Yet another Nosferatu-blu

[bigshot]

Apparently BFI have jumped into the Nosferatu horse race, joining Masters of Cinema and Kino. Looking at the frame grabs at the Beaver, I don't know why they bothered. Maybe the sound track is nice. The transfer looks totally blown out with opaque shadows and burned in highlights. The lettering on the newly created inter titles are nice I guess. Masters of Cinema definitely has the edge on this title, and the Kino is a total botch job. BFI might have done better to release it as Region Free and compete with Kino instead of Eureka.

[Real_McCoy]

i think there is a score by james bernard.

[All Darc]

I don't want to be rude or desrespect BFI.

But why they intentionally made the restored footage look so contrasting, so dupe look, aged ???


http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm" target="_blank

[Scott J]

From what I've read, the previous Photoplay presenation (and presumably this one too) of Nosferatu is based on the 1995 Cineteca del Comune di Bologna restoration, whereas the Masters of Cinema presentation is the 2005/2006 Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung restoration.

[Great Hierophant]

Based on the screencaptures, the BFI appears to have pretty much caught up to Kino as far as the English-language goes. Their typefaces obviously emulate the original German ones. One of the main issues of the FWMS restoration was to restore the German intertitles as exactly as possible. If you aren't offering them or the recontructed Erdmann score, then there does not appear to be many differences between the FWMS and the Cineteca restorations.

[David Alp]

The new BFI version also appears to be slightly cropped down the left hand side. There appears to be quite a significant amount of picture-content missing on the far left when you compare the frame grabs to the Masters Of Cinema version.

[Red Bartlett]

Wow these screen caps look waaaaaaaaaay different than the MoC and Kino. What's the deal here?

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_ ... lu-ray.htm

I sort of like it. It's dramatic. A lot of shadow detail is gone, but it looks more "german expressionist." Triple dip?

[Great Hierophant]

It looks a little too close to those soot and whitewash prints people complain about.

If the detail was captured by the camera onto the negative, why remove it with extreme contrast? The image definitely looks a tad roughed up.

I have never heard the BFI score, but after hearing the Erdmann recontsructed score, the original German intertitles and the quality of the image and the tinting makes the MoC release the definitive version. A good try on BFI's part, but not good enough.

[Red Bartlett]

Good point. I like the German titles, I want to see them for their ornate beauty and quickly scan the translation below.

The English titles when they're produced in the ornate font, are tough to read. But that's just a quick impression.

[Paul Penna]

Going by the DVD Beaver screencaps, the BFI print looks positively atrocious.

[bigshot]

I think the BFI looks blown out myself.

[Mark Zimmer]

Yeah the BFI is pretty hideous. The missing left side is pretty blatant in several of those captrues too. But it is good to see all three Blu-rays manage to keep the top of Orlok's head in the frame when he does that classic bit of rising from the coffin bolt upright. Used to be you could only see that on the big screen since all the DVDs chopped it off.

[WaverBoy]

I still prefer the Kino Ultimate DVD edition. Restored, stabilized picture, original Erdmann score, no jitter-motion.

[Real_McCoy]

been there done that got the t shirt

[Brent]

There are a lot of strong negative opinions in this this thread, considering none of you have actually seen the BFI BD yet and are going off a handful of screengrabs. Hardly the most objective way to judge a whole film.

For what it's worth, as a viewing experience it's easily the equal of the Euro BDs featuring the 2006 restoration and far better than the atrocious, bodged Kino BD. For starters, its James Bernard score, while not the original, is actually much more effective.

I've reviewed it and numerous others Nosferatu DVDs and BDs here:
http://www.brentonfilm.com/articles/nos ... -dvd-guide

I'm sure people will be quick to jump in with rebuttals but I'd appreciate it if you read the article first to get the full picture, so to speak.

[Mitch Farish]

I've already got the Image SD with the Bernard score. The score is the only reason I keep it. I don't need an HD with the dirt, the damage, and the poor contrast. The Masters of Cinema is the only HD copy I need.

[Brent]

Hi Mitch, as you would know if you had read my article, the Image DVDs (there are two) contain several scores, none of them by James Bernard. His score is exclusive to the UK BFI DVD and BD. It sounds even better in lossless and as well as the original stereo is newly remixed in 5.1 surround.

[Great Hierophant]

After reading Brent's article, I would be willing to give the BFI a chance, even though its tinting and contrast/brightness may leave something to be desired.

[Brent]

Cheers. As I detail in my article, neither restoration is perfect. The ideal disc would have an image, editing and tinting that combined the best of the two. It would also include the five full length recorded scores and the six different sets of intertitles of the two restorations. I'll see you over at Kickstarter...