If you're not familiar with Robert Harris, he's a respected film archivist and industry insider who has worked on many film restorations and remasters including The Godfather for DVD and now blu-ray. In my opinion, the on-line world is very lucky to have his "A Few Words About" column available on the internet.
Here is his column A Few Words About Dr. Zhivago...
If you want to find the cinematic roots of David Lean's Dr. Zhivago, you're best to visit Criterion's DVD of his 1946 Great Expectations, still one of the finest representations of Dickens on film. Once you've viewed it, you'll see where I'm coming from.
Sir David's Dr. Zhivago was, bar none, his most successful production, both from a financial perspective as well as in overall popularity and accessibility.
The Zhivago that we see today is not the same Zhivago that was released in December of 1965. In order to qualify for Academy Awards, there was an agreement between DL and M-G-M's Bob O'Brien that after a cut was delivered for release in December, that DL could go in for a re-cut and re-dub. That is precisely what occurred. During the first few months of 1966, while the film was in limited 70mm (blow-up) release, it went through a fine cut, with new 70mm reels being delivered to the affected theatres weekly.
While I don't have a count of 70mm prints struck in 1965 - 66 at hand, the number was not insignificant. Each print was struck from the original 35mm A & B rolls. Taking into account both the original as well as the re-cut, the OCNs of many reels had twice the runs on them. The original negative, as it now exists, is in far less than stellar condition. Over the past couple of decades there have been abortive rescue attempts at best. But finally Warner Bros. has seen fit to properly digitally restore the film, bringing together the best of the surviving pieces of film.
What all of this means to the Blu-ray is that virtually everything that could be done to promote a high quality final result, has been done. MPI colorist Janet Walker has used a unique original print as a source of color and density, and has created a final product that appears dead on.
The image has been cleaned, and now appears much as it did in 1965.
The final result is gorgeous.
For transparency, I'll note a couple of minor points on the downside.
For whatever reason, the main title sequence is out of focus in the center. There is a bit of occasional awkward dialogue that verges on unintelligible, and there are occasional phasing problems with the audio. None of this is going to take the normal viewer out of the experience.
To my mind, David Lean's film of Dr. Zhivago is one of the greats.
Warner Bros. has done their job in restoring and preserving his work, and the resultant Blu-ray disc is nothing less than gorgeous. DL never forgot the fact that the film had been shot in 35, as opposed to 65mm, and wished that it had been otherwise. But even in 35mm, Zhivago, as photographed by the incomparable Freddie Young with some equally gorgeous sequences by Nicolas Roeg (inclusive of funeral early in the film), was shot fully exposed. Consequently, blow-ups to 70mm, projected on huge screens, held up beautifully. The same can be said of the Blu-ray.
Zhivago will be one of the most important classic releases on Blu-ray in 2010, and should be a part of any serious library.
Very Highly Recommended.
RAH
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/299956/a-few-words-about-dr-zhivago-in-blu-ray
Here is his column A Few Words About Dr. Zhivago...
If you want to find the cinematic roots of David Lean's Dr. Zhivago, you're best to visit Criterion's DVD of his 1946 Great Expectations, still one of the finest representations of Dickens on film. Once you've viewed it, you'll see where I'm coming from.
Sir David's Dr. Zhivago was, bar none, his most successful production, both from a financial perspective as well as in overall popularity and accessibility.
The Zhivago that we see today is not the same Zhivago that was released in December of 1965. In order to qualify for Academy Awards, there was an agreement between DL and M-G-M's Bob O'Brien that after a cut was delivered for release in December, that DL could go in for a re-cut and re-dub. That is precisely what occurred. During the first few months of 1966, while the film was in limited 70mm (blow-up) release, it went through a fine cut, with new 70mm reels being delivered to the affected theatres weekly.
While I don't have a count of 70mm prints struck in 1965 - 66 at hand, the number was not insignificant. Each print was struck from the original 35mm A & B rolls. Taking into account both the original as well as the re-cut, the OCNs of many reels had twice the runs on them. The original negative, as it now exists, is in far less than stellar condition. Over the past couple of decades there have been abortive rescue attempts at best. But finally Warner Bros. has seen fit to properly digitally restore the film, bringing together the best of the surviving pieces of film.
What all of this means to the Blu-ray is that virtually everything that could be done to promote a high quality final result, has been done. MPI colorist Janet Walker has used a unique original print as a source of color and density, and has created a final product that appears dead on.
The image has been cleaned, and now appears much as it did in 1965.
The final result is gorgeous.
For transparency, I'll note a couple of minor points on the downside.
For whatever reason, the main title sequence is out of focus in the center. There is a bit of occasional awkward dialogue that verges on unintelligible, and there are occasional phasing problems with the audio. None of this is going to take the normal viewer out of the experience.
To my mind, David Lean's film of Dr. Zhivago is one of the greats.
Warner Bros. has done their job in restoring and preserving his work, and the resultant Blu-ray disc is nothing less than gorgeous. DL never forgot the fact that the film had been shot in 35, as opposed to 65mm, and wished that it had been otherwise. But even in 35mm, Zhivago, as photographed by the incomparable Freddie Young with some equally gorgeous sequences by Nicolas Roeg (inclusive of funeral early in the film), was shot fully exposed. Consequently, blow-ups to 70mm, projected on huge screens, held up beautifully. The same can be said of the Blu-ray.
Zhivago will be one of the most important classic releases on Blu-ray in 2010, and should be a part of any serious library.
Very Highly Recommended.
RAH
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/299956/a-few-words-about-dr-zhivago-in-blu-ray
