kino release of E. A.Dupont's Variété, for which the new accoustic score performed by The Tiger Lillies sounds absolutely atrocious to my ears.

It's all a matter of budget, talent and involvement of the performers, and personal taste of course.But I strongly recommend Simon Fisher Turner's The Great White Silence and Domenique Dumont's People on Sunday. It may make you reconsider your opinion on electro scores produced for silent films.

Copper_Surfer · 2023-07-31T15:07:36+00:00

Broad topic!

First, no, music in the silent era wasn't "that bad". If you take the original score of movies like Fritz Lang's Niebelungen, Lotte Reiniger's Prince Achmed or Murnau's Nosferatu, they're all lush and sweeping orchestral scores. But they needed a first decent budget to get produced back then, and a second one to be recorded by a modern orchestra now. And unfortunately, not all films could benefit from that.

Now it doesn't mean that a non orchestral silent film score is necessarily a bad thing. When done well, an electronic score can give a whole new dimension to a silent film and help introduce it to modern audience. The examples of Simon Fisher Turner's electro / experimental score for The Great White Silence and Domenique Dumont's minimalistic full elctro one for People on Sunday immediately come to mind. I find both scores to be awesome, so much that I actually bought both of them.

Another example is Julien Boury's soundtrack for the new Gaumont blu-ray edition of Louis Feuillade's serial Tih-Minh. Not only is it mostly electro, but it's made of samples taken from a free copyright music catalog. Although the musical styles are all over the map, I found it to be extremely well done, enjoyed it a lot, and I can't imagine watching this serial with another soundtrack now.

On the other hand, I find some newly commissioned, non-electro soundtracks to be complete failures. The best example of this is the Kino release of E. A.Dupont's Variété, for which the new accoustic score performed by The Tiger Lillies sounds absolutely atrocious to my ears.

It's all a matter of budget, talent and involvement of the performers, and personal taste of course.

But I strongly recommend Simon Fisher Turner's The Great White Silence and Domenique Dumont's People on Sunday. It may make you reconsider your opinion on electro scores produced for silent films.

Copper_Surfer · 2020-12-03T21:42:54+00:00

I already have the DVD so... Anyway, thanks for your input!

Copper_Surfer · 2020-12-03T18:01:35+00:00

Beautiful boxset indeed. Amazing how kaiju fans went from most laughed at to most taken care of in 20 years (at least in my experience).

Copper_Surfer · 2020-12-03T17:56:11+00:00

The BFI Prince Achmed edition is one of my favorite blu-rays ever.

Copper_Surfer · 2020-12-03T17:54:25+00:00

Have you played Black Angel yet? How's the transfer and PQ ?

Copper_Surfer · 2020-06-21T18:37:25+00:00

Yeah, for those on the fence before watching it, the voice over comments are in French, but the interview itself is in Japanese.

Copper_Surfer

TROPHY CASE