I agree the revised verison is still kinda flawed, but I much prefer it to the pink, re-grained, totally blown-out de-saturated mess that was the original.
These are all very, very good points. Not very easily. Digital color correction only really became viable for theatrical films around 2000-2001, and bending blue to force it in a cyan direction is something you really need to tweak in the digital domain in order to get the right results. In the past, Cameron generally went for very "steely" blue for the night scenes -- going all the way back to the original Terminator -- and it was all achieved on the sets with lights and gels, and also in the lab. But lab color timing is extremely limited in terms of changing the image and moving it beyond how it was shot. Just having the ability to adjust the darkest parts of the image without affecting the highlights (as one example) is impossible to do photochemically. Changing the blue to cyan/teal takes just a few seconds with digital color correction. You can make a good argument that "just because you can, doesn't mean you should," but the reality is that many directors love to change things. I have told the story before about how no less than Robert Wise insisted we make Sound of Music kind of cold and desaturated for the director-supervised version of the 1990s. He insisted that he never wanted the film to look warm and colorful which is the way it was shown in theaters; he wanted it to be cold and dreary, reflecting the Nazis taking over Austria. Wise said that Fox made that change against his specific instructions, and he was furious but couldn't do anything about it in the 1960s. He got what he wanted 30 years later. And that home video version did get criticized... even though it reflected the exact way the filmmaker intended the movie to originally be seen.
Point taken, but my point remains that I don't think Cameron is screwing with color because that's "what he always wanted". I don't think that's true for Lucas's tinkering with the OT either, but it's still more believable. I think Cameron goes Super Teal now because that's the "modern look" and he wants his films not to "seem old". I don't think it was his intention in the first place that he's finally realizing after decades of frustration!
I think this sheds a little bit of light on what it's like to work with Cameron, bottom line you better know what you're doing and be able to step up your game or else. Norm Newberry, who'll receive a lifetime achievement honor at the Art Directors Guild Awards, also recalls teaching Tom Hanks how to drive a steam locomotive while working with the actor on Robert Zemeckis' 'Polar Express.' On Avatar, you had the credit of "virtual production art director." What exactly did that involve? I was inventing the process along with 100 other people. Avatar used live-action photography and motion capture, so the sets are digital, and it required a different mindset. The director is holding a virtual camera seeing the 3D set. Instead of being built by carpenters and painters, the sets were built by digital artists. Basically, I was managing the digital artists while making sure they delivered what James Cameron wanted onstage and that it worked in the film. You also have to produce a physical reference so the actor's performance matches the digital set. What was your collaboration with Cameron like? Very difficult, actually. The man is a genius, and he can really do everybody's job better than they can. He was very gracious and thankful when it was all over, but while it was happening, we were all suffering because we could not anticipate exactly what he was up to. He was way ahead of us.
The funny thing is, when Cameron was at a convention some years ago, he was asked by a fan in the audience, "hey, why isn't True Lies out yet on Blu-ray?" And he answered, "ask that Fox executive over there. They're in charge of that." But the truth was that Cameron had not yet approved the mastering. I think that has the ring of truth to it.
It's ironic, because what's fashionable now, won't be when the next thing comes along, which means all these tealized films will instantly look dated!
Maybe, but orange and teal has been "the style" for so long, I don't think it'll be an easy way to pin down a movie to a specific era. I see movies from 15-20 years ago that went pretty heavy with those hues - maybe not as much as now, but those tints have been popular for a surprisingly long time! The crappy thing is that whenever I see any kind of blue tint on an older movie, I worry it's been "updated"!
I watched the Starship Troopers UHD BD this evening and first thing I thought was "that's how movies shot on film should look". If super grainy Super 35 mm was the flavor of the day, let it be on new Hi Res video formats. Starship Troopers looks very 90's and the UHD BD looks very 90's and that's how I like it and think should be done. I like how Sony Pictures masters his film sourced movies for UHD BD, Léon The Professional looks spectacular and it has grain, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind looks great and like a real 70's movie, grain and all, and the same for Starship Troopers. Movies are products of their time and that'show they should look. I really don't understand why some directors are so keen on revisionism, let your movies age gracefully!
For The Abyss? that's the million dollar question, no one knows if and when this title will see a Blu-Ray - 4K HD release. If it's not #1 on the most wanted list, it's way up there.
Yes, but you have to ask, after all this time has passed, in which demographic is this #1? I'd certainly get it, but how many millennials would? The more work that goes into its production, the bigger the market needs to be to be suitably profitable.
#1 for any fan of Cameron's movies, I think there's a few of those still around. They can work out the math for the type of restoration they feel will do justice to the movie and not cause red ink to run all over the place.
Was that the THX Five Star Collection DVD release of 2000, or a Laserdisc/VHS release from the mid '90s? Whichever, is that the only home video release with Wise's preferred color?
The Sound of Music was the THX-approved and Wise-supervised laserdisc version that came out around 1995-1996.
Posted today True Lies Blu-Ray Could Be Done By End Of 2018, Says James Cameron James Cameron is a filmmaker who’s constantly pushed technological boundaries – and yet a few of his most beloved films are still only available on home video in standard definition. True Lies and The Abyss are yet to get the Blu-ray treatment – but in a new Empire interview, in which we asked Cameron questions from you, our readers, the filmmaker confirmed that HD versions are on the way, as soon as he gets the time to take a look at them and sign them off. The problem is, he’s a very busy guy. “Man, it’s on my to-do list,” Cameron admitted. “It’s a question of time-management. True Lies and The Abyss both have Blu-ray transfers that are complete for my review. The problem is the next 14 hours when I have to go back and trim the color and get each one perfect. That’s 28 hours. I don’t have 28 hours.” He added that he’s hoping to take a look at them before 2019 arrives: “I’ve put it on my list to try to get it done before the end of the year.” So there you have it, True Lies will be on Blu-ray eventually – maybe even next year. Keeping Cameron busy at the moment is the ending stretch of Alita: Battle Angel, his long-term passion project which he’s finally bringing to the screen in April 2019 as writer and producer, with Robert Rodriguez directing. Then there are those four Avatar sequels…
I kind of laughed at that one, he needs time to tealize the color palette! How about leaving the original color timing? That should save a bunch of time (and look better)!
Yeah, the article in the OP is 2.5 years old and claimed Cameron was just about to approve the transfers. So excuse me if I don't hold my breath for these titles anytime soon...
I now look forward to new movie remasters the same as I look forward to new compressed music remasters. Pass. Look how True Stories was screwed up. I have to believe that David Byrne was unaware of the trend and just watched it in isolation and approved it because he had no clue they would do such a thing... Left is the DVD, right is the new Criterion Collection Blu-ray.
