The state of Redemptions hd releases

[Lalala76 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lalala76]

Having watched Redemptions bd Christina, Princess of eroticism last night I couldn't help thinking about what a wasted opportunity Redemption had to spend some more time on this. Everyone knows that they do very little in clean up. However Christina in Hd looks great and vibrant, if only it wasn't for the thousands of really distracting lines, pops and scratches that plague the print like so many other Redemption releases.

Don't get me wrong, I'm overly pleased to own this in Hd and on bd, and you do kind of forget about the damage, but it could have been so much better. Is this a money issue? Is the damage too serious in these films? I mean the work that Lilliom have done on their Franco releases for Mondo-macabro have been remarkable and virtually immaculate.

[Paul L Scholar of Sleaze Find all posts View Profile Close Paul L]

It's probably simply a case of penny-pinching. Then again, although I'm still waiting for my copies of these releases to arrive, I have to say that I sometimes like to see a bit of print damage and don't think it's a negative against an HD release of a film - that little bit of damage reminds me that I'm watching a picture shot on film.

Maybe I'm just weird that way :cuckoo:

[Lalala76 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lalala76]

Yes I get you Paul. Its just weird though. There is a LOT of print damage. However the increase in clarity and colours are top notch, but it feels like somethings wrong with your eyes, like there is a sheen of cobwebs in front of them or something. You feel like wiping them away to get to the glorious image underneath. You will see when you watch.

I had a similar experience with Nightmares come at night, but It didn't distract me as much.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Did you watch the restoration piece in the extras on Nightmares? It actually showed that they did do some (minor) clean up on it, there are some before and after/side by side shots and you can see the difference.

I'm torn on this. Part of me wishes they did more clean up work on it, part of me is completely okay with it for the reasons Paul stated.

They definitely do trump the DVD releases for texture and detail (even if the gray scaling on Orloff is wonky - though it didn't stand out to me as much when it was in motion).

The extras have been excellent on these three releases though, which is nice to see after some of the more 'barebones' releases that came before them.

[Lalala76 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lalala76]

I watched all the extras on Christina which were very good, but not yet on Nightmares and have yet to watch Orloff, . I just think that a film like Christina would have been amazing if they had just cleaned it up. If you look at something like Countess Perverse for example, then in no way does the restoration take anything away from the film. In fact to me Countess Perverse feels more cinematic now. I agree though its the best VOTLD has ever looked as the Hd really shines on this. Not something I noticed so much on Female vampire or Exorcism.

With regards to the versions. I actually like both versions for different things. The zombie scene is quite unnerving and to me adds to the bizarness of the film, . I love the score during this scene as well. But then again I actually like the extended scenes with Romay as the gypsy and the shrouded figures in Erotic rites of Frankenstein. I hope when Redemption release this they have both versions. But then again, the print used could be in worse shape than my dvd.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I can't argue with you re: the clean up work. Your logic is perfectly sound. The movies definitely could look better but at the same time, they offer a more 'cinematic' experience than the DVDs ever did (as they should), even with the dirt and debris. I'd prefer them looking like this than slathered with DNR, but yeah, a bit more TLC would probably go a long way.

[bgart13 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bgart13]

The milky grays from BLACK SUNDAY have shown up again on AWFUL DR. ORLOF. Maybe not as severely, but disappointing all the same. Facial details get lost too easily. I don't know whose fault it is at Kino, but it needs to stop.

[Ignatius Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ignatius]

I can see the logic of a hands-free approach to clean up but it must be possible to do a very basic automated dirt removal pass without fear of creating unwanted artefacts. Or spending much money.

The milky grays from BLACK SUNDAY have shown up again on AWFUL DR. ORLOF. Maybe not as severely, but disappointing all the same. Facial details get lost too easily. I don't know whose fault it is at Kino, but it needs to stop.

Really? If that's the case I may have to wait for another release to surface. Not that I could afford to grab the latest releases anyway.

[Lalala76 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lalala76]

Last night I watched Redemption's Uk composite release of THE DEMONS. It's interesting, watching this and also having thoughts as to how they will handle the hd release coming in February. The composite release I think is the Franco authorised version, and I'm not too sure on who did the restoration. It is obviously in sd, but having said that the issue isn't so much the visual, as the audio on this. The added French only sections, didn't really bother me that much, but the English dub had a rather loud "hiss" behind it which kept dropping in and out depending on the source material (I'm sure there is a technical term for this). The restoration itself, even though it did have some damage was largely free of problems. So how will Redemption/Kino handle this?. I mean if they start from scratch and restore from a different print, then they could possibly solve the audio problems but are they going to clean it up? I doubt it, so the hd restoration could look in worse shape than the sd restoration in terms of print damage. Who knows. I guess we may never know until it is released.

[Lalala76 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lalala76]

The milky grays from BLACK SUNDAY have shown up again on AWFUL DR. ORLOF. Maybe not as severely, but disappointing all the same. Facial details get lost too easily. I don't know whose fault it is at Kino, but it needs to stop.

I'm glad Arrow released Black Sunday. I haven't compared but I'm sure Arrow's is superior. I just wish Arrow had an interest in acquiring licenses for our newly departed Uncle Jess' films. I'd go crazy for deluxe versions Arrow style, for some of his films, regardless if I already own them.

[bgart13 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bgart13]

Arrow's BS is a little better, but still too gray, with skin tones suffering the most. Let me be clear, ORLOF looks the best I've seen it regardless of the grays. And, Arrow was actually supposed to release an Orlof set a year or two ago, but I've no idea if they cancelled it or decided to wait for new masters.

[Lalala76 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lalala76]

gray scaling on Orloff is wonky - though it didn't stand out to me as much when it was in motion.

I have nothing to compare it too, but ironically I thought it was the best looking out of all the current 3 Franco titles.

[John Bernhard Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close John Bernhard]

Maybe it's the cleanest source of the 3, but it's got the milky white blues, just like BLACK SUNDAY.
Here is a general example of the problem

Milky Grey Whites ( cap resized from mondo digital )



B & W Image DVD

[Lalala76 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lalala76]

Maybe it's the cleanest source of the 3, but it's got the milky white blues, just like BLACK SUNDAY.
Here is a general example of the problem

Milky Grey Whites ( cap resized from mondo digital )



B & W Image DVD

Yes I see what you mean now. I also see more detail in that second cap too, or is that just my eyes.

[John Bernhard Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close John Bernhard]

Looks like the new one has better detail ( don't have it yet myself ). I am a total whore for Tim Lucas commentaries, so all three BD's are on order.
So they get my $$ this time, but they either got tainted masters for BLACK SUNDAY & ORLOFF or they are screwing the pooch themselves on these B & W releases.
Notice the candle flames in this cap comparison