Recent Film Restorations

[Matt]

It might not even require a top-to-bottom restoration. If they just went back to the raw scan and didn’t mess with it so much, it would probably look great.

[jsteffe]

Yes, but:
1. It would require someone at a high level in the Institution to acknowledge that the first restoration had problems. That might diminish the reputation of the Institution, even if they and everyone else know it. In cases like that, denial or silence is the necessary Institutional response to preserve its status. (This is known as the Law of Institutions.)
2. Someone would have to pay for the work: either the CNC or a large foundation. Because of course they couldn't pay for the fixes out of pocket... (said with an exasperated shrug that you would even suggest such a thing).

[Matt]

Both issues exacerbated by everyone involved being French.



Of course, the interval of 14 years gives them the chance to say "we have much better tools these days to provide even greater fidelity than our unimpeachable work in 2011." It does sound like the original negative and fine-grain positives used for the original scan were in very delicate condition, so I could see not wanting to do a new scan. But alas, I think the reputation of this film—falling from #34 to #73 to #136 in Sight and Sound's "greatest films of all time" polls—and Carné's work in general have suffered in the last 20 years. I don't think Pathe or Criterion would think it worth revisiting without a new scan.

[tenia]

It might not even require a top-to-bottom restoration. If they just went back to the raw scan and didn’t mess with it so much, it would probably look great.

From what I've been told, there have been so many back and forth during the digital "restoration" stage that the files for the raw scans of Children of Paradise have been overwritten.

I'm sure they otherwise could have gone back and redo the digital steps for a much better result, but if what I was told was true (no reason to doubt who told me that, though), it's not gonna happen.

Pathé, who are aware in hindsight the current work isn't good (just like they accepted in hindsight the 1st and 2nd iterations of Le samourai were rubbish), would love to redo it though, but $$$.

Not everyone involved was French, though.

[JSC]

But alas, I think the reputation of this film—falling from #34 to #73 to #136 in Sight and Sound's "greatest films of all time" polls

Yes, and considering that the Sight and Sound poll is infallable... joking aside, I'll assume the film still has a
reputation in France, even if simply on the cultural hertitage front. So I couldn't see that as necessarily an
obstacle to a new restoration. That being said it would still have a pretty hefty pricetag. I suppose I'm glad
I held onto to my Criterion DVD.

[Stefan Andersson]

Jodorowsky in 4K:
https://www.nourfilms.com/cinema-indepe ... odorowsky/

[Stefan Andersson]

Die Bergkatze, 2000 restoration:
https://www.richard-siedhoff.de/upload/ ... gkatze.pdf

Sumurun, restoring the original score:
https://www.burkhard-goetze.eu/wiederentdeckt-sumurun/
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/die- ... 24892.html
https://www.stummfilm-magazin.de/aktuel ... d-goetze-1

The original score is not on the Kino Bluray, based on a 1999 reconstruction: https://www.silentera.com/video/sumurunHV.html

"the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation /.../ digitized the film in 2015, and the Munich Film Museum /.../ carried out the last restoration"
https://www.stummfilm-magazin.de/aktuel ... d-goetze-1

Wild Girl, Walsh:
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/664

Me and My Gal, Walsh:
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/5252

Her Man, Garnett:
https://www.moma.org/calendar/events/7553

[jmj713]

The Gate of the Sun (2004), there is mention of a recent 4K restoration here, is this out anywhere? https://palestinecinema.com/movies/the-gate-of-sun

[Stefan Andersson]

Letter from My Village, Safi Faye, expected to screen in Locarno in 2026:
https://www.locarnofestival.ch/pro/proj ... ntest.html

Anno Uno, Rossellini:
"4K restoration, the 35mm original image and sound negative were digitized in high quality. The image was digitally restored and a new color grading was applied by Cinegrell. For this edition, the sound restoration was conducted by Cinegrell’s technical partner Movie Studio Bali. A copy of the new restoration will be preserved at the Cinémathèque suisse on behalf of the Locarno Film Festival, Cinecittà, Minerva Pictures and Coproduction Office."
https://www.locarnofestival.ch/press/pr ... o-uno.html

Si le soleil ne revenait pas by Claude Goretta, 1987
https://www.locarnofestival.ch/festival ... 35b6&eid=0

The Written Face, Schmid:
https://ica.art/films/in-the-realm-of-a ... itten-face

[Stefan Andersson]

Nine Youssef Chahine films restored, showing in collaboration with Janus Films:
https://metrograph.com/chahine/

Maybe these restorations are more recent than the ones released on DVD in France in 2019:
https://www.dvdclassik.com/test/dvd-cof ... nne-tamasa

[vanshady]

2019 and still doing DVD only release is just cray

[Stefan Andersson]

New/newish restoration info from the 2024 Film Foundation report:
Fantasmi a Roma
María Candelaria
Saint Joan
Stars in Broad Daylight, Ossama Mohammed, 1988
The Small Back Room
Lifeboat
Magnificent Matador
Bend of the River
Till We Meet Again
Blood and Sand
Paradine Case
Act of Violence
The Shining Hour, 1938
Body Snatcher, 1945
Mr & Mrs Smith, 1941
The Nun´s Story
Devil´s Doorway
Friendly Persuasion
The Man I Love
https://www.film-foundation.org/annual-reports#

[beamish14]

Saint Joan and The Cardinal have both been restored in recent years. I wonder what WB will do with them

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

New/newish restoration info from the 2024 Film Foundation report:
Fantasmi a Roma
María Candelaria
Saint Joan
Stars in Broad Daylight, Ossama Mohammed, 1988
The Small Back Room
Lifeboat
Magnificent Matador
Bend of the River
Till We Meet Again
Blood and Sand
Paradine Case
Act of Violence
The Shining Hour, 1938
Body Snatcher, 1945
Mr & Mrs Smith, 1941
The Nun´s Story
Devil´s Doorway
Friendly Persuasion
The Man I Love
https://www.film-foundation.org/annual-reports#

Till We Meet Again is great.

[Red Screamer]

Yes! I saw the restoration this summer and was kind of blown away by how good a previously unknown to me Borzage could be. Excited for it to make the rounds.

[dadaistnun]

An Assayas retrospective kicked off today at La Cinémathèque française and both Paris s'éveille and Une nouvelle vie are listed as having DCPs.

These two are coming to BAM November 4. Assayas mentions in the linked article that there is no deal set for home video release yet. Seems like this could be an ideal double feature set for Criterion and/or Arrow if the licensing rights stars align.

[Beloved Aunt]

I wonder when the last time Wild River was restored, and if there's a new one on the horizon. Such a lovely film in general, but a big part of its attraction is its earth-shakingly lovely visuals, with their slightly rough-hewn or homespun, not-cinematically-one-to-one-and-according-to-Hoyle, not-boringly/excessively perfected compositions. I was lucky enough to see it in theaters around 2008, before it presumably was restored and then MoC released it, and it would be sad for its rich golden sunlight and stunning blues and greens to be effectively permanently/for a long time made inaccessible to audiences by an unfortunate restoration (although I guess that could be what Ellsworth Fredericks wanted). The restored print appears in screencaps to be much more teal and chilly than what I saw in theaters.

[Stefan Andersson]

Arturo Ripstein retrospective, several titles on DCP:
https://www.bam.org/film/2025/without-limits

Antti Alanen on The Scarlet Drop and Shoulder Arms (new MoMA restoration):
https://anttialanenfilmdiary.blogspot.com/

[Stefan Andersson]

Films by Beth B and Scott B restored, upcoming on Bluray:

No Wave: The Underground Films of Beth B and Scott B
Directed by Beth B and Scott B
Starring Lydia Lunch, William Rich, John Ahearn
2-Disc Set

Emerging from the downtown art scene of a pre-gentrified 1970s New York, Beth B and Scott B crafted strikingly cinematic sci-fi and neo-noir thrillers that emblemized the alienation and spirit of rebellion fueling a generation of young creators. Filmed in Super-8 and 16mm, and highlighted by the electrifying presence of performance artist Lydia Lunch, these defiant “B Movies” brought a Times Square grindhouse aesthetic to the music venues and art spaces where they were shown. Newly restored from the original film elements, No Wave (as the movement would later be called) is a major cinematic rediscovery: a provocative body of work previously unavailable, and an insider’s view of a city (and art scene) on the brink of exploding.

Disc One:
G-Man (U.S. 1978 Color 32 min.) - 4K Restoration
Letters to Dad (U.S. 1979 Color 11 min.) - 4K Restoration
Black Box (U.S. 1979 Color 20 min.) - 4K Restoration
The Offenders (U.S. 1979 Color 97 min) - 2K Restoration by the Museum of Modern Art

Disc Two:
The Trap Door (U.S. 1981 Color 64 min.) - 4K Restoration
Vortex (U.S. 1983 Color 86 min.) - HD up-res from SD video source

SPECIAL FEATURES :
*Filmed Introductions by Scott B
*Interview with Beth B by IndieCollect President Sandra Schulberg
*Optional English subtitles

https://www.hometheaterforum.com/commun ... 4/page-876
https://kinolorber.com/product/no-wave- ... nd-scott-b

[Stefan Andersson]

Les deux anglaises et le continent, Truffaut, director´s cut, 130 minutes, released in 1985 as Deux Anglaises:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Deux_ ... _Continent
https://nfi.hu/en/budapest-classics-fil ... girls.html
restored in 4K:
https://www.cinemas-du-grutli.ch/films/ ... -continent

Another Way (Egymásra nézve), Hungary 1982, Károly Makk, restoration premiere
https://nfi.hu/en/budapest-classics-fil ... way-2.html

Fény és árnyék, Hungary 1943, Klára Tüdős, restoration premiere
https://nfi.hu/en/budapest-classics-fil ... hadow.html

Tian zi di yi hao Xu ji, Taiwan 1964, dir: Ying Chang
https://nfi.hu/en/budapest-classics-fil ... agent.html

Elveszett paradicsom, Hungary 1962, Károly Makk, restoration premiere
https://nfi.hu/en/budapest-classics-fil ... adise.html

The Widow, Nam-ok Park, South Korea 1955 - "The denouement of the film has been lost and the final 10 minutes of what is left has no audio"
https://nfi.hu/en/budapest-classics-fil ... widow.html

Mese a 12 találatról,1956, Károly Makk
https://nfi.hu/en/budapest-classics-fil ... oints.html

[Stefan Andersson]

Ein Walzertraum, Ludwig Berger - info on operetta, film, music; restoration info to follow shortly:
https://www.stummfilm-magazin.de/walzertraum

[andyli]

The Arch is part of a 9-film restoration project initiated by M+ and Chanel. Three have already completed; they are The Arch (to be shown in Cannes), The System (just shown in HKIFF) and Love Massacre.

Now images of the restored Love Massacre have surfaced on M+'s website. Gotta say I'd never expected to see this film in such clarity.

[MichaelB]

But alas, I think the reputation of this film—falling from #34 to #73 to #136 in Sight and Sound's "greatest films of all time" polls—and Carné's work in general have suffered in the last 20 years.

I suspect its positioning (both high and low) is a reflection of its distribution history. It was an absolute repertory cinema staple for most of the second half of the 20th century - indeed, one of the reasons why I've never seen it is because there was never any especial urgency; it was shown so often in London that another screening was bound to happen sooner or later. And then it noticeably failed to get much traction on assorted home video media, so while it was disproportionately visible before, it then dropped to the level of... well, pretty much any other major 1940s French title.

2019 and still doing DVD only release is just cray

It depends on the size of the local market - in some countries, Blu-ray has largely failed to take off, and so it's arguably more "cray" to carry on with a format that has little or no commercial appeal, when there's an alternative that's far easier and cheaper to cater for. I'm very familiar with the Polish home video market, and while BDs aren't quite obsolete it's now very rare indeed for recent Polish titles to merit one (and they were never that hot on back-catalogue BDs); they're far more likely to come out exclusively on DVD these days, and if you want a HD version you're presumably expected to turn to a local streaming service.

[Stefan Andersson]

Olivier Assayas:
Paris s´eveille
Nouvelle vie
https://www.bam.org/film/2025/paris-awakens
https://www.bam.org/film/2025/a-new-life

[Stefan Andersson]

The Wild Party, 1929:
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005282/

Smouldering Fires, 1925:
https://silver.afi.com/movies/detail/0100005289/

Der Richter und Sein Henker (Maximilian Schell, 1975), 4K, two versions (the long one only on blu) plus deleted scenes:
https://www.schnittberichte.com/news.php?ID=22646
Not clear if both versions are 4K.