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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Topic: New 2001 OCN (elements)70mm prints.
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Frank Angel
Film God
Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 06-13-2018 03:25 PM
I would like to thank David Kornfeld for what was a spectacular presentation of a beloved film that launched Brooklyn Center Cinema (first film I ever ran there after I installed the Simplex projectors -- mag of course -- unfortunately they wouldn't let me buy 70s). 2001 was the seminal film that starts my career. After the disappointment of the Village East Cinema experience, seeing it as close to the original as we are ever going to get was not on old a treat, but an emotional experience. And David certainly did this film justice.
First I have to say, the Somerville theatre is a throw-back to the past -- the place has style, it has character; it has elfin CLASS! And Dave gave me the grand tour of his booth with the dual Norelcos-- yes he's running changeover -- the machines are so clean you could eat off them, the result being there was nary a speck of dirt through out the entire 2&half hours screen time. Five minutes in that booth and you can immediately see it is operated by someone who has both the specialized knowledge all all things 70mm and just as importantly, the love and passion for making this or any other film running through his machines, become real to his audience. Indeed, Mr. Kornfeld was called out of retirement to run this and the other 70mm roadshow series that the theatre is mounting. He is also an educator, explaining to his audience in a short but important stage talk about why seeing 70mm is a unique experience. He made it both informative and with a nice touch of humor. The fact that the theatre is having such success with their 70mm showings attests to the important of letting people know this is something special and worthwhile, certainly if one considers oneself a movie lover.
The Sumerville Theatre has a magnificent ruby red curtain. And imagine my delight when the MGM stylized lion hit the screen with the first rumblings of the Zarathustra theme and that curtain flew out, but then a SECOND white curtain split simultaneously! It was a great bit of old-school showmanship that is befitting the masterpiece that would follow and would be watched in awe by a packed house of both young, middle-aged and us old folk, ALL mesmerized. In the sequences of the space walk where Poole is killed and there is only the silence of space on the soundtrack, this audience of about 400 seemed to be mesmerized -- there as dead silence. My friend Bob who had come with me to this show said he could hear a pin drop, they were that quiet.
I thank David for the invite, but more importantly for the excellent presentation, which not course is due wholly to his experience and expertise, of a film that is especially important to me. It is the film that I saw in Cinerama and again many times in 70mm when I was just starting college; I couldn't get enough of it. It became the seminal film that I then used to launch Brooklyn Center Cinema which started my long career (50yrs this year) and then over the years, running it many times in a number of arts houses and museums, finally coming full circle, showing it for an audience of about 1200 with a Q&A with Mr. Kier Dullea after the show. It is the film that actually inspired me to want to give the film experience to an audience.
So than you, Mr. Kubrick; thank you Mr. Kornfeld for a great evening and for an experience that will probably be the last time I will get to see this exceptional piece of art in its original form and with the presentation quality and spectacular showmanship as I first saw it as a youngster, and which it truly deserves.
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David Kornfeld
Film Handler
Posts: 24
From: Cambridge, MA/USA, USA
Registered: Apr 2017
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posted 06-17-2018 09:38 PM
You know, I have to say I find Mr Gutzeit's remarks to be somewhat counter-productive & bordering on snarky. I'm not certain his approach will result in improved future film releases, even though that seems to be what hes agitating for.
Ive been running one of these new prints for over two weeks now. Is it perfect? No, it isnt. Is there room for improvement? Theres always room for improvement. Is it substantially better than the previous circulating prints struck from IN#1? Well, yes & no. Some sequences are the same, some are worse, & some are better. But you sort of have to expect that when youre dealing in the analogue world, & you have to expect it more when youre dealing with old elements.
Taking Mr Gutzeit's bullet points one by one:
- Nearly lost details in shadows and lights
In some sequences, thats true. In others, no.
- More grain ever seen
It has the same grain as the prints struck off IN#1. And, well, honestly, what would you expect from a third-gen print struck from an IN derived from an IP of unknown providence? Come on, now.
- Unsteadiness
Bullshit. I QC'd this print from at times six feet away from a 27' screen. No unsteadiness that I could see.
- No depths and satisfied sharpness
A. I repeat, third-gen print.
B. Those space scenes are plenty black.
C. Some shots are sharper than the previous IN prints. Dont argue with me: I have one here sitting here right now.
- Desaturated colors
Again, in some sequences. In others, plenty of saturation.
- Grey to grey?
I dont know what this means.
- Unsharp title sequence
Ha! I'm beginning to think you have projection problems!
- Front projection sequence never looked worse...
Oh yes it has: Ive run prints where the timing of that sequence was substantially worse.
I think Warner should be applauded for spending the money & taking this expensive step, & I hope they do it for future films, though I admit thats unlikely with naysayers like Mr Gutzeit at the helm. This is, as far as I'm concerned, a far, far better thing to do than release it in some 4K craptastic digital file, which will look like garbage & likely sound worse. (And there are a lot of people on online fora who are clamoring for just such an inferior release.)
Yes, this could have been better. But it also could have been a hell of a lot worse. And this title absolutely deserves to be shown in this format, just as Lawrence of Arabia deserves to be shown in this format. Griping that it's not as grainless & timed as flawlessly as a print struck from the OCN (before it started to fade & sustained damage from overuse) is simply unrealisitc.
Oh, & whomever it was that said that the BluRay is closest in grading to an original release? Thats a complete pile of rubbish. Ive run original release prints of this, I saw a couple of release prints of this, I ran rerelease prints struck from the OCN, & Ive seen the BluRay, & that statement is to laugh.
If this is the quality of a "person with a lab's experience," it goes a long way to explaining a lot of things.
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