Friday Pragmatism | High definition digital media

Last night I caved-in and purchased Wall-e on Blu-Ray at full RRP. Speed Racer and Gattaca at least were cheaper.

So, my impressions so far:

Best line-art: Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2
Best matte art: Ghost in the Shell
Best texture detail: Wall-e
Best colour-blocking/post processing: Speed Racer
Best audio: A toss-up between Innocence and Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s cut
Best orchestral soundtrack: Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s cut

I’m hesitant to award best natural photography as there are quite a few films I’m yet to purchase. I suspect Babel will look stunning in high definition, and Gattaca which I didn’t get a chance to preview last-night may also look outstanding. Best audio may also be squarely challenged by Ronin once I get it, as it has always had phenomenal audio even in standard definition. I don’t have many Blu-Ray discs at present and while I won’t be duplicating my entire collection, there are a few pieces of great cinema that are on the list, so some of these are likely to change.

As I keep reiterating, the more I view films in high definition, the more I appreciate what people used to say about DVD/Digital film, in that it has a flattening effect. The differences between standard definition and high definition images and audio are phenomenal; Wall-e and Speed Racer in particular are almost entirely different films, such is the great margin between formats. It’s amazing just how much is lost in standard definition, particularly at speed/in motion, and equally amazing how much is retained in high definition. Furthermore I seem to perceive a greater retention of detail at speed than print. While print provides a wonderfully dynamic colour-depth and image presence, I’m under the impression that the strobing effect of the film-frames causes some perceived blurring in motion and lack of detail. I don’t mind this when watching films in print, like many things it’s part of the experience. Nevertheless HD certainly seems to be coming into its own.

The line-art in Innocence HD is astounding, so too the various lighting blends, gradients and high-contrast separations. While the first Ghost in the Shell features older art, the mattes in it simply burst with detail and full yet subtle tones; nothing is lost.

Wall-e’s phenomenal texture work which first impressed me in print seems to be of equal quality on disc, but with greater retention of detail in motion as is the case with Speed Racer. I was surprised that The Fifth Element wasn’t as brilliant in HD as I expected, though this may have to do with the age of the original print and perhaps little to no post-processing for the transfer; it is absolutely out-classed by Speed Racer’s vibrant colouring and exquisite detail.

Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s cut has so far been head-and-shoulders above the others as far as music reproduction has gone, with perhaps the one exception of the opening titles to Innocence which matches its intensity. Kingdom of Heaven contains some amazing choral performances, as well as demanding brass, intense percussion and of-course rich, swelling strings. While I’m not so keen on Gladiator these days, I’m tempted to purchase it on BD simply to audition Hans Zimmer’s score in high definition and compare it with Harry Gregson Williams’ soundtrack. Of the two Ridley Scott films, I do now favour Kingdom of Heaven in all production elements including narrative.

Other than Babel I have a few other prime productions I’ve yet to purchase. Next budget I’m taking a massive hit to my wallet to get the now rare and covetted Jin-Roh on Blu-Ray. Jin-Roh is the only film that I suspect can challenge the mattes of Ghost in the Shell and the line-art in Innocence, as you would expect from an Oshii production.
Overall I would still say that animation stands to gain the most from the higher definition; Sky Crawlers certainly does look remarkable though as a conscious aesthetic choice, it features less detail than the other Oshii works. Speed Racer however obviously translates well because of its extreme high use of CGI and post-processing. Even the live-action footage of the actors has been treated and they have a certain glow to them in keeping with the live-action-cartoon feel of the production. I suspect that the dramatically reduced film-grain is part of the post treatment, and while its a wonderful feature of most films, it’s not missed by what replaces it here.

Ultimately though, I would love Tokyo.Sora, Mizu no Onna and Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. in high definition… I can’t really see this happening any time in the near future. Lynch may decide to go through the arduous process of remastering on a new format if he still has the patience as he gets older, or perhaps someone else will continue to bear the standard in his place – I can only hope. I look forward to viewing Babel in all its photographic glory, as well as Ronin and Aronofsky’s The Fountain to name a few. The Others may also be a solid contender for best natural photography. Yet unannounced on Blu-Ray are Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge and more importantly Romeo + Juliet ’96, which remains to this day one of the most beautifully photographed films.