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>> "I can't see anyone being too disappointed with the BD from a technical standpoint."

...What?

(Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 at 12:20 PM)

Looks like another Arrow special i.e. stripped of any detail then finished off with some fake grain/video noise. The French disc looks to blow this one out of the water.

(Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 at 5:23 PM)

I can't see the pictures on the AVForums thread, I'll have to wait until I get home. I take it they're not good....

Must admit I was naively expecting Arrow would have access to the same master as Wild Side, which would've been more than adequate.

Curses.

(Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 at 5:30 PM)

oh no.....this did not look good at all. I did pre order this disc, thinkin maybe that arrow used the same master as the french one, and that we did get same good quality but no forced subs. Hmmm!!

(Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 at 7:59 PM)

Comparing this one: http://www.landofwhimsy.com/hdcaptures/tenebre17.jpg
With this one: http://www.avforums.com/forums/14851389-post36.html

...is definitely interesting. ;)

Still I'd like to know if those responsible for these transfers riddled with fake grain add it deliberately or if it exists due to a glitch in their setup. In any case this shows that it doesn't belong there. Additionally the color and contrast appear to be completely different on the Arrow master as well.

(Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 at 10:28 PM)

"Comparing this one: http://www.landofwhimsy.com/hdcaptures/tenebre17.jpg
With this one: http://www.avforums.com/forums/14851389-post36.html

...is definitely interesting. ;)"

The Arrow's got that weird blocky, clumpy "grain" thing again, like the Deep Red comparison Michael did (the shot with Hemmings crossing the street). And again it's hideously over-brightened so all the texture of the walls has vanished.

Looks like I'm stuck with the French BD and its bloody forced subtitles.

If they are different masters, where are they all appearing from? At one point it seemed the only available prints of the film were the (slightly incomplete) Roan Group one used by Anchor Bay, the one used for the French and Dutch DVDs and the one used for the Japanese DVD (I've probably got that wrong!)

(Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 at 11:10 PM)

The Arrow does look virtually identical to BU's Cat O' Nine Tails release. The last thing any other company should be releasing is a product that makes someone say "That looks like Arrow's work." ;-P

Yes, I do realize that Arrow is likely being saddled with crap masters to begin with... I just love taking the piss out of them because they somehow often manage to fudge up these poor masters even further.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 3:30 AM)

I am buying this for the Special Features: The Alan Jones commentary and the Daria Nicolodi interview. If only Arrow put as much effort in their transfers as they do with the extras.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 4:47 PM)

I'd love to see a comment from Arrow on these image comparisons, which are compelling, to say the least. I've imported several of their "HD" releases until now, but those days are officially over until they come forward with both an explanation and a demonstration of a change in process to correct the issue on future titles. This is really too bad - there is always room for companies interested in careful, respectful transfers of these cult titles, but they appear to have their priorities all screwed up.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 5:12 PM)

Is it just me, or does it look like the guy photographed those off of his monitor? Look at the second "capture" in particular, you can see the sides of his set and it's at an angle.

Vincent

(Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 5:32 PM)

Can you provide a link to the second capture, all i see is a single post with one screencap.

If a different company/studio owns the rights to a film then i think sometimes a different master can be produced, look at Silent Hill or True Romance as just two examples.

(Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 5:55 PM)

Ah, now I see that what I perceived to be a "lopsided" side bar in that second capture is in fact the outline of the curtain.

Vincent

(Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 10:05 PM)

Right, I took those caps and have just seen this thread, so to address a couple of the issues raised.

>> "I can't see anyone being too disappointed with the BD from a technical standpoint."

>>...What?

As I said in the thread I know nothing about the film or how it should look. I took those caps simply by skipping quickly through the disc as a couple of people were enquiring about it and at first glance they didn't look too bad (not degrained to the point where everyone looks waxy, which is what I was looking for given some of Arrow's previous releases). I assumed the film was supposed to look quite harsh/grainy, but looking at them in comparison with the other set of caps it does appear that some sort of odd artificial grain or sharpening has been applied. However, it doesn't look as bad as something like Don't Look Now (certainly in motion), which I could immedidately see issues with (best I can describe that one is that it looks a bit like someone has run the Photoshop oil painting filter over it).

>>I wish I could believe that was the case, but I find it hard to believe they were captured by pointing a camera at a monitor. Later in the AV Forums thread, the poster who captured these shots even says "My method is pretty much the same as Mr. Mackenzie, so the caps will be accurate whichever set you look at."

Indeed. I use the same program to grab caps as Bjørn at Hundland, who is (as far as I know) using the same program as most other dedicated capping sites. I also use MPC-HC, but whereas some people have had issues with it the caps it generates on my system they are identical to the others in all respects.

(Posted on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 2:01 PM)