I haven't fully decided whether I'll actually do this or not, but it annoys me enough to seriously consider it. I want to check other sources before proceeding though. My copy of BASKET CASE is the one released by Second Sight in 2012, which I assume to be sourced from the same master as the Image Entertainment release the year before, mostly due to them sharing an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (Blu-ray.com claims the Image one is 1.34:1 but the back of the box says otherwise). The thing that may render this project unnecessary is that there is also a more recent Arrow release from 2018, with a different aspect ratio (apparently 1.37:1). Anyway, I'll get to the point...

The original theatrical presentation of this film seems to have been matted to 1.85:1, but on the negative it's more like 1.37:1. When the elements were re-scanned for Blu-ray, apparently the director chose to open up the frame to show more of the image since he was unhappy with the 1.85:1 presentation. There's a problem, though: possibly as a result of this opened matte, or possibly due to some other reason which currently eludes me, the framing very severely jumps on almost every single hard cut in the entire film on the Second Sight Blu-ray Disc. To show you what I mean, here are some screenshots from QuickTime Player to show both the frame numbers and the extent of the problem I'm talking about:



As you can see, after the cut, the framing starts off high, then jumps very noticeably downwards, then goes back up again to somewhere in the middle. This takes place over about 4 frames. This happens over... and over... and over again, the whole way through the entire film. It's extremely annoying.

The Arrow release was a US/CA exclusive (perhaps due to the relatively recent non-limited-edition version of the Second Sight release having just come out a couple of years prior) so I never got a copy and it's now really expensive, meaning I haven't yet seen it to compare and check whether this same problem is present there as well. It is framed differently though, so it could well be a completely different scan, and may not necessarily have this problem.

Might anybody be in a position to help compare the Arrow and Second Sight / Image releases to work out if it's worth me attempting this rather tedious but potentially worthwhile project?

(2020-06-08, 12:50 AM)pipefan413 Wrote: Might anybody be in a position to help compare the Arrow and Second Sight / Image releases to work out if it's worth me attempting this rather tedious but potentially worthwhile project?

I believe I have an Arrow copy in a box somewhere. I'll see if I can find it some time and rip it for comparison's sake. Though that being said, I'm sure someone else would come to the rescue before I'll even have a chance to look–probably sometime later this week.

You know what would also be nice? Restoring the Analysis Film Releasing Corporation intro logo to the Arrow BD. That's the only thing missing from the Arrow BD... Otherwise it looks literally a thousand times better than any previous BD release.

(2020-06-08, 11:02 AM)crampedmisfit1990 Wrote: You know what would also be nice? Restoring the Analysis Film Releasing Corporation intro logo to the Arrow BD. That's the only thing missing from the Arrow BD... Otherwise it looks literally a thousand times better than any previous BD release.

If I can actually get the Arrow release, sure, that should be easy enough in theory if I'm re-encoding regardless. But it was never released here and is extortionate to import, unfortunately. Licencing is a bitch sometimes...

If Lucas doesn't have the Arrow disc I'm pretty sure I can get it

(2020-06-08, 01:56 PM)alleycat Wrote: If Lucas doesn't have the Arrow disc I'm pretty sure I can get it

That'd be smashing, I think Lucas is busy with various other things just now so if you do have it (or can get it easily) gimme a shout. Although honestly there's no rush on this at all because I too have waaaaay too many things on the go at once. I'm very conscious that I'm letting translation work slide because I'm doing multiple other things that are probably easier than translating Japanese...

I own the Arrow BD, if no one else supplies it I can.

(2020-06-08, 11:02 AM)crampedmisfit1990 Wrote: You know what would also be nice? Restoring the Analysis Film Releasing Corporation intro logo to the Arrow BD. That's the only thing missing from the Arrow BD... Otherwise it looks literally a thousand times better than any previous BD release.

Does the Second Sight release Pipefan obtained have it? If the Second Sight BD doesn't have it and is the same transfer as the Image/SFW Blu, that would rule out both having it. Basket Case was an independent production that various distributors got a hold of, so I imagine whatever logos were at the head most likely only existed on release prints and not the IP or OCN elements that SS/Image and Arrow utilized.

(2020-06-09, 12:38 AM)SpaceBlackKnight Wrote:

(2020-06-08, 11:02 AM)crampedmisfit1990 Wrote: You know what would also be nice? Restoring the Analysis Film Releasing Corporation intro logo to the Arrow BD. That's the only thing missing from the Arrow BD... Otherwise it looks literally a thousand times better than any previous BD release.

Does the Second Sight release Pipefan obtained have it? If the Second Sight BD doesn't have it and is the same transfer as the Image/SFW Blu, that would rule out both having it. Basket Case was an independent production that various distributors got a hold of, so I imagine whatever logos were at the head most likely only existed on release prints and not the IP or OCN elements that SS/Image and Arrow utilized.

All I know is that the Arrow release claims to be a new restoration by MOMA whereas I don't recall any such claims for the earlier release by Second Sight.

Just checked, and...

Interesting! So the Image/Second Sight blu is mastered from a release print or IP that was a 35mm blowup of the 16mm source.