Thank God restorers exist. I always thought that Holliwood did take care of its masterpieces. Or even the director himself would take care of the original negatives, ensuring they are properly stored. To my dismal that was not the case.
Thank God for cinephiles. Had VHS, DVD and Blu Ray not exist, those film companies would never pay to have film negatives scanned and restored at 4K. Now for higher-bit restorations...
The director typically has no access to or control over film materials once the film is finished. The original materials are typically under the control of the production company and/or the company which financed the film. Companies go out of business, are taken over, can't afford restoration etc, etc over time and the people who ran them die and then often with small companies it becomes unclear who even owns the right over a film.
In many cases the film will fade to magenta over time, even under ideal storage conditions. Particularly late 1950s to early 1960s film stocks. So in many cases it is not the fault of the studio or the director. If anyone is to blame, it would be the companies that made the film stock itself because it was not chemically stable.
I'm 66 years old and while I have been a fan of Scorsese for decades, I find I love him now more as a historian and film restoration advocate but less so for his movies of the past couple of decades. .
What a wealth of information is Martin Scorsese I could listening an watch him talk about Film for hours its like a personal Film school. One of the many champions on film preservation an the importance on keeping Film history preserved for all generations.
That is incredible. The colour corrected version, the reds are insane. Beautiful work and Professor Scorsese's explanation was riveting. Criterion, you make life worth living.
Just got the Blu-ray and I am astonished at how good it looks! Having been used to the VHS tape then a very poor DVD version, you can now see the VistaVision clarity in all it's glory.
A brilliant film. Olivier x Shakespeare is a combination sent to us mere mortals by the divine. Scorsese could discuss the inner workings of a vacuum cleaner and I would listen with the most intense concentration.
Claire Bloom was SO beautiful back in the day. Especially in THE HAUNTING where she had the groundbreaking role of one of of the first modern lesbians on film.
I watched Richard III on the Critierion streaming service. While the restoration is amazing and the film is a classic, the way in which the production was filmed back in 1955 makes the cuts and effects stick out alot. The studio and location switches for the battle sequence are glaringly obvious...also some of the matte paintings are questionably done.
After seeing this I look forward to finally seeing the movie. As with Welles' Chimes at Midnight, which I hadn't seen until recently, I've waited a long time to see it. Walton's music for this is one of the best film scores ever.
Although transfer to digital is great, it's not the do-all end-all for true film preservation. The reason? Digital storage formats are constantly changing. Remember 5 1/4 floppys? Or the old Zip drives? Also, the method of digital encoding of data has changed. The best development for the PHYSICAL preservation of film is a polyester based film stock. I've read that, under proper conditions of storage, it should last at least 700 years.
You're absolutely right that tech and digital standards are constantly evolving. Restorers absolutely shouldn't get complacent and should endeavour to future proof films as best they can during the restoration process. That said, nowadays most films shot on 35mm are being restored digitally in 4K, which is generally agreed by scientists to be the digital standard that matches 35mm the best as far as image quality is concerned. The amount of information you're able to capture by shooting in 4K is about the same as you're able to capture by shooting on 35mm. Going above 5K is considered excessive for restoring a film shot on 35mm.
I wonder why the extended cut of Once Upon a Time in America doesn't look this good. Scorsese oversaw its restoration. But looking at the image quality of the restored scenes, it just seems like the restoration was never finished. It's almost as if they didn't get enough funding. I really wish someone would re-release a proper 4k restoration.
loved richard the third my late fathers fave play ever!! I have a great love for this movie! and to learn from a master class of acting is something else! I know word for word! and william walton music is for it epic!!
Marvellous - Many thanks - I have been watching that film - on an earlier release - Have been going through it scene by scene - Currently have been studying two sections - One - where Hastings - is awoken and warned of possible danger and the later part where in the Tower - he suddenly realises that he is doomed - The other scene is where Buckingham comes to Richard and tells him the views of the people re Richard becoming elevated - Richardson(Buckingham) - does some marvellous business of eating and drinking whilst imparting the news to Olivier (Richard)!!!!!
Hope one day they find and restore director; Joseph L Mankiewicz's 1963 Cleopatra original 6 hour version like this! They say they're still searching for it, and that it'll be found and restored and re-released one day. I sure hope Hollywood inform us all when this'll happen. Its one of those movies where the story demands, it be seen finally in the director's intended vision. 2 hours cut from a 4 hour movie?! Sure hope time is on my side, and one day i live long enough to see the eventual 6 hour cut of Cleopatra!
That movie was filmed in 70mm film, meaning that one day we may be able to see it in full 8K as it was meant to be seen. I, like you, hope I live to see it.
Wonders why it take them so long to restore all the movies? it's easy nowadays no? Even to colorise black&white movies has been done and its perfect . I'm still waiting to have a DVD or Bluray colorised version from The Longest Day but purists doesnt allow it, strange our TV's has an option to put movies on Black&White guess they're lazy or? lol
Restorations are expensive, and it's not easy to get funding for a restoration, which is a big part of why it takes so long (and why only select titles are restored). But also, the actual work is still painstaking--even though computers make it possible to fix many kinds of problems, there are still usually thousands and thousands of problems that need fixing, and you have to go through them one at a time, and in such a way as to get the film to match the director's original intent. E.G. a single small scratch on a single frame that needs fixing might take hours, or all day, or days, to fix, since you'd (probably) have to manually paint out the scratch with tools similar to the cloning tool in photoshop. Even something simple like dirt being on the film poses that kind of work. The lengthy time it takes to do the work comes from the desire to get it perfect, so it looks like nothing was ever wrong with the film print to begin with.
Since we now have the tech it's relatively inexpensive to clean and scan the film before it deteriorates completely. Expensive restoration can be done later. Same with video and audio tape.
By concerning the Resolution (Chenically and Physically) an 35mm Kodak / Fuji Film Frame (up to 18Mp) just imagine the REAL resolution of an 70mm Film Frame (36/40 Mp)
6:33 the color correction looks super natural BUT many many details got lost due the high contrasting, look at the face its all black and at the horse face the details are gone around the eyes. also the details are not anymore visable in the armor on the shoulders and in the bottom part.
@@spookylemon4947 so for every frame that was asked right? come on to much stuff got lost, that is not correct and good. if you darken some parts to make it a more dramatic ok, but clearly to much got lost.
@@DiegottlosenCharmeure I feel the same way when I saw it. I kept turning up and down the brightness on my TV, Definitely something Criterion doesn't usually do.
This is my most favourite film have seen it sooooo many times, I know the entire film off by heart. Am puzzled though that one scene is still missing. It is where the Duke of Buckingham has been captured , following his betrayal of Richard to join up with Henry Tudor’s forces. Buckingham is sitting by a well, bemoaning his fate - he is to be executed mediately. By it was cut I’ll never understand, why it has never been reinstated ditto that sentiment Does anyone have any update, info. on this. Posted 30/5/2021
When digital technology is used as it should be to restore films to their past glory, not to destroy these classics with gratuities and idiotic changes.
I can't believe he called Hamlet a film noir. Olivier confessed to Mel Bragg in an interview that the reason he did not do that in color was because he had a dispute with the film company. Not for any artistic reason. Further, in another interview. he said that he learned a lot from Citizen Kane.
0:01Have to disagree with Mr Scorsese here, Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948) Othello (1952) and Chimes at Midnight (1965) are way more important cinematically then any thing Olivier ever did with Shakespeare' text in Films.
4:59 I feel like they should’ve done something different to restore the lost frames. Certainly there must be other prints of the scene shown, and they could’ve implemented that frame from another source. As it is after the restoration, it still looks like a jump cut.
Thank God restorers exist. I always thought that Holliwood did take care of its masterpieces. Or even the director himself would take care of the original negatives, ensuring they are properly stored. To my dismal that was not the case.
Thank God for cinephiles. Had VHS, DVD and Blu Ray not exist, those film companies would never pay to have film negatives scanned and restored at 4K. Now for higher-bit restorations...
The director typically has no access to or control over film materials once the film is finished. The original materials are typically under the control of the production company and/or the company which financed the film. Companies go out of business, are taken over, can't afford restoration etc, etc over time and the people who ran them die and then often with small companies it becomes unclear who even owns the right over a film.
Richard III **IS NOT** "Hollywood".
In many cases the film will fade to magenta over time, even under ideal storage conditions. Particularly late 1950s to early 1960s film stocks. So in many cases it is not the fault of the studio or the director. If anyone is to blame, it would be the companies that made the film stock itself because it was not chemically stable.
Don't we all just love Martin Scorsese?
Absolutely !
No! There's a bloke lives in the park near me hates him! He's a bit nuts though.
yes!!
A national and international treasure
I'm 66 years old and while I have been a fan of Scorsese for decades, I find I love him now more as a historian and film restoration advocate but less so for his movies of the past couple of decades. .
What a wealth of information is Martin Scorsese I could listening an watch him talk about Film for hours its like a personal Film school. One of the many champions on film preservation an the importance on keeping Film history preserved for all generations.
Crazy how this quality looks like as if it was filmed in 70s rather than 50s
Hey, it's Mr Slav!
'50s films usually look good ... if they've been preserved or restored properly
That's the greatness of Film for you, looks better than movies from the early 2000s
Movies shot on good film stocks from the 1950s typically look better than those from the 1970s in my opinion.
Ben Hur was filmed in the 50's, lol.
"We felt like we'd stepped into a Medieval Book Of Hours"
Thank-you Martin!
That's exactly the quality!
A superb restoration. I own the Criterion blu-ray edition.
My next purchase
That is incredible. The colour corrected version, the reds are insane. Beautiful work and Professor Scorsese's explanation was riveting. Criterion, you make life worth living.
Scorsese is straight the sharpest old dude around.
This man just plain CARES about film - and does so much to prove it.
Thanks Martin, Criterion and all who made this possible
God, I love that moment between Anne and Richard where they just stare each other down while the pallbearers carry away the coffin. Fantastic scene!
incredible, Scorsese really loves movies, and watching the restoration of a movie that is close to his heart is great.
Just got the Blu-ray and I am astonished at how good it looks! Having been used to the VHS tape then a very poor DVD version, you can now see the VistaVision clarity in all it's glory.
Hats off to everyone involved! An astonishing achievement which will be cherished now forever.
'...we felt we had stepped into a medieval Book of Hours'. What a wonderful description.
This is wonderful. I've only seen this film in b/w and never realized it was in color. Can't wait to see the whole thing.
A brilliant film. Olivier x Shakespeare is a combination sent to us mere mortals by the divine. Scorsese could discuss the inner workings of a vacuum cleaner and I would listen with the most intense concentration.
Amazing restoration. Simply amazing.
That guy wanted to smile so much at the end but wanted to stay profession.
Yup!
I thought he seemed a bit emotional at the end - almost tearful.
Richard III is my most favorite character by Sir Larry ❤❤❤ True masterpiece 👏👏
This is fantastic. Thank you for posting these wonderful restoration mini-docs!
Highly recommended. Excellent commentary.
Claire Bloom was SO beautiful back in the day.
Especially in THE HAUNTING where she had the groundbreaking role of one of of the first modern lesbians on film.
The look Olivier gives her after she spits in his face...terrifying. She was gorgeous.
Such a stunning film. The visuals are breathtaking!
He’s such a charmer
I watched Richard III on the Critierion streaming service. While the restoration is amazing and the film is a classic, the way in which the production was filmed back in 1955 makes the cuts and effects stick out alot. The studio and location switches for the battle sequence are glaringly obvious...also some of the matte paintings are questionably done.
After seeing this I look forward to finally seeing the movie. As with Welles' Chimes at Midnight, which I hadn't seen until recently, I've waited a long time to see it. Walton's music for this is one of the best film scores ever.
I hope that they're gonna remaster Othello (1965) as well.
They're doing the 1952 version
It has been released now
It is an amazing film. Not much more to say.
Although transfer to digital is great, it's not the do-all end-all for true film preservation. The reason? Digital storage formats are constantly changing. Remember 5 1/4 floppys? Or the old Zip drives? Also, the method of digital encoding of data has changed. The best development for the PHYSICAL preservation of film is a polyester based film stock. I've read that, under proper conditions of storage, it should last at least 700 years.
You're absolutely right that tech and digital standards are constantly evolving. Restorers absolutely shouldn't get complacent and should endeavour to future proof films as best they can during the restoration process. That said, nowadays most films shot on 35mm are being restored digitally in 4K, which is generally agreed by scientists to be the digital standard that matches 35mm the best as far as image quality is concerned. The amount of information you're able to capture by shooting in 4K is about the same as you're able to capture by shooting on 35mm. Going above 5K is considered excessive for restoring a film shot on 35mm.
I wonder why the extended cut of Once Upon a Time in America doesn't look this good. Scorsese oversaw its restoration. But looking at the image quality of the restored scenes, it just seems like the restoration was never finished. It's almost as if they didn't get enough funding. I really wish someone would re-release a proper 4k restoration.
Restorations are better than remakes.
loved richard the third my late fathers fave play ever!! I have a great love for this movie! and to learn from a master class of acting is something else! I know word for word! and william walton music is for it epic!!
Absolutely fascinating.
Marvellous - Many thanks - I have been watching that film - on an earlier release - Have been going through it scene by scene - Currently have been studying two sections - One - where Hastings - is awoken and warned of possible danger and the later part where in the Tower - he suddenly realises that he is doomed - The other scene is where Buckingham comes to Richard and tells him the views of the people re Richard becoming elevated - Richardson(Buckingham) - does some marvellous business of eating and drinking whilst imparting the news to Olivier (Richard)!!!!!
Simply beautiful !!!
Fascinating.
Your love is indeed pure, my friend!
Another classic Martin Scoreses appreciates is the unique British Classic 'The Red Shoes'!
About people who are Dance/Music/ Visual Creative.
Spectacular! I love this film so much! It's so good!
We love you Marty ❤
Love this, technology being used what it's for.
film restoration is so fucking awesome
The best looking Vistavision movie on blu ray that I've seen is Hitchcock's The Trouble With Harry. I was blown away by how good it looked.
What a fascinating and remarkable man is Martin Scorsese. 👍🙂🇬🇧
The restoration looks beautiful and filmic. Maybe I'll pick this up just for that.
awesome ! i could listen to scorsese talk about films all day long...
These are fantastic! More please
Hope one day they find and restore director; Joseph L Mankiewicz's 1963 Cleopatra original 6 hour version like this! They say they're still searching for it, and that it'll be found and restored and re-released one day. I sure hope Hollywood inform us all when this'll happen. Its one of those movies where the story demands, it be seen finally in the director's intended vision. 2 hours cut from a 4 hour movie?!
Sure hope time is on my side, and one day i live long enough to see the eventual 6 hour cut of Cleopatra!
That movie was filmed in 70mm film, meaning that one day we may be able to see it in full 8K as it was meant to be seen. I, like you, hope I live to see it.
I would hope to see it projected from 70mm :D
Wonders why it take them so long to restore all the movies? it's easy nowadays no? Even to colorise black&white movies has been done and its perfect . I'm still waiting to have a DVD or Bluray colorised version from The Longest Day but purists doesnt allow it, strange our TV's has an option to put movies on Black&White guess they're lazy or? lol
Restorations are expensive, and it's not easy to get funding for a restoration, which is a big part of why it takes so long (and why only select titles are restored). But also, the actual work is still painstaking--even though computers make it possible to fix many kinds of problems, there are still usually thousands and thousands of problems that need fixing, and you have to go through them one at a time, and in such a way as to get the film to match the director's original intent. E.G. a single small scratch on a single frame that needs fixing might take hours, or all day, or days, to fix, since you'd (probably) have to manually paint out the scratch with tools similar to the cloning tool in photoshop. Even something simple like dirt being on the film poses that kind of work. The lengthy time it takes to do the work comes from the desire to get it perfect, so it looks like nothing was ever wrong with the film print to begin with.
Since we now have the tech it's relatively inexpensive to clean and scan the film before it deteriorates completely. Expensive restoration can be done later. Same with video and audio tape.
Bravo!
Wonderful work
I love film restoration !
Long live the King. Dam the Tudors and Shakespear.
Isn't this just marvelous?
amazing! Keep up the good work!
He is an expert.
By concerning the Resolution (Chenically and Physically) an 35mm Kodak / Fuji Film Frame (up to 18Mp) just imagine the REAL resolution of an 70mm Film Frame (36/40 Mp)
Here are the 10 best films I have seen thus far, staring Laurence Olivier:
10. "Khartoum" (1966)
9. "Boys From Brazil" (1978)
8. "Richard III" (1955)
7. "Rebecca" (1940)
6. "Three Sisters" (1970)
5. "Marathon Man" (1976)
4. "Carrie" (1952)
3. "Othello" (1965)
2. "Spartacus" (1960)
1. "Wuthering Heights" (1939)
Fascinating!
I wish someone would invest into a restoration of the Super Panavision 70mm print of "Lord Jim."
Excellent.
Fantastic!
Scorsese's tie is awesome.
Thankyou! Just, thankyou
Amazing, well done guys!
Thanks to The American Film heads who contributed to this restoration,I proudly own the Blu Ray with extras!
6:33 the color correction looks super natural BUT many many details got lost due the high contrasting, look at the face its all black and at the horse face the details are gone around the eyes. also the details are not anymore visable in the armor on the shoulders and in the bottom part.
Not all detail is meant to be shown.
@@spookylemon4947 so for every frame that was asked right? come on to much stuff got lost, that is not correct and good. if you darken some parts to make it a more dramatic ok, but clearly to much got lost.
@@DiegottlosenCharmeure I feel the same way when I saw it. I kept turning up and down the brightness on my TV, Definitely something Criterion doesn't usually do.
This is my most favourite film have seen it sooooo many times, I know the entire film off by heart.
Am puzzled though that one scene is still missing. It is where the Duke of Buckingham has been captured , following his betrayal of Richard to join up with Henry Tudor’s forces. Buckingham is sitting by a well, bemoaning his fate - he is to be executed mediately. By it was cut I’ll never understand, why it has never been reinstated ditto that sentiment
Does anyone have any update, info. on this. Posted 30/5/2021
i would also like to know
When digital technology is used as it should be to restore films to their past glory, not to destroy these classics with gratuities and idiotic changes.
Liked it!
4:47 Private Frazer... smiling?!?
oliviers henry v
At least the HFPA did one thing right.
I can't believe he called Hamlet a film noir.
Olivier confessed to Mel Bragg in an interview that the reason he did not do that in color was because he had a dispute with the film company. Not for any artistic reason. Further, in another interview. he said that he learned a lot from Citizen Kane.
garrison968 I don’t think he meant that in a literal sense just a comparison.
Please restore michael jackson bad
0:01Have to disagree with Mr Scorsese here, Orson Welles' version of Macbeth (1948) Othello (1952) and Chimes at Midnight (1965) are way more important cinematically then any thing Olivier ever did with Shakespeare' text in Films.
4:59 I feel like they should’ve done something different to restore the lost frames. Certainly there must be other prints of the scene shown, and they could’ve implemented that frame from another source. As it is after the restoration, it still looks like a jump cut.
Shouldn’t you be doing Charles II , The Restorations. R r r r r
0:50 Typical Americans...
And I’m saying this as an American. Everyone has such a short attention span here.
Most of this looks great, but that shot at 05:15 is not good. I guarantee I could produce a far superior result.