The Crow (LD-1st gen DVD Regrade)

This is a regrade to the older laserdisc video master as seen in the first generation DVD. The colors vary a great deal between the DVD and the US BD but the overall darkness of the DVD is why I found this regrade interesting.

The video regrading was done via automatic scripting matching the US BD video to the older DVD master. Once that was complete I modified the black level and shadows to more conform with the DVD's levels. Right now I am going through the entire project shot by shot and fixing any shot/scene the strayed too far from the DVD. The video will be synced to the US BD.

After that I tried to add every soundtrack I had access to. I was looking for the Cinema DTS for this but was unable to find it via the regular sources. In fact its a bit of a mystery to me. IMDB and the end credits list the movie as DTS/DS which makes sense for Dimension productions at the time but all print 35mm examples I have seen show the film as DD. So I'm not sure there are DTS disc around. Regardless, I will add the LD's PCM via BusterD. I would like the LD's DTS or DD but that seems unlikely. Hopefully, the 1st gen DVD's DD 5.1 is close to the LD's DD 5.1. I also will add the CE's DVD tracks and the BD track.

Video:
The US scan of the film regraded to the laserdisc/1st gen DVD.

Audio:
1. PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround (from the Widescreen laserdisc)
2. Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the non-anamorphic DVD)
3. Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the CE DVD)
4. DTS 5.1 (from the CE DVD)
5. DTS-HD MA 5.1 (from the US BD)

Sync:
US BD with subs

Pics:

Coming Soon

Comparisons Pics

US BD/Regrade to LD-1st gen DVD


Collaborators and Thanks:
BusterD for the LD track

This is one of the last projects I'm working on in this cycle (with Die Hard 2 and Event Horizon). Like Event Horizon this was regrade to the 1st generation DVD which uses the same video master as the laserdisc. The DVD varies greatly when compared to the video of the US BD. Many parts are greener on the DVD

US BD/Regrade to LD-1st gen DVD


then the bluer (with a little pink) BD but that is not absolute with some parts of the DVD being bluer and often sometimes yellower. Some flash frames look totally different.

US BD/Regrade to LD-1st gen DVD


But the real reason I wanted to do this regrade is that the DVD is much darker overall

US BD/Regrade to LD-1st gen DVD


which seems to really benefit the movie's mood.

This looks Amazing, I mean the US Blu-ray was pretty good in video quality, but you may brought it more in line with the theatrical prints. As for the Dolby Digital on 35mm prints well they have Dolby stereo and DTS sound formats, my guess but the studio had a little bit more money but since they were already planning to do DS and DTS they decided to credit us both DS and DSRD as Dolby Stereo and probably forgot to add the verify format. Do you what would be a good substitute for the Cinema DTS CD Audio, why not request the DTS LD Track. (Unless the CE DVD DTS audio you have is full bit rate.)
Edit: I see you can’t get the LD DTS track either.
I bet you could also Restore the original theatrical logos.

The US Blu-ray is currently distributed by Paramount who was originally going to distribute this film before the freak accident.

It LOOKS like what you are trying to do might be similar to the 2009 Japanese Blu-ray.

(2021-07-31, 07:59 AM)Doctor M Wrote: It LOOKS like what you are trying to do might be similar to the 2009 Japanese Blu-ray.

 

Heard the Japanese blu-ray is the master used for the UK BluRay but in AVC Codec and audio is True HD audio instead of lossy DTS. And it was at the time the best way to get this film in high definition.

According to a member of HDBits: "Seems the UK release is pretty much identical to the JP release, however the JP copy handles the grain slightly better. NOTE: The UK release is 1080p25, flagged as 1080i to be BD spec compliant."

There was a re-release Japanese disc based on the same 4k master as the U.S. disc but DNR'd badly. The original JP disc was indeed the go-to version for the longest time. I was always hesitant to get it because of the drastic difference in framing from the U.S. release.

I've seen no screenshot comparison of the U.S. remaster and the original JP disc. I do like the look of the latter though. I can post more screen shots, but I don't have the U.S. disc to match with.

(2021-08-01, 05:53 AM)Doctor M Wrote: According to a member of HDBits: "Seems the UK release is pretty much identical to the JP release, however the JP copy handles the grain slightly better.  NOTE: The UK release is 1080p25, flagged as 1080i to be BD spec compliant."

There was a re-release Japanese disc based on the same 4k master as the U.S. disc but DNR'd badly.  The original JP disc was indeed the go-to version for the longest time.  I was always hesitant to get it because of the drastic difference in framing from the U.S. release.

I've seen no screenshot comparison of the U.S. remaster and the original JP disc.  I do like the look of the latter though.  I can post more screen shots, but I don't have the U.S. disc to match with.

If those rumors are true: For shame Fuji TV and Pony Canyon The 2nd Japanese Blu-ray could’ve been better than the US Blu-ray and maybe close to the original JP release. The US version which came from said master has some of the grain still intact, Pony Canyon Really messed up here.
Edit: Yep just saw some screen caps

One of my all time favorites loved the comic too too bad we'll never see the original cut with the Skull Cowboy https://screenrant.com/crow-movie-skull-...explained/

(2021-08-01, 07:34 AM)Inq81 Wrote: One of my all time favorites loved the comic too too bad we'll never see the original cut with the Skull Cowboy https://screenrant.com/crow-movie-skull-...explained/

You could track down the TV series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven. It's got Skull Cowboy in it. It probably hasn't aged well, but I've long been a Mark Dacascos fan.