The New World (2005)

[noodles_leone]

Lubezki and Malick have been working with Criterion for more than a year to create a new 4K restoration of Malick’s preferred 172-minute cut of the film, and these brief, never-before-seen examples show the incredible difference between the look of Lubezki’s meticulously exposed camera negative and that of the finished film.

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3921-restoring-the-new-world

Stupid comment, really: it's just shows the difference between ANY ungraded material and ANY finished professional feature film.

[dave jenkins]

Yeah, what we really want to see compared is the previous images of the finished film with the newly graded (or re-graded) images. That's the only meaningful comparison.

[PowerRR]

Yup ...saw those comparisons, didn't give two shits. The current blu-ray of New World already looks excellent, probably just as good as Criterion's "restoration".... and yeah, there's no meaning to what they're doing unless compared with the current release.

The big issue here is which cuts they're going to include. Currently, the only cut available on Blu-Ray is the extended version - which is definitely my least favorite Malick movie, even far beyond To the Wonder and Knight of Cups. It's incredibly overlong for its story. The theatrical cut is just fine though and I'd love to see a Blu release of it. Time will tell.

[dave jenkins]

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_72/the_new_world_blu-ray.htm

[PowerRR]

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_72/the_new_world_blu-ray.htm

Hardly a difference between the last Blu release and Criterion, but i WILL get the Criterion because the only available cut currently on Blu is the extended, which I hate. Theatrical is much better but only on DVD. and I'm curious about the First cut.

[dave jenkins]

Looks like things are greener on the new transfer, and the greener the better, I say.

[noodles_leone]

DJ is on a crusade against pink tones. But yes, in this case, most greener stills are better looking than the pinker ones.

[dave jenkins]

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-New-World-Blu-ray/151484/#Review

The Extended Cut looks absolutely magnificent in high-definition. Indeed, there are massive improvements in terms of detail and clarity that drastically improve fluidity. As a result, the film now has a much better balanced appearance. In fact, I did numerous comparisons with the other cuts and can confirm that the discrepancies in terms of depth are massive. Indeed, on the first two cuts there are traces of moderate filtering adjustments that routinely flatten the image and cause distracting smearing (see an obvious example in screencapture #25). With a lot of wider panoramic shots where light is captured in unique ways the effects are also prominent and cause entirely different anomalies (see screencapture #35). On the Extended Cut there are no traces of compromising digital work. Furthermore, the Extended Cut comes with a much better range of primary colors and nuances. The overall balance is excellent and very much supportive of the intended atmosphere. There are many cases where the careful grading has even helped previously lost nuances to reemerge (compare screencaptures #17 and 30). Unsurprisingly, on large screens the difference between the Extended Cut and the Theatrical Cut and First Cut of the film is often staggering. Finally, the Extended Cut has an all-around strong organic appearance that really allows one to experience the film in an entirely new way.