711 A Hard Day's Night

Discuss releases by Criterion and the films on them. Threads may contain spoilers!
Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
jegharfangetmigenmyg
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:52 am

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#101 Post by jegharfangetmigenmyg » Wed Dec 08, 2021 8:46 am

I know it's ridiculous, and I even admitted seeing myself as an annoying nitpicker when continuing after being presented with the facts that you posted. BUT, again, objectively, do you yourself think that the cutting of scalps multiple times throughout the movie looks correct? When I look at it, I get the same feeling as when I see a 1.66 film that has been cropped to 1.78 for 16:9 displays. I'm just asking, could it be that Taylor was not all that interested in fitting everything into a 1.75 frame? Especially for a film that would, after all, mainly be targeted towards standard format tv projection? Also, the wide format was still relatively new back then, and he certainly was educated before the advent of the format, learning by shooting in Academy ratio. I know it's all ridiculous speculation, but I just can't believe that a cinematographer with enough self-respect would OK such framings.

User avatar
jegharfangetmigenmyg
Joined: Wed Nov 16, 2011 7:52 am

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#102 Post by jegharfangetmigenmyg » Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:11 am

I watched it all through yesterday. Fine, not great, film, which I enjoyed the most for its pure energy and clearly haphazard production which actually complemented the many surreal gags. Lester had been studying Truffaut closely, that's for sure. The haphazard production schedule could explain the odd compositions, with Taylor simply not having time to compose some shots, simply documenting situations. So some are composed for 1.75 while many are not.

Overall, the 1.75 ratio didn't bother me that much, but there were instances throughout the film where I wished that the picture had been opened up. McCartney's head missing in some of the shots from behind Ringo's drumkit in the studio performance, among others. The worst example, and the most clear example that Taylor did not (have the time to?) compose for 1.75 is the scene in which Ringo has "deserted" the band. He meets a boy who toys with his camera, Ringo leaves, and you get the following reaction shot of the boy. I've included a couple of shots, and no, the camera is not panning to reveal his eyes:

Image

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#103 Post by yoloswegmaster » Tue Jan 11, 2022 1:35 pm

A Hard Day's Svet 4K

Interesting that he says that the 4K UHD is reusing the transfer on the 2014 release, while the description on the site makes it sound like they performed a new 4K restoration for it

User avatar
yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#104 Post by yoloswegmaster » Thu Jan 20, 2022 8:37 pm

Apparently there are some editing mistakes that happen around the same time on the 4K disc (from here and here):
The first shot at 1:23:14 should be the reaction shot of the director in the control room because Grandfather just came up through the floor. Also, The Beatles are singing She Loves You but there is a shot of John Lennon singing something else.

The second at 1:24:43 should be a shot of the helicopter waiting for the Beatles, not the control room, which still shows the Beatles performing and the girl adjusting the dials on the monitors.

User avatar
tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#105 Post by tenia » Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:14 am

If there are now editing goofs that weren't there before, it could indeed be that the UHD uses a restoration that wasn't just the same as before plus a HDR pass.

User avatar
Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#106 Post by Finch » Fri Jan 21, 2022 9:52 am

Eraserhead had to be recalled as a fade edit was missing, right? But this is several shots in the wrong order or incorrect shots inserted so I'm surprised this wasn't spotted. If this was an intentional rearrangement, it'd surely have been at Lester's request and it would have been acknowledged on the film's specs page, possibly the booklet too.

User avatar
tenia
Ask Me About My Bassoon
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2009 11:13 am

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#107 Post by tenia » Fri Jan 21, 2022 12:18 pm

It'd be weird to do it now and not the previous not-so-long-ago time the movie was restored and he supervised it, though, wouldn't it ?

User avatar
yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#108 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri Jan 21, 2022 1:24 pm

The listings for the 4K have been removed from the Criterion site, Amazon, and B&N. I'm presuming that they are going to reissue new discs.

User avatar
domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#109 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:18 pm

I feel like every boutique label needs to contract work with super fans of the films they release who will immediately catch these small blips on first pass

User avatar
knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#110 Post by knives » Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:46 pm

That’s what Nintendo used to do. It worked out really well for them.

User avatar
Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#111 Post by Finch » Fri Jan 21, 2022 4:34 pm

It certainly feels like whoever QC'd this wasn't intimately familiar with the film. Between the Kane debacle and this (and if you want to be particularly harsh, the more lackluster aspects of the Mulholland Drive reissue (crap old BD instead of a new one bundled with the 4k, why even bother with the combo?)), Criterion's UHD launch has been rather painful to watch. It's a small mercy that at least the UHD encodes have been decent.

User avatar
Drucker
Your Future our Drucker
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:37 am

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#112 Post by Drucker » Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:20 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Fri Jan 21, 2022 2:18 pm
I feel like every boutique label needs to contract work with super fans of the films they release who will immediately catch these small blips on first pass
And Kino did this for TGTBTU and it's one of their best releases!

User avatar
Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
Location: Edinburgh, UK

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#113 Post by Finch » Fri Jan 21, 2022 5:31 pm

Ditto Eureka for a substantial chunk of their HK releases and 88 Films.

User avatar
yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#114 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri Jan 21, 2022 6:36 pm

I got an email from Criterion saying the following:
What you spotted in A HARD DAY'S NIGHT is unfortunately an error. We will have replacement A HARD DAY'S NIGHT 4K UHD discs on hand in March and the process is slightly different. If you'd like a replacement, please email us back with the following:

Your name and a mailing address that will be valid for at least the next 3 months

A photo of the defective A HARD DAY'S NIGHT 4K UHD disc with your name and date written on the front/art side (using a sharpie or paint marker - you can write this info on the lighter portion of the disc, and take a photo against a light source so your name and date are visible). You do not need to break the disc.

The Blu-ray and DVD of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT are not affected and do not need to be replaced

You're welcome to submit this information closer to March, if you prefer, or contact the vendor now regarding refund, exchange, or credit options.

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#115 Post by Calvin » Mon Jan 24, 2022 6:49 am

This and Citizen Kane are the first two releases I've pre-ordered via a reshipper so I can only apologise for the curse that I seem to have placed on them.

trobrianders
Joined: Sat Mar 02, 2019 10:18 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#116 Post by trobrianders » Tue Feb 01, 2022 10:54 am

jegharfangetmigenmyg wrote:
Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:11 am
I watched it all through yesterday. Fine, not great, film, which I enjoyed the most for its pure energy and clearly haphazard production which actually complemented the many surreal gags. Lester had been studying Truffaut closely, that's for sure. The haphazard production schedule could explain the odd compositions, with Taylor simply not having time to compose some shots, simply documenting situations. So some are composed for 1.75 while many are not.

Overall, the 1.75 ratio didn't bother me that much, but there were instances throughout the film where I wished that the picture had been opened up. McCartney's head missing in some of the shots from behind Ringo's drumkit in the studio performance, among others. The worst example, and the most clear example that Taylor did not (have the time to?) compose for 1.75 is the scene in which Ringo has "deserted" the band. He meets a boy who toys with his camera, Ringo leaves, and you get the following reaction shot of the boy. I've included a couple of shots, and no, the camera is not panning to reveal his eyes:

Image

Image

Image

Image
The 2009 Alliance (Universal) Blu-ray gives us 1.66:1. And the OOP MPI DVD from 1997 gives us 1.33:1. Wouldn't mind seeing that one.

User avatar
omegadirective
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:34 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#117 Post by omegadirective » Wed Feb 02, 2022 12:56 pm

From Criterion:

1) We will have replacement discs for A HARD DAY'S NIGHT on hand in March. If you'd like a replacement, please email us back with the following:

Your name and a mailing address that will be valid for at least the next 3 months
A photo of the defective A HARD DAY'S NIGHT 4K UHD disc with your name and date written on the front/art side (using a sharpie or paint marker - you can write this info on the lighter portion of the disc, and take a photo against a light source so your name and date are visible). You do not need to break the disc.
The Blu-ray and DVD of A HARD DAY'S NIGHT are not affected and do not need to be replaced

You're welcome to submit this information closer to March, if you prefer, or contact the original vendor now regarding refund, exchange, or credit options.

User avatar
omegadirective
Joined: Tue Apr 13, 2021 7:34 pm

Re: 711 A Hard Day's Night

#118 Post by omegadirective » Sat Mar 12, 2022 7:00 am

I live in Canada and I got my replacement disc in the mail yesterday.
I submitted my photo in early February.

Post Reply