Tenebrae – Technically Speaking

[Prince_Vajda]

Originally Posted by Prince_Vajda

TENEBRAE

PQ: 7.5 out of 10 points. There are quite a few visual merits of this Arrow release. Sharpness and contrast are not perfect, but nothing to worry about either - it's not a movie from 2011. The colours look great – natural skin tones, no colour casts. The biggest pro of this release: its brightness. Luciano Tovoli, the film’s cinematographer, once stated that Argento wanted Tenebrae to look very clean and bright (see booklet for more info) – maybe Dario wanted a contrast to the film’s title? However, that’s what you get: a bright picture, but still with a natural look. I sometimes change the settings of my TV in order to improve the picture - this was not necessary with this release. So why only 7.5 out of 10? Well – call it “strange looking grain” or “digital noise”, but that’s what you’ll have to deal with throughout the movie. It does not look like real film grain, but more like the consequences of some digital treatment. It’s quite obvious for the first thirty minutes – afterwards, it’s getting a lot better; some of the last shots (I especially remember the rainy scene at the end in the car) look really great.
/// The picture quality of this release is definitely not perfect - but it’s not in the least as bad as some reviewers make us believe. I was not overwhelmed, but quite satisfied with the picture. ///

Originally Posted by Stephen@Cult Labs

Decided to finally settle down and watch the whole film. Some scenes look pretty good and some (to my eye) look pretty bad. If it wasn't for this strange 'grain like' image in a lot of the scenes, it would all look pretty good. I'm still perplexed as to what it is. It doesn't look like film grain at all. Darker scenes are much better looking overall. It is really strange that this phenomenon has only really affected a few of the Italian Arrow releases. Just look at titles like Vamp, The Funhouse and Obsession, which all look amazing on blu-ray.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why revitalising the "grain"/"digital noise"/... debate? It's really an old hat. Just as a reminder: read my short review from over three months ago (it can be found within this very same thread) and Stephen's remarks, and you'll pretty much know what you get.

Greetings!

[springjack]

Originally Posted by gasteropod

Yeah it's definitely not grain, and it's not Arrow's fault either (it's present on Blue Underground releases too) - it's the Italian company responsible for creating these HD masters - there's a problem occurring in the process and it's ruining all of these Italian films unfortunately. Such a shame.

Fro me, the only ruined Blue Underground Italian title is City Of The Living Dead, and I think it´s worse in the Arrow version... All the rest are great to me... Deep Red, Torso, House By The Cemetery, Inferno.

From Arrow I bought Inferno, and while different, I don´t consider it a better or worst print, just different. I bought Deep Red on DVD just for the extras. I first bought Arrow´s City Of The Living Dead for the extras and waited, like Deep Red, for reviews to see what version was the best on Blu-Ray... ended up with the Blue Underground one.

I don´t think the fawlt is with the Italian company... just look at the French master for Tenebre... easily the best HD conversion of any Argento so far.

[sjconstable]

Originally Posted by springjack

Fro me, the only ruined Blue Underground Italian title is City Of The Living Dead

I don´t think the fawlt is with the Italian company... just look at the French master for Tenebre... easily the best HD conversion of any Argento so far.

The Blue Underground Blu-rays of The Stendhal Syndrome and Cat O'Nine Tails have the noise too. And what do you mean it's not the Italian company's fault, your point makes no sense, the French Blu-ray is struck from a different master.

[Crimson Blade]

Maybe i need glasses, but Cat O' Nine Tails looks perfect to me. One of the best blu's in my collection!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Crimson Blade

Maybe i need glasses, but Cat O' Nine Tails looks perfect to me. One of the best blu's in my collection!

Yes, I watched it the other night and it looked fantastic.

For the record, I had an eye test not too long ago too.

[springjack]

Originally Posted by gasteropod

The Blue Underground Blu-rays of The Stendhal Syndrome and Cat O'Nine Tails have the noise too. And what do you mean it's not the Italian company's fault, your point makes no sense, the French Blu-ray is struck from a different master.

My post makes perfect sense. You used the sentence "these masters" so I assume you were referring to all the Italian conversions. Given that fact, I only used the french edition as a point for comparison.

[springjack]

Originally Posted by vinncent

Name one Italian giallo movie dubbed to english that IS in sync!

Well... Tenebre... at least on the French blu-ray.

[springjack]

A comparison of French and Arrow´s blu-ray of Tenebrae:
Kentai's Films: Kentai Films PSA: "Grain" vs "Noise"

[Toonloon]

That's a very interesting and informative article, thanks for sharing. It's quite bad just how these masters are being messed up.

I was watching the extras to Cat O' Nine Tails last night and during the Luigi Cozzo interview, all his dialogue was in the rear channels instead of the front. Sigh. Another techincal error.

[keirarts]

The fact the BFI got screwed should be evidence enough the italian labs are at fault. Check out the BFI's releases of british movies to blu-ray, they look stunning.