[Cancelled] Evil Dead Regrade (Japanese Herald Laserdisc)

[MrBrown]

btw. Does anyone know how the theatrical color timing was back in time?

I just noticed that there are in the DVD time at least two different color timings, adding the unique herald LaserDisc Color Timing.

But if you check here http://sd.caps-a-holic.com/vergleich.php?vergleichID=37 you see that especcially in Images 3 and 4 the colors differ not only by slight tunes. (While the Elite DVD is slightly darker, compared to the old Anchor bay.. it still seem the same color grading itself, while it differs from the other Versions more extreme.

Image 5 is another good example, with two very different color backgrounds.. some seem to have a more pink wall lighting, while the Elite and old Anchor bay seem to have the wall more colored lik Ashs face.

[PDB]

Like most things, no one knows for sure. I'm doing this project since I think the Japanese LD looks cool, not because I know it to be more accurate.

I might be able to tell better in a month. Grindhouse releasing has made a new 35mm print of ED:

http://grindhousereleasing.com/?tag=evil-dead

and I'm going to see that new print, ED2 and AOD at the AFI next month:

https://silver.afi.com/Browsing/Movies/D...0100001446
http://silver.afi.com/Browsing/Movies/De...0100000075
http://silver.afi.com/Browsing/Movies/De...0100001447

pretty sure ED2 is 35mm, seen it there before in 35. Not sure about AOD.


Edit: To add, here is the trailer off 35mm:

http://www.bookofthedead.ws/website/feat...ilers.html

but even the author says it was faded.

[MrBrown]

Damn cool... somehow those scanned trailers are...*whiping a tear* great.

[dvdmike]

There is a vcd about with the same cover, same master?

[Its_Auto]

Hey guys! 

Firstly; amazing project, the work so far here is fantastic!! (you are actually making a project I intended to undertake myself, albeit my intention was to only use regraded footage to replace frames with hardcoded Japanese subs, in order to preserve as much of the *genuine* grain/dirt/scratches/noise of the laserdisc as possible)

The colour grading of The Evil Dead is a bit of an obsession with me, so I figured I'd share some of my opinions in case it is of any interest or use to the project (though this is purely for info only, not meaning to step on anyone's toes on what is alraedy an amazing regrade!!)

Firstly, for those discussing the colour grading in DVD releases and the blu-ray, I would (personally) disregard those completely from a purist point of view... every single one of those releases are incredibly artificial looking and colours are edited almost beyond recognition [see screenshot comparisons I've taken below - I included both the betamax and VHS version of the original UK Palace release to account for any tape fading]



Once you take all of the digital releases out of the picture and only look at the VHS/Betamax/Laserdiscs, you start getting consistency (at least, after accounting for different hues). 

The Palace VHS/Betamax was released at the same time as the original cinema run in the UK in 1982, before a US theatrical release (not including the 'Book of the Dead' premier of course) and it is my belief that the TRUE colours of 'The Evil Dead' lie half way between the palace release, and the 1985 Herald Videogram Laserdisc from Japan. 

How I came to this conclusion; 

I love the Herald Videogram Laserdisc... It is my favourite release of the movie ever. I love the cool / darker colour tones. These dark/cool tones were also present in the UK Palace release (first ever home video release), in most of the lobby cards lifted from the 35mm, the 35mm trailer, and also the obscure Hindi dubbed version on youtube. However, while I believe the darker/ blue tones SHOULD be there (as opposed to the abysmal warm/light dvd and blu-rays), many laserdisc releases had a bluer image than most other home media  (compare if you will, Jurassic Park laserdisc or James Cameron's Aliens Special Edition LD for example) so while the Herald Videogram Laserdisc is my preferred version, I also believe it may be slightly TOO blue in day scenes resulting in yellow tones to skin.

In contrast, while the Palace release has the nice dark blue tones during the night scenes, it also has far too much pink.. however, check out the image below; 




 The left is my Palace VHS, centre the Herald Videogram LD, and right is a German lobby card... The lobby card taken from a 35mm print certainly looks to be half way between the two. 

To further test this theory, I've thrown the 35mm trailer from Rob's Book of the Dead fansite into the mix, using the end sequence as a reference; 



Palace VHS on the left, 35mm trailer centre, and Herald Videogram Laserdisc on the right - as you can see, after accounting for fading, the UK VHS again looks to be more accurate in overall colour, with the laserdisc accurately representing the dark tones. 


Now, I know the purpose of THIS regrade project is to emulate the laserdisc, and not the theatrical colours, but my reasons for posting these images is that I do not believe the pink tones on the laserdisc to be errors - I think they are more accurate to the source material. 

I'd love you to reconsider the decision in 'correcting' them or at least release a version with them left as seen in the laserdisc (though the project is yours and I love it all the same even with the modifications you have made - very grateful for your hard work!!)


As a side note, my dream project would be to colour grade the laserdisc half way between the palace vhs and the HV ld, using regraded frames from alternate sources to remove the hard coded subs, and then creating a duplicate black and white version and overlapping the two videos to emulate silver retention from 35mm film. Though I'm really keen to get my hands on a capture of a Thorn Emi USA Vhs to see how those colours stack up (I have the thorn emi betamax but no way of capturing it at the minute). I'd like to see if the first USA release has the same colours as the Palace release (such as a blue filter whenever there is a point of view of the evil force at night, or the green tones during night forest scenes) I'm also really curious to see if the palace VHS was the only version to have the dark blue filter during Ash emerging from the cellar (see screens above)

Anyway, looking forward to this release!!

~Auto~

[MrBrown]

...

The Palace VHS/Betamax was released at the same time as the original cinema run in the UK in 1982, before a US theatrical release (not including the 'Book of the Dead' premier of course) and it is my belief that the TRUE colours of 'The Evil Dead' lie half way between the palace release, and the 1985 Herald Videogram Laserdisc from Japan. 
...

Hey,

seems as if someone is as obsessed with different color gradings, as I am. I noticed almost the same things regarding different home releases.
Instead of the UK Tape, I have the German tape (1st release, same time release as the german theatrical release) and censored re-release VHS.

The first VHS release seem to be near to the UK tape. Maybe they are from the same master source.

I recently read that the old greek VHS release contains the "Book of the Dead" cut of the movie. So I started to watch out for that.

I just have to check, what a specific german censored DVD looks alike, because I think they used the censored VHS/LD Master... (same cuts)

Edit:
Well... whatever the german censored DVD looks alike.. its not a very good master.
Here are the screens fitting as best as I could do to the images above:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0dpay9gnprmaa...-NpSa?dl=0

[Its_Auto]

Hey,

seems as if someone is as obsessed with different color gradings, as I am. I noticed almost the same things regarding different home releases.
Instead of the UK Tape, I have the German tape (1st release, same time release as the german theatrical release) and censored re-release VHS.

The first VHS release seem to be near to the UK tape. Maybe they are from the same master source.

I recently read that the old greek VHS release contains the "Book of the Dead" cut of the movie. So I started to watch out for that.

I just have to check, what a specific german censored DVD looks alike, because I think they used the censored VHS/LD Master... (same cuts)

Edit:
Well... whatever the german censored DVD looks alike.. its not a very good master.
Here are the screens fitting as best as I could do to the images above:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/0dpay9gnprmaa...-NpSa?dl=0

Thank you SO much for those German DVD screens! I checked them out, and you are absolutely right; if they are taken from the German VHS, then that release is also sourced from Palace (I have marked out dirt/dust that was not on other releases that these releases share - these marks are not present on the Herald Videogram Laserdisc)




Returning the favour, here is how the Greek VHS 'Book of the Dead, print you are seeking compares; (Palace VHS Left, HVLD centre, Greek VHS right)



This print is much warmer and is definitely (poorly!) sourced from an original 35mm, as it corresponds with the theatrical trailer - here are some additional screens; 



It's nice to chat with someone as passionate about colour grading on this movie as I am! (If any other users have early VHS prints they can capture that would be a godsend! I'm desperate for a 1983 USA Thorn Emi VHS or Betamax capture, as I feel like that may be the missing link!)

Also, to the original poster; Please accept my apologies if you feel any of this is counter productive to your project; I'm happy to take this convo elsewhere if so! (Its just that a project such as yours is very exciting news - not many folk tackle the first movie!!) XD

~Auto~

[PDB]

No worries. A little off topic is always fine by me and I don't consider this off topic since it's about the color timing of Evil Dead.

BTW welcome Auto. That's a pretty good look at all the versions of ED.

You present some pretty good evidence as what the original ED looked like. My only problem is that the pink in the skies is not unique to ED. I've seen it in many places before. I always take it as a limitation with the early telecine machines and weakness in the NTSC and PAL systems. You also see a lot of purple where there should be blue and a lot of yellow bleed into green when it should be "pure green", gold or red/yellow instead of yellow, etc.

It just feels video-y to me and not film like. But maybe that's just me

But as for removing it, it's really just one setting per shot for the length of the movie. Very easy to remove that setting and take it back to the pink look. After I finish this, if enough people want it I can create a second version that is closer to the LD.

[bendermac]

I agree with PDB about the pinkish look as a limitation of NTSC. A lot of LaserDisc and also DVDs mastered in NTSC had this problem. In the final days of the DVD the mastering and "removal" of the pink touch was finally a thing. So I'd say: PDB remove the pink overlay

BTW, which Blu-ray are you using: Anchor Bay (USA), Sony (UK) or Nameless Media (Germany)?

[PDB]

The USA one. The only other one I've seen is the German one which looked sharper but I believe had a lot less grain.