Blu Ray/2015 DVD color grading questions
Doctor Who
Posts: 62MI6 Agent
I don't have the Blu-Rays, but I do have the DVDs which were released at the same time.
Am I alone in feeling that the colors in the 60s films feel a little dull, a little desaturated, a little flat? Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me, but I remember Goldfinge and YOLT having extremely vibrant, almost oversaturated Technicolor-esque tones. The 2015 DVDs have a more modern, less saturated (and as such, less alluring look). Am I alone in this?
And if I'm not...What is the last DVD release that has the color grading I grew up with? I was born in '90, by the way.
Am I alone in feeling that the colors in the 60s films feel a little dull, a little desaturated, a little flat? Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me, but I remember Goldfinge and YOLT having extremely vibrant, almost oversaturated Technicolor-esque tones. The 2015 DVDs have a more modern, less saturated (and as such, less alluring look). Am I alone in this?
And if I'm not...What is the last DVD release that has the color grading I grew up with? I was born in '90, by the way.
Comments
And since the 2015 dvds are the same as the 2006 ones, I guess the special edition dvds are the ones you're talking about. I only have the GE and DAD special editions. GE looks very different compared to the later releases.
Hope that helped a little bit.
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No Blu-Ray player here. Hmm. What's the last release that provides the original American release aspect ratio and looks akin to the saturated older releases?
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You're absolutely right. The cinematic prints of the 60's Bonds were very rich in beautiful Technicolor. Old school Technicolor stood the test of time and didn't fade as fast as, say Eastmancolor or Deluxe. That's why you rarely see a shoddy looking print of Errol Flynn's Adventures of Robin Hood or Gone With The Wind. They always look good. The Connery Bonds had that quality as well.
The Lowery restorations of 2006 did make some changes, though:
YOLT is color graded much duller than the others in flesh tones and contrasts. I saw a clean 35mm print a few years back at a Bond marathon and the colors were very rich. The gun-barrel blood was deep thick vivid RED. Honestly, the old CBS/FOX home video VHS and laserdisc transfers looked more in line with the original film.
For the most part, the Blu-rays for the 60's Bonds do have decent color. FRWL looks alright. The Lowery versions work better for Blu-ray.
Interestingly, I can remember in 1992 the Bonds were re-released in digitally remastered editions for VHS. Some looked fine, but others changed the color tones drastically. For instance in DR NO the "starring Sean Connery" shot --the red dot 007 images that freeze were changed to green. In TSWLM the Nile river sequence with Bond and Anya was changed from a golden sunset to a bluish purple.
It wasn't long in those days of only pan and scan versions, before I tracked down copies of the CBS/Fox videos to recollect.
As far as DVDs go, I'd say the 1999/2000 SE editions of the 60's Connery's are a bit closer in terms of colors to the original prints.
BTW, the 1999 SE of OHMSS is far superior to the 2006 edition. Lowery muted the PTS and changed it's color palette drastically to a bluish tint. Awful!
Which version is the best because out of all of Moore's outings, it's the one with the dullest colours, to my eyes at least.
I think the SE had richer colors- plus the blue tinted gun-barrel dots.