Superman: The Movie Video Transfer
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Superman: The Movie Video Transfer
Is it meant to be so washed out? I have the DVD-18 Special Edition and every review of the disc I read before purchasing would just rave on and on about how the colours are so rich and how the picture transfer was near-perfect.
Did I get a dud? My blacks are a shade of light grey, Superman's suit looks sky blue with a pink cape. There seems to be a washing of white light over everything that blurs edges and makes the entire picture look terribly soft -- hardly vivid, rich colours. Is this how the film looked during its theatrical run? I can not, for the life of me comprehend how this can be considered a good transfer?
Did I get a dud? My blacks are a shade of light grey, Superman's suit looks sky blue with a pink cape. There seems to be a washing of white light over everything that blurs edges and makes the entire picture look terribly soft -- hardly vivid, rich colours. Is this how the film looked during its theatrical run? I can not, for the life of me comprehend how this can be considered a good transfer?
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Originally Posted by hardercore
I can not, for the life of me comprehend how this can be considered a good transfer?
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Originally Posted by Patrick Mirza
Pink cape? Maybe you should have your television calibrated. The colors on Superman's costume are vivid on the DVD.
For a 1977(?) movie released on DVD in 2001, it's a pretty damn good transfer.
Will the SE coming out later this year have a new transfer?
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I don't think it's my TV settings. Firstly, the picture looks the same on my computer as it does on my TV's. Secondly, I have a few other DVDs whose original movie is around the age of Superman.
The Godfather, Part II
Apocalypse Now Redux
Star Wars Episode IV
Jaws
And all of these movies have rich, deep colour reproduction. Superman's "Special Edition" has washed out colours. Maybe describing the cape as pink was a little bit of an exaggeration, but it's definately not bright red as it should be. I found a few screenshots on the net which look like what my DVD looks like:
As you can see the picture seems as if the camera is looking through a haze, and superman's suit looks decidedly washed out.
The Godfather, Part II
Apocalypse Now Redux
Star Wars Episode IV
Jaws
And all of these movies have rich, deep colour reproduction. Superman's "Special Edition" has washed out colours. Maybe describing the cape as pink was a little bit of an exaggeration, but it's definately not bright red as it should be. I found a few screenshots on the net which look like what my DVD looks like:
As you can see the picture seems as if the camera is looking through a haze, and superman's suit looks decidedly washed out.
#8
Pink cape? Yah sure you got the right Superman video?
#9
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Originally Posted by hardercore
As you can see the picture seems as if the camera is looking through a haze, and superman's suit looks decidedly washed out.
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Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
Bear in mind too that what was considered a spectacular transfer in 2001 isn't going to be held to the same standards in 2006.
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Originally Posted by tikigod
Do you have the original laserdisc version to compare it to? The difference is night and day. His costume looked green and pink on the laserdisc.
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Originally Posted by Drexl
Well, the green was because blue wouldn't have worked because the special effects shots were against bluescreen, so for the restoration they changed it to the proper blue color.
This has always stuck me as odd. Why didn't they use greenscreen so as not to interfere with the blue suit?
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Green screens weren't used then; they're largely a product of digital technology, which can be used to remove any chosen color. For example, in some cases, orange screens are used.
But when "Superman: The Movie" was made, the process was optical in nature, and for various technical reasons, blue was the required color.
This is a bit of an over-simplification, but you get the idea.
But when "Superman: The Movie" was made, the process was optical in nature, and for various technical reasons, blue was the required color.
This is a bit of an over-simplification, but you get the idea.
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Other than a bit better compression, I'd be surprised if Superman looks much different than the current version. Didn't they do restoration work for the current version? I'm looking more forward to see how much better Superman II looks and sounds (current sound track is so anemic).
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I think they should both take a leaf out of Lucas' book in terms of print restoration and have Supes I and II released as 2-disc sets sometime near the release of Returns on DVD.
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Originally Posted by hardercore
I think they should both take a leaf out of Lucas' book in terms of print restoration and have Supes I and II released as 2-disc sets sometime near the release of Returns on DVD.
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So I never really got a definitive answer ... Superman's transfer is supposed to look as bad as it does, correct? that's the way the picture would have looked in theatres, washed out and hazy?
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Stop saying washed out! It's not washed out.
That's the look of Geoffrey Unsworth's photography. It's intentional and, I think, absolutely beautiful. Superman II looks the same way because he shot most of it prior to his death.
That's the look of Geoffrey Unsworth's photography. It's intentional and, I think, absolutely beautiful. Superman II looks the same way because he shot most of it prior to his death.
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There's no reason I should stop saying washed out when IMHO it is washed out and not at all "beautiful". But if it's intentional, then that's all I wanted to know.
#23
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Originally Posted by hardercore
There's no reason I should stop saying washed out when IMHO it is washed out and not at all "beautiful".
While we're on the subject, The Matrix is supposed to be greenish, Saving Private Ryan is intentionally grainy, and Schindler's List isn't very colorful.
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Originally Posted by Josh Z
While we're on the subject, The Matrix is supposed to be greenish, Saving Private Ryan is intentionally grainy, and Schindler's List isn't very colorful.
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Originally Posted by hardercore
There's no reason I should stop saying washed out when IMHO it is washed out and not at all "beautiful". But if it's intentional, then that's all I wanted to know.