Hi all,
Mondo Vision have asked me to come on here and give you all a status update with regards to POSSESSION (last week actually, but I've just got round to it).
Basically, the title has been stuck in quality control since May 2011 for the reason that we aren't allowing it to be compromised. Good news is that we've just worked out a solution
The original supplied master contained several revisionist changes to the color timing of the film. For example, some shots had an ersatz day-for-night effect applied, with a heavy blue tint and crushed out shadow details (quite odd to look at, given that these same shots have visible clouds in the sky). Other shots had been transferred with white clipping, where bright details (such as the windows in the apartment) appeared entirely white.
Possession relies heavily on color to tell the story. I'm currently working on a preliminary color correction, where I adjust things to look correct to my eye. After that, I'll be sitting down with Zulawski to ensure what goes to disc is correct.
As usual, Mondo Vision asked for my opinion on the supplied element and decided to go with this advice. We also consulted with Andrzej Zulawski, naturally.
My argument was that it would not be acceptable to release a Star-Wars'd up version of a film that is 30+ years old and *already has* an established aesthetic. Mondo Vision agreed and delayed the release until it could be released properly. This is critically important, given that for a niche film like this, it's highly likely that the version we're putting together now is going to be the way the film is viewed for many decades to come.
Not only this, but the changes rendered the appearance of the film very unfilmic.
Fortunately, TF1, who owns the rights to the film for the North American territories, understood our concerns and worked with me to re-supply the segments in question. I'll be color correcting the film (to level out the differences between the original and resupplied scenes) and will later be flying to Warsaw with a broadcast monitor and workstation to get the thumbs-up from Zulawski, and to make final adjustments.
As an example, here is how this version of one scene was supplied. It appears the colorist had attempted to harmonise the flesh tones to look natural. That's not a bad assumption, but Possession features quite a few heavily stylised scenes. Additionally, I knocked this back because of the highlight clipping which is a highly digital-looking artefact.
This might not be altogether obvious without a comparison point, but have a look at how much extra dynamic range is present on the original film - look at the window:
^ BTW, this is just a preliminary color correction. Everything is going to be checked with the director himself before it goes out.
So, please be patient, because the end is in sight. Possession hasn't had a video transfer that does the film justice, ever (because the video technology when the last version - which looks like it was done in the 1980s - wasn't good enough). So, it's important that we get this version right! We will not, repeat not, be adding another "sort of okay" version of Possession to the pile of discs. This is going to be completely first rate.
With everything I need at my fingertips, I imagine we'll be hearing an announcement very shortly.
