Peckinpah's CROSS OF IRON plus documentary

[Novecento]

:Novecento: No,no and no (again ). Of course Peckinpah tried to get a certain look in post-production, and CROSS could have
used a little color grading here and there - now that it's possible, but the BD-look is just impossible. The images are all flat, no debth, nothing...
I understand why some like the new look, it certainly has its kind of atmosphere, but the loss of contrast and depth is just terrible.
Anyway. We might play around with it next year. I saw a test which could result in a great-looking compromise...

Sounds good. Looking forward to seeing the compromise.

[mike siegel]

CROSS OF IRON is finally available on Blu-ray in the US! The release features all my supplements (almost 2 hrs) in HD including my documentary PASSION & POETRY - SAM's WAR. The film master is the same (uncut) as previously released with the other releases I co-produced in the UK, Germany & Japan...

[dave jenkins]

New restoration on 4K and 1080p:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Cross-of-Iron-Blu-ray/339906/#Review

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Cross of Iron arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The release introduces a brand new 4K 16-bit restoration of Cross of Iron that was completed at Silver Salt Restoration in the United Kingdom. (This is the same party that prepared the 4K restorations of Dr. Who and the Daleks and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.).

The new 4K restoration is also available on this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. I viewed it in native 4K and later tested large sections of the 1080p presentation on this release.

If you have seen our review of the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack, you already know that I like how Cross of Iron looks now a lot. I think that the 1080p presentation is equally satisfying. Yes, in native 4K the dynamic range of the visuals is superior and as a result in several areas the perception of depth is better, but you will probably need a pretty big screen to identify meaningful improvements. Why? Because the stylization makes it difficult to spot meaningful improvements in real time. It is easier to recognize and appreciate the improvements in quality if you compare the previous Blu-ray release with the 1080p presentation on this release because after the makeover the film looks very healthy. Also, I think that darker areas tend to look more convincing in native 4K because darker nuances are expanded. The rest looks very similar or identical in 1080p. Finally, the 4K presentation boasts a superior encode. On the 1080p presentation, there is room for some minor yet meaningful optimizations. All in all, on my system Cross of Iron looked very solid in 1080p and native 4K, so I think that fans of the film will be equally pleased with the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Included among the extras is a new Mike Siegel commentary. I'm guessing Mike won't be revealing anything new, but I'm sure the track will be worth having. Regardless, I love this film, and I've got to have it in the best available form.

Screenshots: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Cross-of-Iron-4K-Blu-ray/339904/#Screenshots

[dave jenkins]

Did someone mention "Steelbook"? I can't throw money at this fast enough: https://www.zavvi.com/4k/cross-of-iron-vintage-classic-edition-4k-ultra-hd-steelbook-includes-blu-ray/14853007.html?

[mike siegel]

My ultimate go at CROSS is the upcoming IMPRINT box.
It also includes my 35mm print (nice grindhouse experience with original colors)
and 3 more (new) interviews. Otherwise the Studiocanal releases have the same content...

[Novecento]

Ooh that imprint version looks good.

Plus I love the sound of this: ?NEW Interview with editors Tony Lawson and Michael Ellis?

Cross of Iron has some of the best editing I have ever seen? ever?

[Cusser]

I watched this for the first time today, loaner DVD from local library.

I wasn't too impressed, except for the first few minutes of the film, with singing and newsreel footage, edited very well.

Sometimes was tough to tell who were Germans and who were Soviets....

[mike siegel]

Ooh that imprint version looks good.

Plus I love the sound of this: ?NEW Interview with editors Tony Lawson and Michael Ellis?

Cross of Iron has some of the best editing I have ever seen? ever?

News Bulletin:
I just added a last minute extra - 8 minutes of deleted scenes!

[Novecento]

Stills or actual video footage?

Regardless, I?ll be picking this one up for sure.

Any word on that extended Japanese version of Convoy being picked up by Imprint? They are giving Peckinpah a lot of love these days.

[noodles_leone]

News Bulletin:
I just added a last minute extra - 8 minutes of deleted scenes!

Sounds awesome.

[mike siegel]

Stills or actual video footage?

Regardless, I?ll be picking this one up for sure.

Any word on that extended Japanese version of Convoy being picked up by Imprint? They are giving Peckinpah a lot of love these days.

two sequences from a rough cut!

CONVOY: I'd say this version will come out 

[Novecento]

Wow!

and

Wow!

You?re bankrupting me

[dave jenkins]

What Novecento said.

[Novecento]

So Mike, can you share any teasers about what we can expect from your article on Cross of Iron in the upcoming issue of Cinema Retro magazine?

[mike siegel]

So Mike, can you share any teasers about what we can expect from your article on Cross of Iron in the upcoming issue of Cinema Retro magazine?

I wrote it a year ago, I forgot  .
Just a 10 or 12 page special about the film (spread
over two issues I think...)