Add another asskicking indie company to the Blu Ray train

[Eel O'Brian]

http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/show/Kinowelt/Disc_Announcements/Industry_Trends/Kinowelt_to_Go_Blu_this_Fall/1725

[Eric P]

impressive

i do like their catalogs

but i'm curious

how much more improvement can we really get out of older films?

forgive my ignorance, but do things in black and white look better?

i remember watching some scenes in noir films only to have extreme shimmer in any sort of tight chiaroscuro

[TVC15]

I'm guessing there will be somewhat of a quality ceiling with b&w movies.  I mean, aside from cleaning the print and making an HD transfer, there's really not a whole lot you can do.

[Eric P]

yeah that was kind of my concern.

for example criterion announcing The Third Man.  I caught a re-release of it last year and they're using the same print source as the recent Criterion release, and i didn't really see how it could be "better" in blue ray.

[TVC15]

yeah that was kind of my concern.

for example criterion announcing The Third Man.  I caught a re-release of it last year and they're using the same print source as the recent Criterion release, and i didn't really see how it could be "better" in blue ray.

That re-release of The Third Man also looked fine on my TV.  I mean, I'm sure I can put it in and find jagged edges and some artifacts, but it's not like Blu-Ray will be a VHS -> DVD-like jump for it.  Maybe I should nab that BD just so I can compare.

[Eel O'Brian]

you guys obviously never saw casablanca in hd, you could clearly read text on signs in the background, see fine detail in faces, etc.

black and white really has nothing to do with clarity and detail

it's all in the film stock/cameras/filters - and of course print source + the amount of remastering

doubtful that silent films will look that much better, but if they utilize the space it'd be nice to have the buster keaton set on two blu ray discs instead of that monster dvd boxed set they released in the past

[Mr. Gundam]

More Wong Kar Wai in HD, fuck yeah!!