Fanrestore - Fan Restoration Forum - In progress

The Exorcist (1973) 4K TC Reconstruct. - Exorcism fixed

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 19:33:42 +0200

Hey guys.
First of all, the title is pretty much self explanatory. The exorcism scenes, badly chroma dnr'ed (WTF is that?, seriously), will be replaced with the AI upscaled (the horror!) BD ones, and of course regraded.
I had a divx file of the 1997 DVD version I got from the archive dot org... but I can't find it (I must have accidentally deleted it). It will be helpful if I can get it again, as the 35mm print floating around is not very good (it's, indeed, faded). IMO, besides the exorcism, I don't think the 4K is in need of a regrading. Honestly, it looks good to me.

Now, a question that is bugging me:
I remembered a few years ago, the moviecensorship site, as we all know, great for comparing different versions, mentioned a digital tweak of Regan's mouth somewhere during the exorcism, or a scene right before it. Now is not mentioned anymore? Am I delusional? It would be great if someone could shed some light on this.

Work is in progress!

Neo-noir collection

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 16:40:49 +0200

Hey, guys.

Working on my extended cut of Sin City gave me the idea to revisit modern classics in a neo-noir version, not to the extent of Sin City as I could never add color sporadically, but in classic black & white. My first pick, as already in 2005 I wanted to see a Sin City-like Batman film, is Tim Burton's Batman of course: the dark misty alleys, the mob, the corruption, the gangster outfits with trenchcoat and hats, the reporter, the blonde femme fatale, it's all there.

So here's a glimpse of how it could look:

I dig the look of it. The black & white gives a better appreciation for cinematography, plus the matte paintings look more convincing. I'm at 17 minutes for now, using the UHD as source, and it goes a lot faster to grade when you don't have to match colors, but just consider the highlights and shadows. I'm considering making an optional mono track to complete the idea.

The other films on my list to consider are the following. Some are crime noir, detective noir, tech noir, comic noir, monster noir, spooky noir, war noir, serial-like adventure noir:

- The Crow.
- Carlito's Way.
- The Usual Suspects.
- Dark City.
- Blade Runner.
- Scarface.
- Seven.
- The Godfather.
- Gremlins.
- The Terminator.
- Terminator 2.
- L.A. Confidential.
- Batman Returns.
- Alien.
- Aliens.
- Jurassic Park.
- Raiders of the Lost Ark.
- Thief.
- Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit (maybe with Toontown in color, although I couldn't deal with it being seen through the hole in the brick wall at the end)
- Payback.
- Sleepy Hollow.
- The Untouchables.
- The Thing.
- Reservoir Dogs.
- War of the Worlds.
- Saving Private Ryan (with the opening and ending in color just like Schindler's List).
- Minority Report.
- Robocop.
- Predator (with maybe a different tint for the thermovision).
- The Others.
- The Sixth Sense.
- 300.
- The Silence of the Lambs.
- Delicatessen.
- The City of Lost Children.
- The Matrix.
- Sherlock Holmes.
- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (the title is very telling).
- King Kong (2005).
- Bram Stocker's Dracula.
- Hellboy.
- Panic Room.
- The Mask of Zorro (as I grew up watching the old B&W series in my childhood).
- Identity.
- Albino Alligator.
- Goodfellas.

Superman Returns (35mm Regrade)

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 17:45:28 +0200

With the 20th anniversary of Superman Returns on the horizon, it's fitting that I showcase and present another recolor project that I had been personally working on for quite some time. Superman Returns had a very unusual history when it came to its releases. The theatrical trailers and the film itself came out with color grades that are considered either too dim or concerning.

The 2006 home video releases (even the 2008 reissued Blu-Ray with a DTS-MA track) had recolored the picture, and made it look muddy and bland. While there were attempts to recolor the film over the years, I didn't see one where it looked like the original 35mm prints. There WAS a 35mm print for sale on eBay but it was sold and the one which is up now is concerning given the lack of photos.

And so I thought I'd take the matters in my own hands and do a 35mm regrade of the film. My intention for this project is to give this movie a more presentable and accessible outlook (with a better color grade) while giving back its 35mm look and feel. Hoping the film would fair better with fans and audiences than it is now.

Sources:
2006/2008 Blu-Ray Release
The open-matte version of the film
A scan of the trailer's 35mm print (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbQEc89Z6dA)
DrDre's color matching tool

ALIENS - PREGRADE

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 14:09:08 +0200

Hi everyone

I'm working on colour grading one of my favourite movies ever - ALIENS.

It's really an exercise in learning DaVinci Resolve, which is an incredible bit of kit by the way, as I'm a video producer here in the UK.

I'm after a little advice on posting screengrabs of the work so far. Can anyone advise me on a good place to post images? When I use the "Insert an Image" button I just get a broken image icon. I'm attempting here with a Dropbox link:

I'll post more if I'm successful!!

Thanks in advance

Starchaser 3D

Mon, 25 May 2026 07:11:05 +0200

Several years ago (a LIFETIME ago) I was looking into doing a release of Starchaser The Legend of Orin in true 3D. Life got "complicated". Now, after a new house, a boat explosion, an extended burn unit stay and a few surgical procedures later, I am finally back to the project. For sources I have a scan of a 35mm release print with over/under 3D (left eye top, right eye bottom), commercially released flat blu-ray (left eye), stereo track from the scan, mono track from the blu-ray and stereo track from the laserdisc. I have done some work with the scan only and have successfully created SBS 3D tests. The scan has a bit of gate weave at start of each reel (five reels in total) and I'm having no luck remedying that. Being able to complete a project using just the scan will be very doable by me. However, ultimately I would like to use the blu-ray for the left eye and the bottom image from the scan for the right eye. The scan would benefit greatly from someone with more experience in stabilization and film cleanup (scratches and dirt removal, etc). Any takers, please message me. I am forging ahead on my limited ability but really want to get this done. I know 3D is not widely used these days outside of projector based home theater rooms, which I have, but if there is any interest from anyone let me know. Thanks. Sorry for the decade long delay.

Dune (1984) - The Final Edit

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:13:02 +0200

I previously made a thread in the proposal section but I decided to fully commit to the project and now it's entering near it's final stages.

Edit Goal: Remove (almost) all fluff and errors from the official Extended Cut using while maintaining the charm of & restoring uncensored content from the original Theatrical Cut, as well as continuity fixes from the Spicediver Edit

Current Runtime: 2h 53m

Planned Sound Formats: LPCM 2.0 Surround, DTS-HD MA 5.1, Dolby Atmos 7.1.
(all surround tracks will be upmixed from the stereo master with care)

A trailer will be released soon. My current assembly is in a QC phase so expect this edit sooner rather than later.

"Zack Snyder's Justice League" reframed to widescreen 16:9 1.78:1 AR

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 23:55:36 +0100

Hey, guys.

I'm currently reframing Zack Snyder's Justice League from 1.33:1 AR to 1.78:1 AR, 'cause had it been released in theaters, there's no way Warner would have agreed for a 1.33:1 wide release. It was obviously intended to end up being a 1.85:1 AR as the trailers from before the 2017 release showed, plus all the negative space on most of the full 1.33:1 AR. Only real IMAX theaters would have had it barely cropped to 1.43:1, while LIEMAX would have had it cropped to 1.90:1, so more than regular theaters and that's exactly what happened in 2017. I found it frustrating not to have the option for a full 16:9 screen, though, so I ended up doing it for more immersion into it as we no longer have 1.33:1 screens at home. Of course, I'm recomposing every single shot one by one to show what's important and to still make it look good regarding head room and stuff, showing more on the top or on the bottom part of the frame. I'm not creating in-shot bogus digital post processing camera movements as I'm not the director nor the camera operator, plus I wouldn't even know how to do such a thing even if I wanted to. I'm doing it using the UHD as source since I have to zoom in, and I'm aiming at a full HD 1080p rec.709 SDR rendering. I have glued the two parts together and removed a few seconds of black in between and cut out the information that "Justice continues on disc 2" of course. For now, I'm at 69% of the whole runtime, at this scene:

Now there is a catch, and that's where I'll need other people's input. As shown in the Youtube video below, in this scene, when Flash comes into play, several slow motion shots were vertically stretched, probably because the VFX were finished for the theatrical 1.78:1 AR or 1.85:1 AR, and thus the stretching, and a bit of cropping as well, permitted to fill the 1.33:1 AR. So my question is: should I keep it that way for the 1.78:1 AR or should I squish it back to more proper proportions? The Youtube video claims it works stretched as it's during a super speed moment that could translate into distortions. I can go along with that, except I didn't notice that on other instances of the super speed, so it's not really consistent in the whole film...

House of Frankenstein 1997 HD Restoration

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 07:36:31 +0100

Hi everyone, I am working on a very rare Restoration project called "House of Frankenstein 1997". I have captured the entire film from my VHS. This is probably the highest quality of the film that is known possibly and it's being converted with Starlight from Topaz Video AI. Half of Part 1 is completed and it looks like a brand new film. I'm editing the film to color correct and color grade once both parts are converted but the audio needs work. I used Logic pro and I was able to split the stems for the dialogue, sound effect and music for testing. I wanted to see if anyone might be interested helping me on the audio for the 3 hour film. This is an extremely rare film and I think I may be the only person with a high quality copy of the film. I'm not very good with Audio engineering but for video editing I'm very good at. Let me know if anyone would be interested so we can release another rare film to the public in high quality.

PDB's Color Regrade Experiments (Matrix, Aliens, etc)

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 20:23:44 +0100

I combined the Matrix and Aliens Color Regrade Experiment threads into one large thread and will put future experiments here.

Color Regrade Experiment #1 The Matrix UHD regraded to the 1999 DVD: The.Matrix.1999.DVD.Regrade.2160p.SDR.HEVC.Cinema.DTS.5.1.v1.0
Color Regrade Experiment #2 Aliens BD Upscaled and regraded to the Quad DVD: Aliens.1986.TC.DVD.Regrade.and.Upscale.2160p.SDR.HEVC.LD.PCM.2.0.v1.0
Color Regrade Experiment #3 Where Eagles Dare BD Upscaled and regraded to the DVD: Where.Eagles.Dare.1968.DVD.Regrade.and.Upscale.2160p.SDR.HEVC.LD.PCM.2.0.v1.0

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The.Matrix.1999.DVD.Regrade.2160p.SDR.HEVC.Cinema.DTS.5.1.v1.0 (Color Regrade Experiment #1)

This is a regrade of the UHD of The Matrix to the old 1999 DVD. Using The Matrix DVD has less to do with any debate over the movie's colors, it's more about me testing different regrade processes.

The Matrix turned out to be a terrible test project. Even though the UHD's grading isn't as extreme as the BD's grade, it still graded to within an inch of its life. That makes it is very difficult to pull it back to something looking like the DVD.

1999 DVD/UHD/Regraded UHD (2160p-SDR)
https://imgur.com/RdbYx4I

Original UHD/Regraded UHD (2160p-SDR)
https://imgur.com/RlYBKZz
Its not 100%, still some artifacts, some highlight and luma issues but slowly working out the bugs. I think I have progressed far enough to take what I've learned put it into this project and see how it works. Having said that I do expect some errors in the final product while I sort things out.

Video:
The UHD regraded to the 1999 DVD in SDR 2160p

Audio: (Tentative)
DTS-HD MA 5.1 (from the Cinema DTS discs)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the DVD)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (from the DVD)
DTS-HD MA 5.1 (from the BD)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Philosophers Commentary by Dr. Cornel West, and Ken Wilber)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Critics Commentary by Todd McCarthy, John Powers, and David Thomson)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Cast & Crew Commentary by Carrie-Anne Moss, Zach Staenberg, and John Gaeta)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Composer Commentary by Don Davis with Music-Only Track)

Sync and Size:
Synced to the original UHD

Pics:

More Pics
https://imgur.com/YIhnPj5
https://imgur.com/tHq9ZRg
https://imgur.com/5Sdd5mx

Coming Soon

[Help] "Sin City Extended Cut" as a movie!

Tue, 09 Dec 2025 08:17:43 +0100

Hey, guys.

Ever since the Recut & Extended DVD was released, I was frustrated the stories were presented separately as I wanted to experience the extended cut as an actual movie just like the original theatrical release but with the extended parts included. No separate title screens, no individual ending credits, just the movie opening and ending credits.
So that's what I did last night. I used the French Recut and Extended Blu-ray and the Japanese theatrical Blu-ray as they are both in 1.78:1 open matte. So that's the good news.
Now the bad news, and that's where I'm gonna need some help, is I'm not capable to deal with multichannel audio, meaning 5.1 in this case. So I just did that extended cut in PCM stereo for now for both the English track and French dub. Can anybody with the required skill chime in and take part in this project so we can all enjoy Sin City extended cut as a movie in 5.1? I can provide the audio tracks, English and French: I have the theatrical cut English in dts HDMA 5.1 (US Blu-ray), PCM 7.1 (from Nordic dts HDMA 7.1 Blu-ray), dts HDMA 7.1 (French Blu-ray), the French dub in dts HDMA 7.1 (French Blu-ray). As for the extended separate stories, I have those in English dts HDMA 5.1 (US Blu-ray), English dts HDMA 5.1 (French Blu-ray), the French dub in dts HDMA 5.1 (French Blu-ray). So, obviously, we'd have to stick to 5.1 as there is no 7.1 extended parts. Who's willing to help? I'd very much like it to be done in English and for the French track as well. If people from other countries want their dubs to be added, I guess it could be done, too, if they provide the elements or can do the audio editing on their own. Meanwhile, I'll work on the French subtitles for this version.

Lethal Weapon (1987) in Scope 2.35:1

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 01:29:35 +0200

This is something along the lines of Stamper's reframing of The Dead Pool few years back. Who knows, I maybe conjure LW5 along the way
I recently rewatched LW with fixed 2.35 cropping to see how it moves and a lot of it fits nicely in Scope but a lot is pretty tight and needs a bit of massaging, being this wasn't initially framed for Scope, like a lot of WB titles from mid to late 80's.

"Le Bon, la Brute et le Truand( ("The Good, the Bad and the Ugly") French version

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 18:06:47 +0200

Hey, guys.

I'm currently recreating the French version, international cut, based on the Arrow UHD that I'll tonemap to SDR in Ripbot264 and resize to 1080p.
I already resynchronized the French dts 5.1 from the 4K remastered MGM Blu-ray, except transcoded to PCM stereo. I used the dts HDMA 5.1 from the English version in a few spots for better transitions, also transcoded to PCM stereo. I have a lead on a VHS tape that should include the original mono that I'll try to sync to it as well.
Now for the French parts, I have the opening credits and closing credits from the Arrow bonus section, in fake HD. I also have a French TV recording in fake HD for the credits and characters' nicknames.

Now there's a problem with the end credits: my French recording has a pop-up at the bottom for the next program, and apparently Arrow must have used that same source 'cause they cropped the bottom part and, doing so, the aspect ratio is now wider. So I'll have to zoom in to recover the same black bar thickness as the rest.

Now for the help part: can anybody with the best AI upscale capabilities chime in and try their best at upscaling these fake HD parts? I'll deal with the color matching afterwards so it all blends in the best I can. All I managed to do with built-in AI upscale in Shutter Encoder is this and, although it gives better delineation to the texts, it seems to smooth the image:

The final product would include the French international version in 1080p with French audio from MGM, possibly VHS and English and audio commentary from Arrow, plus French subtitles from MGM rearranged by myself and English SDH subtitles from Arrow.

PDB's Random Projects

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 20:35:50 +0200

This is a thread that exists to categorize a bunch of one-off projects I did without creating multiple threads. Simpler projects like upscales, fast regrades, HDR experiments, audio muxes, etc.

Comments are fine but please DO NOT ask where to get these projects because they are already gone.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien.1979.US.BD.Upscale.2160p.HDR10.HEVC.LD.PCM.2.0.v1.0

I wanted to gather together all the Alien audio syncs I had into one file in an attempt to "archive" the work into one single place.this is an attempt to preserve the look and colors of the Alien BD transfer by upscaling that.

The BD is upscaled to 2160p resolution and transferred into 2020 colorspace using a P3 monitor and HDR10 graded. The 2020/HDR10 grading is using a new technique I've been trying with my David Fincher projects opposed to the old way I had used before.

Some notes on the audio tracks. This took a long time to do. Longer than I thought it would. In particular, the two analog tracks were nightmares to sync. Talking about ~200 edits each with both being NTSC and not time compressed. The analog tracks were basically the same. I know this because both have one or two additional sounds and one or two sounds missing. Nothing special, all either parts of the hisses or hums of the ship. Nothing you would notice with out direct comparison. The VHS required some patching from the LD to fix bad tracking issues. Only two spots.

I also wanted to sync the "stealth" PCM upgrade P&S LD. Although I have the disc, my LD player is dead. So if you have a copy, I'd love it. Thanks.

Video:
The BD upscaled to 2160p resolution with 2020 colorspace and HDR10 graded

Audio:
PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround (from P&S LD's Analog Track)
PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround (from the CE LD) <--Default
FLAC 5.1 (upmix of the CE LD's PCM 2.0)
PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround (from the THX LD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the THX LD)
PCM 2.0 Dolby Surround (from a Late 80s VHS' Analog Track)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (from the 1999 DVD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the 1999 DVD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (from the Quad DVD)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (from the BD)
Dolby Digital 4.1 (from the BD)
DTS-HD MA 5.1 (from the BD)
DTS-HD MA 2.0 (from the UHD BD)
DTS-HD MA 4.1 (from the UHD BD)
DTS-HD MA 2.1 (Chew's Custom Mix)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by Ridley Scott, Dan O'Bannon, Ron Shuset, Terry Rawlings, Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, and Harry Dean Stanton - from the BD)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Commentary by Ridley Scott - from the BD)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Final Theatrical Isolated score - from the 1999 DVD)
Dolby Digital 2.0 (Alternative Score and Dialog - from the 1999 DVD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (Final Theatrical Isolated score - from the BD)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (Alternative Score and Dialog - from the BD)

Sync and Size:
Synced to the original BD

Pics:
HDR to SDR Conversion

More Pics
https://imgur.com/iBq3Vmc

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) [RAW UHDTV 8K 4320p · Remastered 70mm Scan OCN]

Sat, 12 Jul 2025 05:23:45 +0200

RAW UHDTV Sample & High Resolution Stills: https://bit.ly/3U6QDzX

https://youtu.be/vJxH6JwteIs

Places where I'll be sharing the progress of this and other Kubrick projects, join me:
Telegram: https://t.me/metastanleykubrick
Discord: https://discord.gg/zuguKGJbr3

I'm sharing with you my Work In Progress of 2001: A Space Odyssey, based on a remastered 70mm scan from the original camera negative. Broadcast on NHK BS8K (Japan) and recorded on April 3, 2025, at 1:00:07 PM.

This was the first film in history to be broadcast in 8K, originally released on December 1, 2018, on BS8K. Info: https://amass.jp/112432/

For technical details on the remastering:
https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1152318.html

The recording was purchased from a seller in China and made with a dedicated PT4K satellite receiver card, the only one on the market capable of recording 8K broadcasts without loss of quality.

My goal is to add as many dubbings and subtitles as possible, including all formats (theatrical, home media, TV, streaming). If you have any such material or technical information that might be useful (audio, subtitles, etc.), please contact me privately, leave a comment, or write to: metahades1889@gmail.com https://linktr.ee/metahades1889

The RAW sample attached above was created by cropping the movie with a python script, it has no quality compression, in short, this is exactly how the complete .ts file looks.

I'll be updating the progress on Telegram and Discord (links above). Once completed, the project will be publicly accessible to everyone. All contributions are welcome: preservationists, archivists, collectors, restorers, remasterers, researchers, language geeks, and fans are invited to participate.

The recording comes with the following specifications:

Video
Length: 2h 29min
Codec: HEVC
Bitrate: 58.5mb/s
Width: 7680 pixels
Height: 4320 pixels
Aspect ratio: 16:9

Audio
Language: English
Format: AAC LC
Bitrate: 315 kb/s
Channel(s): 6
Sample rate: 48.0 kHz

Audio
Language: English
Format: AAC LC
Bitrate: 251 kb/s
Channel(s): 2
Sample rate: 48.0 kHz

Forced subtitles: Japanese

By the time this project is released, if you want to play it on a computer, you will need at least an RTX 3060 graphics card.

Thanks:

Spiroku, Sebern, Yuyoiuyoiu, FukuyoHD, Gelats.

-

P.S.: West Side Story (1961) and My Fair Lady (1964) were also broadcast in 8K on this channel, based on 70mm scans taken from the original camera negative. I may be able to find past recordings or wait for new broadcasts to capture them and develop similar projects.

Please share with everyone!

"Heat" director's cut regraded

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 09:13:59 +0200

Hey, guys.

Back in 2015, during a Michael Mann retrospective, I saw a 35mm print of Heat. I was shocked to realize how warm and colorful Dante Spinotti's original cinematography actually was, something we never had on home video. It has since then become a desaturated, bland, dull, almost steel grey monochromatic mess. Actually that's why I didn't understand at the time, in 2008, when The Dark Knight came out, those claims that Heat was a major influence to it, except for the masked bank robbery, which is very classic in heist films and not exclusive to Heat anyway. Following that, the bad Blu-ray of The Dark Knight was released with wrong color grading. But then, at the same period, in 2015, I saw both Heat 35mm print and The Dark Knight DCP (which looks about the same as the remastered UHD), and then it hit me: their cinematographies are very much alike, with warm colors, lovely blues, cyans and orangy browns, etc.

So, 10 years ago, I made my own saturation correction on the 2009 Warner Blu-ray of Heat to revive those colors. And now, I just revisited that in DaVinci Resolve, with a few separate corrections, and this is what I'm proposing to you today. It's mostly a saturation correction and a bit of contrast tweaking while at it. As I remember reading in these premises, and also attended a 35mm screening in a not-too-distant past and I'm sure it will ring a bell:

Now there's the case of these 2 shots:

These two shots, ever since the DVD era, share the same affliction, as they switch in color grading near the end of each. These are actually the clues that have convinced me that there never was a remaster, as when I saw the 35mm print, I was already very aware of that issue and made a point not to blink at those two moments to see what's what. And you know what? There is no such problem on those two shots on 35mm film. Meaning it's certainly not on the original elements that would be used to create a remaster. Since the Fox "remaster", they tweaked these two shots to soften the grading switches, but you can still see them if you pay attention. As it turns out, I was able to do just as good as Fox on the Pacino shot to make it almost unnoticeable, but I failed with the Amy Brenneman shot, so I swapped it with the UHD shot and colormatched it. I wish I didn't have to do that because the Fox "remaster" is quite a bit zoomed in, but hey, it's just one shot and I'll have to live with that.

And here's for the full overview:

I would very much like to do the same with the theatrical cut, but I don't have the skills to upscale in a satisfactory way the "detritus" shot from my PAL DVDs. If somebody still has the Alleycat project and is willing to share it with me, please contact me by PM and I'll gladly use that as basis as I remember Alleycat made that upscaled shot already.