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Subject: Re: What Did You Watch? 2024-03-15 (Friday)
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2024 19:21:03 -0400
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On Sat, 16 Mar 2024 16:03:08 -0700, Arthur Lipscomb
<arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

>On 3/16/2024 1:40 PM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
>> Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> The Frighteners (blu-ray) 1996 horror comedy directed by Peter Jackson
>>> and starring Michael J. Fox as a conman who uses his ability to see and
>>> talk to ghosts to con people until he stumbles upon the ghost of a
>>> serial killer who hasn't let being dead slow him down.
>> 
>> I sort of like this movie, but it falls apart in the middle. I've read
>> that the version distributed in the United States is heavily edited of
>> the New Zealand version. I've never seen what Peter Jackson intended. I
>> just looked; there's a director's cut that's 12 minutes longer. Also,
>> there are two different DVDs for home video, the second with
>> inferior audio.
>> 
>
>I was hoping for a 4K upgrade.  I heard one was on the way over a year 
>ago but it never materialized.  At least not in the U.S.

Yeah, sounds like there are some issues that may keep a 4K upgrade
from coming out for some time according to this article (included
below)


>> Any idea what version you watched?
>> 
>
>I watched the director's cut.  I have no idea what was put back in.  I 
>didn't listen to the commentary.  I do remember being less than 
>impressed when I saw the movie in the theater.  Over time I've more or 
>less forced myself to like it.  But part of that might be I've been 
>watching the director's cut.  I think it also helps if you go in knowing 
>what to expect.

I enjoyed the movie enough that I've seen it a couple of times. Though
not in a long time.

>Like you said, I sort of like it.  I honestly don't understand why I 
>don't like it more.  Everything about it really screams great movie, 
>then I actually watch it and the best I can muster is it's OK I guess.
>
>Now that I think about it, maybe the problem is there are no likable 
>characters in the movie.  I never thought about it before now, but the 
>movie really has no one to care about.  The movie probably would have 
>been significantly better if Michael J. Fox's character was likable. 
>Right from the start his character is being a total jerk to his ghost 
>helpers and he's just in it to rip people off.  And now that I think 
>about it some more, the people he targets are basically widows and 
>orphans!  He has barely any character growth beyond that.  I know by the 
>end he's supposedly a nice guy, but the movie never justifies that 
>change.  It just happens because reasons.

So the problem isn't Michael J Fox, it is how the character is
written. I doubt any of the people you list below would have made the
character that much more likeable without changing what the character
does.

>Who was a mid 90s contemporary who cold have played the part but made 
>the character likable?  Brad Pitt?  Johnny Depp?  Keanu Reeves?  Will 
>Smith?  John Cusack?




https://thedigitalbits.com/item/frighteners-ue-turbine-2022-uhd

The Frighteners was shot by cinematographers John Blick and Alun
Bollinger on 35 mm film (Super 35) using Arriflex 35 IIC and BL-III
cameras, finished photochemically, and presented in the aspect ratio
of 2.35:1. Turbine’s Ultra HD debut of the film comes sourced from
their new 4K restoration from the original camera negative of both
versions, which have been graded for High Dynamic Range (HDR10 and
Dolby Vision options are available) with the final approval of Peter
Jackson. As many are likely already aware, the computer-generated
effects in The Frighteners were rushed during the film's production
when the film’s release date was moved from October to July, meaning
that the teams behind them had even less time to complete them.
Although they certainly looked good for their time, the texturing and
softness of those effects don’t necessarily hold up to modern
scrutiny. Going into this new 4K presentation, it was the most
apprehensive aspect. Thankfully, fears were grounded as this is not
only a stellar presentation of the film, indeed the best that it’s
ever looked on home video, but the effects blend surprisingly better
than I was expecting. The rest of the presentation is richly-textured
with crystal clear images in both day and nighttime sequences. The new
HDR grades offer far more subtleties and detail in the image,
especially the nuances of the costumes and facial textures, as well as
shadows. Blacks are deep with perfect contrast, never sacrificing
detail or deepening to the point of crush. The film doesn’t offer a
wide spectrum of color, but the variety of green and blue hues, as
well as occasional flashes of red and brown, are often lush in
appearance. Flesh tones are natural and the film is has a more
consistent palette than previous releases. The Director’s Cut footage
also blends more seamlessly. Grain is minimal and tightly-woven,
giving the overall presentation an organic appearance that’s also
stable and clean with a very high bitrate that hovers constantly
between 80 and 100 Mbps. Though Arrow Video is also due to release the
film in 4K Ultra HD sometime in the near future, this presentation
will be incredibly hard to top (though I wouldn’t be surprised if
Turbine shares their presentation with Arrow, as they have done so for
other releases in the past).*

*According to Turbine, this transfer was a joint project between them
and Universal Pictures Germany, and is therefore subject to a 4 year
holdback, meaning that other companies cannot use it. What that means
for Arrow Video is that if they were to release the film on 4K Ultra
HD in the next 4 years, they've have to either acquire another
transfer or do their own.