Criterion - Island Of Lost Souls

[Nathan Ensoll]

Has anyone seen this recent Criterion DVD/BLU release? I'm thinking of purchasing it but have heard varying reports of the quality of the transfer. Apparently this transfer was taken from a dupe negative?? and not the "fine grain positive" made in the 50's. The TCM print broadcast in January was apparently was made from this fine grain positive, and looks absolutely gorgeous, with amazing shadow detail and no grain whatsoever...

[sc1957]

It looks just fine. There is some softness here and there, but otherwise it looks great.

[Rollo Treadway]

Another thumbs up. Image and (especially) sound have been excellently spiffed up.

Also, this is one DVD where I would strongly recommend giving the commentary track a listen. Done by horror film historian Greg Mank, it's refreshingly engrossingly informative and entertaining as well — one of the best I've ever heard, in fact.

[Christopher Jacobs]

My review is the second post on page 6 of the "Old Movies in HD" thread in this forum:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3022&start=150#p70802" target="_blank" target="_blank

In short, Criterion's Blu-ray is good, often very good, but not great. It doesn't come close to the incredibly crisp HD scans made from 35mm camera negatives, but certainly looks better than any 16mm print I've ever seen. If you like the film, it's still a must-own.

[Nathan Ensoll]

Thanks for the link - good enough for me! Yes it is one of my favourite classic pre-code horror films. I place it along side Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, just below Frankenstein & Dracula

[WaverBoy]

I can't imagine the film looking any better than this, from the materials that survive; some long-unseen footage has been restored as well. Some various message-board posters have said that TCM's broadcast looks better, but they must not be fans of a nicely detailed picture.

[Bob Birchard]

Has anyone seen this recent Criterion DVD/BLU release? I'm thinking of purchasing it but have heard varying reports of the quality of the transfer. Apparently this transfer was taken from a dupe negative?? and not the "fine grain positive" made in the 50's. The TCM print broadcast in January was apparently was made from this fine grain positive, and looks absolutely gorgeous, with amazing shadow detail and no grain whatsoever...

The Criterion release is derived from several sources including 35mm nitrate and 16mm safety elements. Overall the picture quality is very good, often it is outstanding. I agree with the writer who gave kudos to the commentary track. It is outstanding.