2022-05-20, 10:55 PM
Hi folks, another new project available for you all - David Lynch's Eraserhead taken back to 1977:
1. Synced to the original mono soundtrack, with dozens of pops and crackles manually removed, captured from the 1986 UK VHS from Channel 5.
I believe this is the last time the original soundtrack was ever made available. It was previously released six times - thrice on VHS (from Columbia Pictures in '82/'84 and Palace Video in '82), twice on Betamax (from Columbia and Palace in '82) and once on laserdisc (Columbia in '84). The laserdisc had the best source quality and has already been shared/synced here, but unfortunately it had constant disc rot distortion (as does my own copy). Curiously, a Japanese laserdisc release by Nikkatsu in 1986 also featured a mono soundtrack, but had music replacement - the only time I've seen this done for any Lynch film.
The original mono is less reverby than Lynch's 1994 stereo remix. Grittier, harsher, it makes for a less dreamy and more nightmarish experience.
2. Shot-by-shot colour correction of the 2K remaster released in 2012, using the 1986 Nikkatsu laserdisc as a reference.
I opted not to use the 4K restoration from 2014 as I felt it a hair inferior to the 2K (missing frames, crushed blacks/lower-mids, and slightly smeary grain due to motion-sensitive digital clean-up). The 2K, while softer and less rock-steady than the 4K, has a beautifully organic texture and much wider colour gamut. The 4K is also framed differently in places to the 2K (more opened up), but this wider framing doesn't match the tighter framing on every previous release I've seen, so again the 2K seemed preferable. For two shots in the final scene where the highlights in the 2K were blown out, the 4K was used.
I've never seen a pre-90s print of the film projected, so can't be sure if the Nikkatsu disc's colour timing is accurate, but it certainly seemed faithful to a photochemically processed B&W picture from 1977 to me. Crunchier and more eye-popping than Lynch's revised low-contrast version, it again makes for an edgier mood.
3. Restored the Libra Films opening credits (digital re-creation) to the beginning of the film.
![[Image: 7m2eC29.jpg]](https://i.imgur.com/7m2eC29.jpg)
Tech Details:
FILE NAME: Eraserhead - Original Theatrical Mono.m2ts
FILE SIZE: 20.6GB
DURATION: 01:29:00
VIDEO: 1920x1080p - 23.976FPS - MPEG-4 AVC - 1.85:1 AR
AUDIO: 2.0 Mono LPCM - English - 48KHz - 16 Bit
Sources:
Video
Eraserhead (Blu-ray - UK - 2012 - Cat: 8288802)
Eraserhead (Blu-ray - USA - 2014 - Cat: CC2391BD)
Audio
Eraserhead (VHS - UK - 1986 - Cat: CFV03782)
Hope you all enjoy - as always, PM for a link
1. Synced to the original mono soundtrack, with dozens of pops and crackles manually removed, captured from the 1986 UK VHS from Channel 5.
I believe this is the last time the original soundtrack was ever made available. It was previously released six times - thrice on VHS (from Columbia Pictures in '82/'84 and Palace Video in '82), twice on Betamax (from Columbia and Palace in '82) and once on laserdisc (Columbia in '84). The laserdisc had the best source quality and has already been shared/synced here, but unfortunately it had constant disc rot distortion (as does my own copy). Curiously, a Japanese laserdisc release by Nikkatsu in 1986 also featured a mono soundtrack, but had music replacement - the only time I've seen this done for any Lynch film.
The original mono is less reverby than Lynch's 1994 stereo remix. Grittier, harsher, it makes for a less dreamy and more nightmarish experience.
2. Shot-by-shot colour correction of the 2K remaster released in 2012, using the 1986 Nikkatsu laserdisc as a reference.
I opted not to use the 4K restoration from 2014 as I felt it a hair inferior to the 2K (missing frames, crushed blacks/lower-mids, and slightly smeary grain due to motion-sensitive digital clean-up). The 2K, while softer and less rock-steady than the 4K, has a beautifully organic texture and much wider colour gamut. The 4K is also framed differently in places to the 2K (more opened up), but this wider framing doesn't match the tighter framing on every previous release I've seen, so again the 2K seemed preferable. For two shots in the final scene where the highlights in the 2K were blown out, the 4K was used.
I've never seen a pre-90s print of the film projected, so can't be sure if the Nikkatsu disc's colour timing is accurate, but it certainly seemed faithful to a photochemically processed B&W picture from 1977 to me. Crunchier and more eye-popping than Lynch's revised low-contrast version, it again makes for an edgier mood.
3. Restored the Libra Films opening credits (digital re-creation) to the beginning of the film.
Tech Details:
FILE NAME: Eraserhead - Original Theatrical Mono.m2ts
FILE SIZE: 20.6GB
DURATION: 01:29:00
VIDEO: 1920x1080p - 23.976FPS - MPEG-4 AVC - 1.85:1 AR
AUDIO: 2.0 Mono LPCM - English - 48KHz - 16 Bit
Sources:
Video
Eraserhead (Blu-ray - UK - 2012 - Cat: 8288802)
Eraserhead (Blu-ray - USA - 2014 - Cat: CC2391BD)
Audio
Eraserhead (VHS - UK - 1986 - Cat: CFV03782)
Hope you all enjoy - as always, PM for a link
