WB 4K Reviews - The Terminator, Blazing Saddles, North By Northwest

[@ElliotCoen]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJaup2uwrdNrl9k - Listen to my conversation with Oscar Becher from Vinegar Syndrome here

[@voidmayonnaise]

James Cameron: “I love this painting of The Last Supper, but can’t we get rid of all those nasty brush strokes?”

[@conorfurlong]

Blazing Saddles is not racist. It’s about racism. And it’s something 14 year olds should be watching and learning from.

[@newsbender]

I like your style, dude. No shouting and hyperbole like most home media reviewers. And you seem to know your stuff. Very hard to get an honest, objective assessment of the problematicTerminator 4K disc (the only one of this trio I passed on), but you nailed it. Subbed!

[@1165mac]

"It isn't about a film looking great. It is about it looking right." You're absolutely on target, Elliot!

[@peterm.4355]

About The Terminator: Finally someone who knows what he's talking about instead of blindly repeating PR bullshit about new 4K scan.

[@nshookla]

Agreed 100% - Elliot is by far the best physical media fan and reviewer we've found on YT. My fiancee and I never miss a video of his. On the note of JC - it's sad because you think he would know better for film preservation.. I guess we cannot get a Scorsese for every bit of important film restoration/preservation.

[@wxman2003]

You have no clue.

[@peterm.4355]

​@@wxman2003 And you have no brain, apparently.

[@shannontnutt]

It is mastered from a 4K scan. Warner Bros. confirmed this: “For its 40th anniversary, a new 4K Ultra High Definition HDR color graded master of THE TERMINATOR was made from a restored 4K scan of the 35 mm original camera negative. Thus, it is not an upscale of the previous 2K/HD transfer.” That’s directly from Warners.

[@TheStOne1]

@@shannontnuttthat's why he said "bullshit" it means it's a lie... This is not a new 4K scan at all.

[@URBONED]

I find it a pretty sad irony that the film that warns us about the dangers of AI and now the man himself who wrote said story now lives and breathes AI in his own work 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@ElliotCoen]

That irony is not lost on me either!

[@b.badger_1991]

Yes, the man likes to view himself as being a humanitarian/environmentalist, but threw his toys out the pram when the BBFC wanted to make minor edits to “The Abyss” to remove actual animal cruelty - as a result the film had it’s Blu-Ray/4K release cancelled in the UK, which is ultimately more harmful to the film itself than whatever minor edits the BBFC wanted to make.

[@994pt4]

James Cameron is a DISASTER when it comes to preservation of his films.

[@DauntlessRaptor]

Refreshing to see someone being honest about The Terminator for once. Cameron films on 4K are a freaking joke. Even if it's watchable I don't want to look at them that way. I'll keep my old Blu-rays unfortunatly and hope this doesn't become a trend or new standard in how they remaster movies.

[@vlad8888]

One notable new feature on this issue of North by Northwest is that, FINALLY, the original mono audio track is included! One has to go back to the Critierion LaserDisc for the last time we were given that (it’s a shame that the 4k Wizard of Oz didn’t do the same). Atmos is fine, and I’m the first to enjoy Herrmann’s score (which was recorded in stereo even though the original mix was mono) in multichannel. The point of all of this is that the mono is the mix Hitchcock approved, and it sounds great here.

[@Rossatron]

I'll be honest that I saw this 4K scan in the cinema and didn't really catch much of the AI upscaling issues. It looked pretty great to me, but I wonder if that is the lack of control I have from the screen, the angle I'm sat at maybe. Good review though, it has held me back from purchasing this as I do NOT want to support AI upscaling remasters.

[@DefAde]

Thank you so much for speaking the truth about Terminator. It’s been so frustrating watching other influencers and so called professional reviewers talking absolute nonsense about how “good” it looks, and how “it still has grain”…. For the most part I’ve been thinking they actually have no idea what they are talking about, but I assume there is also a fairly large contingent that are paranoid of upsetting the various studios/publishers and losing access to their precious free review copies.

[@wiseguy100]

Favourite part of North by Northwest, is the Rushmore cafe, when the little lad in the background puts his fingers in his ears before the gunshot.

[@benhur1959]

I'm amazed that was never edited before initial release.

[@Rychu89]

At this point i genuinely see James Cameron as more of a software engineer than film maker. Well, definitely not film maker as he hates the key word, 'film'. He's far more interested in tech advancements than anything else, hes been going that way for a while tbf. Also hate it when fanboys angrily jump to his defence, where nothing negative can be levelled at him. Ah well, I won't be checking out the 4ks regardless, i'll leave James to his AI team.

[@joefaracevideos]

Thanks for your comments about The Terminator.

[@kenronning5466]

Regarding claims that the film Blazing Saddles is a racist movie, keep in mind that one of the head writers of the film was the brilliant comedian Richard Pryor.

[@ElliotCoen]

Exactly! It’s a genius script that they put together.

[@ThierryBerard]

Thank you for your review, very interesting as always!

[@ElliotCoen]

Thank you for watching, Thierry!

[@reveriestandard]

thanks for calling out the use of AI upscaling on The Terminator and the studio not investing in a new 4K scan. Also thank you for not shying away from controversial releases like blazing saddles, keep doing what you're doing!

[@djsoulfilter]

They didn't upscale anything. A new 4K Ultra High Definition HDR color graded master of THE TERMINATOR was made from the older restored 4K scan of the 35 mm original camera negative. I do agree that I wish they wouldn't have used any AI for this new HDR master. All they had to do was add HDR and not tinker around with AI enhancements!

[@444chroma]

I'm right there with you about JC 4ks and wIsh they looked proper analog. I just can't get on with his practices and matters of taste. Oh well. Plenty of other fish

[@keitho.harmon714]

Possible I have seen NBNW more times than than any other film in my 80+ years...screening the first showing at 10 am on a Thursday morning skipping school. What I noticed that first time was how prevalent and cool the blue color was maintained...as cool as CARY and EVA MARIE SAINT throughout their adventure! The 4K BLUES are HOT on the new transfer. For comparison I upgraded my FANDANGO download to 4K and checked out the...as I remember...cool blues which make the warm colors more detailed. LOVED THE REVIEW...sharing not criticizing! 😊

[@daninilsen7657]

I totally agree with your assessment of film restauration. So then, do you prefer the blu-ray version? Cheers! Dani

[@ElliotCoen]

The 4K is probably better than the older Blu-ray when you weigh up everything. Far from how I’d like it though!

[@notmytruthTHEtruth]

​@@ElliotCoenTbh this is another time where the DVDs are better.

[@frommatorav1]

@@notmytruthTHEtruth DVD was not better. That opinion has no credibility. Someone needs a new TV if your 480i DVD is better than the 4k, which is 2160p with HDR. It has been reported that Terminator 4k restoration wasn't done by James Cameron. It also isn't nearly as bad as you and Elliot are making it out to be. My disc has pixelation at the 13:08 mark but the restoration work was good in my opinion. The picture was sharp and there was visible grain throughout the whole movie.

[@notmytruthTHEtruth]

@@frommatorav1 no the dvd can sometimes be better

[@daninilsen7657]

I will stick with my japanese Laserdisc then.

[@DomoLuvable]

I think your best bet for all of james Camerons films to look more like 35mm are fan restorations if they are available

[@mss490]

It’s refreshing to see a channel give blunt, honest, to-the-point mini-reviews like this. Personally, I’m very cautious about buying classic WB 4Ks, as the sound mixing tends to be offensively off, and a lot of the shots tend to look like have a blur filter over them, but per your recommendation, I’ll probably pick up Blazing Saddles on a sale some day in spite of having the tackiest cover art I’ve ever seen as I really love the movie itself. Xb

[@Downhuman74]

I'll say this about the Terminator 4K, it's easily the best of the AI-restored Cameron releases we've gotten as of late. I watched it on a large screen and - as hilarious as this sounds - I was actually annoyed that I was only able to spot the signature AI wonkiness in a few spots (much less than you). For the most part, I was able to forget about it for long stretches and just enjoy the movie. It just looks like the old Blu-ray to me. So, not ideal by any stretch, but much better than the AI horror shows we got with True Lies and Aliens where the processing called attention to itself constantly. I'm still holding out hope that at some point someone goes back to the original negative for a proper restoration. But we may be waiting a while.

[@ElliotCoen]

Well said. I’d agree this is probably the least egregious of the bunch. Certainly a far cry from True Lies, but then many people said they loved it. Thanks for watching :)

[@anthonytitone]

What about the Abyss, I saw that in 4k & didn’t notice any issues, it also came at the same time as Aliens & True Lies

[@mynock250]

The abyss was a terrible film, Titanic I think looked better.

[@Downhuman74]

@@anthonytitone The Abyss has some notable AI wonkiness but nothing that's truly awful. Faces sometimes have that weird smoothness to them. But it's far and away the best way to watch the film (outside of an original 35mm print, that is). There's nothing that will convince me that that old non-anamorphic DVD is somehow better. Probably the last word on that particular movie for a long while, too.

[@danieltuval8879]

I have a big screen, and thought it looked and sounded very good, overall.i have the 2013 blu ray and I can confirm it's definitely better, I didn't notice more than 1 or 2 frames that looked slightly different, but I really had to look for them

[@brunomachado7279]

It looks like 4k is not Cameron's department at all!

[@TokuAndAnimationNewsNetwork]

Cameron is completely unfit to be doing 4K and should like adults do it instead of children.

[@MadMartysMovieReviews-gv6hk]

Great vid Elliot, I totally agree that North By Northwest and Blazing Saddles both look amazing but I disagree about your view on The Terminator, I really enjoyed it definitely the best it's ever looked,the colour grading is different to the Remastered bluray from 2015,got rid of that teal effect...maybe some of the background has been affected with the AI but I wasn't pixel peeping ,I was just enjoying a fantastic film,great vid as always

[@JudsonPicco]

Somewhat ironic that I noticed the jiggling boom mic over your head while you were discussing the shortcomings of Cameron 4K discs 😊

[@ElliotCoen]

It's not a boom - JC sent a drone to spy on me as I was filming :)

[@444chroma]

you got it dude. WB also did a nice job with How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1967) it's worth picking up and enjoying this time of year :!!

[@JebberGamingJaws]

Nice, was hoping you’d cover these 👍

[@ElliotCoen]

They've been on my desk ready to talk about for a few days! Thanks for watching

[@nighttimevideo]

Fanscans are the best way to watch Jimmy's films now. Despite being scans of theatrical prints and not from the negative, they look miles better than these official 4K's, and as we've learned from the Aliens and T1 4K, they don't even touch the negative neither as they're only upscales from older masters! The Abyss was I think the only 4K that was an actual 4K scan.

[@AutoMarios]

Clearly james camera has no idea what he's doing

[@PatrickVogt314]

I think the problem with subpar 4k releases is that most likely this will be the last home media version of this film (maybe there will be some reprints in different cases (steelbooks, mediabooks)/collector‘s editions etc.), but no new transfer. Cannot see that one of the bigger movies of the „big five“ gets licensed to smaller companies like vinegar syndrome, arrow etc. even when the format will be „dead“ in a few years (which will happen imo eventually)

[@Celestialrob]

We watched the North By Northwest 4K on a 150" screen and it was superb. cary Grant's tan was also evident in the recent Paramount 4K To Catch a Thief 😀

[@Veniceredmask01]

Thank you for the honest review

[@1985JM]

Watched my old 2 Disc DVD of The Terminator I bought almost 20 years ago & I was surprised as the picture quality is superb even on dvd . The bathroom scene with the eyeball is best viewed in Standard Definition as HD makes it look more fake , IMO

[@peakoil-ko5oq]

Are you watching on a 20" screen

[@1985JM]

@ No 30”

[@peakoil-ko5oq]

@@1985JM no wonder, I watched it on a projector screen and it looked great

[@extofer]

Glad you advocate for comedies getting 4k upgrades. I picked up Game Night on 4k when it got a mod release here in the states earlier this year. It looks absolutely fantastic and there’s no other way I’d watch it. To me, if it’s a comedy, it’s re-watchable and it would look better in 4k, why not? :)

[@ElliotCoen]

Game Night is great! I saw it at the cinema and loved it. I need to get it on 4K at some point.

[@kristopherpistole]

I screened Blazing Saddles in my film appreciation class precisely for the social/political reasons you mentioned and also as a way to discuss genre

[@jarjared3522]

Hunt down those 4k scans of theater prints and download them. That is the closest we will get to proper preservation of James Cameron's filmography.

[@nicholaskinney5112]

Also the idea of AI being used anywhere near a film is deeply concerning to me

[@3D_Blu-ray_Bunker]

I guess maybe one blessing on the Terminator 4K release is that at least Cameron didn't apply any of that TrueCut Motion frame interpolation nonsense that he used for the Titanic & Avatar cinema re-releases a couple of years back. If you think this release looks disappointing, he *could* have made it look utterly appalling & totally unwatchable. Anyway, great video; I'll certainly pick up copies of Blazing Saddles & North by Northwest.

[@jonathannoble9465]

I went to a 4k screening of The Terminator really was excited because people were saying the 4k blu-ray looks great but yeah blowing it up on the big screen really magnified all the problems. Still nice to see it with a packed house but afterwards I have had no interest in buying the 4k

[@peakoil-ko5oq]

I think the Terminator looks stunning

[@nicholaskinney5112]

I totally agree about James Cameron-love his movies, old and new, but his philosophy on film “updating” instead of preservation is frankly ridiculous. Big Jim should know better!

[@wiredbagatthisworst]

J Cameron playing the non-giving shit mastermind is more like a Ridley Scott wannabe

[@danboy77]

To be fair 99% of reviewers have been pleased with The Terminator on 4k. On a side note I know someone who recently compared the 35mm Aliens to the 4 Disc and they was amazed with the disc and how it compared to the print and in someways it was actually superior

[@johnhyatt4905]

I have purchased all three of these titles. I am glad to have them in my collection. While I absolutely agree that Cameron’s choice to digitally manipulate away grain (and its film like look) is disappointing, ultimately the film is his baby, and he is presenting (as close as technology will allow) the vision from his minds eye. I assumed that the film would receive this treatment, and that was considered in my purchase decision. This is still a fun movie, and as good a presentation as we are going to get. Is this manipulation revisionist? Absolutely. Is it as offensive as replacing the sky or adding extra Ewoks, no. James Cameron’s distain for film grain was obvious from the theatrical release of Avatar, where 35mm prints were not offered to theaters, many mom and pop theaters had to pass on the biggest film of the year or go into debt to upgrade to digital projection. His forcing the transition (which was going to happen eventually) brought about the collapse of Kodak, I find it ironic that he received a special Oscar for his innovations in the Kodak theater.

[@MrKahlerHahn]

Oh no i fear i know the bad one before this video starts 😢

[@ElliotCoen]

That says something about a certain filmmaker’s reputation when it comes to restoration! Thanks for watching :)

[@danieltuval8879]

I have to say I watched thd terminator 4k without any pre conceived judgement and while it took few moments to get used to the clean sharp look of the image I have to say thar overall its a really enjoyable experience both visually and sonically, being a purist I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.however,whatever the process used,I have to say it's a very cinematic and immersive experience, so I have to give it a highly recommended to anyone who enjoys the film.ultimately it brings thd viewer closer to thd film,and it looks and sounds fantastic, without nitpicking, that should be of utmost importance. I really enjoyed it.i got north by northwest at same time,and have to agree with you on. Thar presentation

[@Michael_Macri]

My jaw dropped when you said AI upscaling was used for Terminator. Is James Cameron stupid? Or does he think we’re stupid? Both? What a complete farce.

[@marcjohnson3553]

Not gonna lie, don’t like this new direction of releases only coming with the 4K disc and no Blu Ray…

[@UnicornRyder04]

I thought the Terminator looked great in 4k. Up there with their best good looking releases.

[@peakoil-ko5oq]

Same here. True lies doesn't look great only ok

[@TokuAndAnimationNewsNetwork]

I've pretty much given up on the Terminator movies at this point. I rarely watch them as it is, so I don't need to own them in my collection. Cameron has no business remastering movies and should let the actual experts remaster them instead of his cheap copouts. He clearly has no interest in remastering them properly and just wants a quick buck. If I didn't love Aliens so much I would decide to totally boycot his movies from my collection.

[@Sim-rh4tj]

Looks like I have to buy North by North West again then!

[@Zeldaboy2k2]

I had a feeling about the terminator, other ppl said it was fine but i didn't believe them. I trust your eye elliot, I'm skipping Cameron on 4k. Never got T2 or Aliens, I'm done with him.

[@kelownatechkid]

I compared screenshots when the Terminator release came out and was instantly disappointed. So disgusting. Just ripping people off who don't know better, that the 10 dollar blu-ray is superior >< all the text in the background is garbled and the image is smoothed out.

[@frommatorav1]

What time elapsed in the movie is all this alleged wonkiness and garbled text? How did they smooth the image but be able to see sweat and pores and tiny details that are only visible in 4k without smoothing?

[@BeberDag130482]

​@@frommatorav1because it's not details, it's rotoscopy. That's what Park Road AI does. They ruin the organic texture of 35mm film, that would be grain, hence actual details caught by the camera during shooting, and draw/paint them back over what's left of the picture, and invent some more from scratch, turning an actual film into a quasi photorealistic CG animated movie that fools most people who are not in the know.

[@orsonguelles]

@@BeberDag130482 ¿Rotoscopy? And you think you "are in the know"...

[@NightimeInDeepSpace]

you have the kind of voice that should be on an audiobook on cassette tape. that's a compliment btw

[@ElliotCoen]

@@NightimeInDeepSpace thank you!

[@agentooe33AD]

I'm actually surprised by your take on The Terminator. I've watched other reviewers saying they were pleased with the 4K release, given how Cameron's previous 4K releases were trash. Maybe "comparatively" it's better than previous releases, but others have given it glowing reviews. Hmm, well, I pre-ordered it so I guess I'll check it out and see for myself. But I'm glad you're take was an honest one. At least it gives me some preparation just in case. I did also pre-order Blazing Saddles on 4K. I'm glad to hear it's in good shape!

[@condo0073]

@@agentooe33AD it's gorgeous. Enjoy

[@rhumash5977]

I thought T1 was a good transfer. There are a lot of misleading reviews out there.

[@turrican4d599]

One is bad-> Terminator destroyed by AI

[@TroyUlysses]

Two heads better than one?

[@994pt4]

I guessed right!...who could have guessed 🤣🤣🤣

[@johnscott4385]

Good discussion on the Terminator. Thanks for making this video.

[@danbrixey8545]

I heard an interview with Mel Brooks where he said that Richard Pryor wrote all the Mongo jokes and he wrote all the race jokes. Mel would then run them by Pryor who would tell him which jokes were too racist and which ones were funny

[@richardansley]

Have to say Terminator 4k looked great to me. Probably better than when I first saw in the cinema back in the 80’s. T2 in 4k is the one I have a big problem with as that looked terrible. Each to their own I suppose as some people on line seemed to like that version

[@IncognitoChild]

There are known issues with the terminator 2 4K release. It might be worth doing some research to find the best version of this film in 4k.👍😎

[@SpaceCattttt]

It's a great pity that North by Northwest doesn't include all the older extras. It may have gained the new featurette "North by Northwest: Cinematography, Score, and the Art of the Edit" which is about 23 minutes long, but it's also lost the fairly decent documentary "Cary Grant: A Class Apart" which runs 87 minutes long. So overall, nice new 4K transfer aside, this package contains 64 minutes less content than previous editions. It's not necessarily a no-go, but it does sting paying for something when you know you're getting less for your money than you could get.

[@jackflash8567]

I want to pick up The Terminator since I’ve heard the original sound mix has been included. A first since VHS. That’s true right?

[@CraigSteelyard]

I was happy with quality of the terminators 4k release. And it finally included the original audio track.

[@ElliotCoen]

I'm glad you're happy with it, that's the important thing. I wish I could say the same! I just can't look past the AI upscaling.

[@turrican4d599]

James Cameron has lost his mind.

[@williamdriver1959]

@@ElliotCoenyour blowing it completely out of proportion

[@nathanthomas5133]

@@williamdriver1959 you’re 🤡

[@danieltuval8879]

I'm also really happy with it,I don't know how they got it to look as good as it did,but the end result looks good and that's all that should matter

[@Salfordian]

Only found out recently Cary Grant was English

[@kevinpascual]

“Let’s play chess.”

[@extofer]

Just want to add another comment regarding James Cameron. For someone that is often said to be a perfectionist, his stance on his own films regarding AI are very strange. Of course he’s not without his flaws even when it comes to directing. Personally I don’t really care for Avatar, but I did watch a video recently on KZbin about the lengths he went to ensure the score to Avatar was perfect and unique and unlike any other sound you’d hear in a major Hollywood movie. But in the end he went back on his own words and had James Horner create what is essentially a standard major Hollywood action movie score. That gives me more insight into how he is perceived by people vs how he really is. I also can’t help but feel that his rude comments about collectors were framed by the poorly worded question he was answering. The Hollywood Reporter journalist asking him about these upgrades didn’t mention AI specifically - which is the prime offender here. Sure we all can debate color grading/timing and proper grain structure until pigs fly but I have a strong suspicion that he perceived the question to be about those things and not about AI. Cameron specifically calls out grain structure in his answer and says the final transfer is done by the same guy he’s had do it for years. This also reads to me as someone that is used to getting this kind of question off the record and being irked and giving a smartass response. It’s just unfortunate all around. A better journalist would have asked him specifically about AI and how it alters the actual details of the film as you mentioned in this video. A better journalist would have shown him the problematic screen shots of the AI artifacts. Anyway sorry about the long winded comment. I always think there’s always some nuance that can be applied to these kinds of things.

[@ElliotCoen]

Thanks for the great comment and I agree that he could have been asked that question in a better way. It would be great to hear him address the AI stuff in detail and make his case for it.

[@neiltaylor6645]

When they realise these older films on 4K disks it depends on what the original image looked like if it looks 💩 it will look even worse in 4K

[@dr.impossibleofcounterpunc1984]

I'm watching The Terminator 4K on Saturday, thanks to a friend who has a decent set up. He's already seen the hybrid 4K, and his views about it don't sound particularly good. He feels the image has far too much enhanced sharpness and the overprocessing is a stretch to far in places, plus some shots during night seem to be causing issues with Artificial Intelligence being applied. I'm already dreading having to watch another 4K hybrid with overly sharp image and issues with AI. But of course, you are best ignored and told that you're concerns aren't worth mentioning, because you know nothing. There's plenty of You Tube channels spouting nonsense about these 4K hybrid discs, and plenty of followers who just agree with everything the chief says. Anyone raising concerns is instantly mocked.

[@IncognitoChild]

Before Cameron told everybody to go and live in their mum's basements he went to great lengths to promote and highlight the effort that went into his laserdisc releases of some of his classic films even to the point of telling you how to set up your equipment to get the best viewing experience possible. Now it seems he doesn't care and when you call him out he just insults you. Great director, just a bit of a s*** head human being 😭

[@brbaic9364]

It's wild with how meticulous and groundbreaking Cameron is with creating film tech for his films for theaters, how he fumbles so hard very consistently with the physical releases of them. Also with Blazing Saddles, it's funny to me how more often than not, the people clamoring "This couldn't be made today", are usually the kinds of people/characters the movie is making fun of.

[@ImmortalRimas]

James Cameron obviously is ashamed of the type of filmmaking that he made his name on despite it being superior to the bland soulless digital film making we have now. He’s like that one person who used to be a great friend but because they’ve been away at a douchebag college where they think they got better friends now but they are the worst and never talk to their old friends again. Very sad indeed

[@mouldyseagull887]

Gee, I wonder which is the bad one...

[@grkdude405]

I thought Terminator looked amazing

[@TheStOne1]

But it doesn't look RIGHT.

[@jekw23]

Terminator is one of those films that benefits from a grimy grainy look. The future scenes in particular look dirtier and more grim. I really don’t need that film looking clean. T2 looked worse as the future looked too clean for scenes showing the human race about to go out forever.

[@heartofcinema3454]

I don't think the terminator restoration looks that bad in the first 5 mins, admittedly I haven't watched the whole thing yet. Could have been far worse.

[@darkomilicevic9900]

I understand your point about restoration and I agree with you, but the thing is there is no set parameters how restoration should look. Different people will have same movie restored differently. I prefer more “original “ look but I am not expert. Honestly I didn’t have issue how Terminator looked but I am also trying more and more to watch movie and not to look for imperfections. I am also glad that some of my 4Ks don’t look like some of newer films that I saw on opening day, IMAX is pretty good but otherwise is hit and miss. Great video.👍

[@jamespotter3660]

Good reviews. In some way the mess of the 4k edition of Terminator is pretty fitting when you consider the mess of the legacy in general. It should have been left as a standalone movie in the first place. All the ensuing iterations are nonsensical brain soup.

[@Louis_Mazzini]

Totally agree. Judgement Day is a pretty good action film, but I don't think it's in anything like the same class as the original, which is a bona fide classic: It's a superb Michael Biehn film, rather than an Arnold Schwarzenegger romp.

[@aljen181]

And somehow Titanic looks fantastic. True Lies has to be the worst of the bunch.

[@86compgeek]

I watched the 4K of Terminator and thought it looked tremendous.

[@ElliotCoen]

I’m happy that you had a great time with it!

[@86compgeek]

@ElliotCoen Do you really mean that, mate?

[@ElliotCoen]

@@86compgeekof course, why wouldn’t I?

[@86compgeek]

@@ElliotCoen I thought it may have been sarcastic.

[@SWATTECHNOLOGIES]

There are two views we can take for Cameron "restorations". One is a cinephile view, whereby we look for the presentation of original intent and presentation. For that, Cameron falls short. The second view is whether these restorations IMPROVE the presentation to the average viewer that buys these disks. That answer is unequivocally yes. So it is rather simple that a purist won't care for it and the other 96% of people will love it.

[@TheStOne1]

I don't think there's any improvement either... This remasters are lazy a.f. general people like them because they don't know better. Periodt.

[@WarBrer247]

Elliot, I’m curious, what BluRay/TV combo do you use to watch movies?

[@ElliotCoen]

Hi. I use an Oppo UDP 203 as my player and an LG B6 OLED 65 inch. Due an upgrade soon as these have been treating me well for years now!

[@turrican4d599]

@@ElliotCoen Finally you will be able to watch HDR

[@WarBrer247]

@@ElliotCoen Still a good little combo for sure. I pair a Sony x-700(for region 2) and a PS5 with a 48 in. C3 in my computer/media room.

[@WarBrer247]

Hopefully once next years models are announced and the prices for this year's models drop, I'll surprise the wife so she can watch her programs and such on either a B4 or a C4 instead of the Samsung in the LR.

[@ElliotCoen]

@@turrican4d599errr my setup already is HDR capable. Not sure what you mean!

[@Mister-Smith-6079]

So regarding "The Terminator", if its only an "Upscale" of the 2K scan, (from years ago) then it SHOULD NOT be advertised as 4K. This means they have FAILED to go back to Original Camera Negatives and scan them in 4K. So it SHOULD NOT be advertised as 4K. Its basically a lie, and VERY misleading. You cannot "Upscale" 2K into 4K.... You have to GO BACK to the Camera Negative (that were in the camera at the time of production) and scan that to 4K... What a RIP OFF!!! So LAZY!! I am disgusted with James Cameron because its that grain and slightly "clunky" stop-motion aspect that MAKES THE FILIM!! Ugh!

[@spaceodds1985]

North By Northwest is a masterpiece. Bond before Bond (cinematically anyway) Rewatched Blazing Saddles earlier this year and honestly I didn’t and never found this film all that funny. In fact I found it really boring. Nowhere near as good as The Producer. As for The Terminator, great film, divisive release. What’s more after seeing this in 35mm I simply cannot watch any other release. The grain structure and the detail on that print was amazing. Cameron is a total moron and with the exception of Titanic and possibly The Abyss, all his other films have suffered in restoration. True Lies was a travesty, a great film but the release was dire with horrid plastic faces and a dire Dolby Atmos track.

[@condo0073]

Wow, the terminator feedback shocks me. It's almost been universally liked

[@ElliotCoen]

I haven't paid much attention to other reviews so I'm quite shocked to hear that it's been so loved. I would have thought there'd be some major pushback against obvious use of AI upscaling in a 4K restoration from an old 2K master! Thanks for watching anyway :)

[@RiFFi1955]

Most forums are split, some people actually like it and some think it's another Cameron fail, just to a lesser extent than others(myself included). Definitely not universally admired.

[@orsonguelles]

@@ElliotCoen Why are you so sure it is an old 2K master?

[@condo0073]

@RiFFi1955 I'd disagree with that. I think overall, it's been overwhelming well received when you compare the numbers. Like I said, I was shocked to see the negativity here. But at the end of the day, it's subjective. I thought it looked gorgeous. 9/10. As long as you don't take a magnifying glass to each pixel in the background.

[@ElliotCoen]

@@orsonguelles because JC has done it before! I also don’t believe the evidence is in the presentation to signify a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. Probably too much work for them with effects shots too!

[@letstalkcriterion]

Not sure if I watched the same Terminator 4k as you as it looked brilliant on my OLED.

[@ElliotCoen]

I’m sure it is the same as I don’t think there’s more than one 4K version out there currently! I would have thought you’d spot some of the AI wonkiness from how many films you watch :)

[@letstalkcriterion]

@@ElliotCoen I think it might be that two camps are forming now revisionist and purist and I think I'm still on fence a bit, I need to take a side. I was more annoyed with the excessive grain on the Good Fellas 4K 4K emphassied that, I'm sure if they revisited that now it would look much better. I wish Cameron was the only one employing this AI technolocy but he's not e.g. Peter Jackson and we can expect more of this to better and lesser effect.

[@darrenblizzard3851]

James Cameron the director fro. Fje

[@dav1dpri0r]

I thought terminator looked woeful. Very waxy faces.

[@orsonguelles]

Buy a better TV and turn NR off.

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

There was absolutely no waxyness in my copy

[@dav1dpri0r]

@@orsonguelles TV doesn't have an issue with other 4k's and noise reduction is always switched off.

[@orsonguelles]

@@ApolloT-vp5dn Too bad @davidprior8 got the only copy with very waxy faces.

[@borger9952]

The Terminator 4K has never ever looked better.... Blazing Saddles looks worse than the Blu-ray. North by Northwest is actually spectacular.

[@ElliotCoen]

Blazing Saddles looks worse than the Blu-ray? Come on… how?!

[@jhberg17]

Terminator and North By Northwest looked great.

[@sirducksworthythe3rd842]

Terminator is on e the goid ones

[@GJarr2]

It seems that you are an outlier on this film. The vast majority of reviewers have given this a glowing review. Some of these are from professional people i.e. projectionists, colourists, and restorers. I thought that this was a great looking transfer.

[@TheStOne1]

It seems like there's still some honest reviewers who don't get paid to praise bad practices like these so-called "restorations" made of AI and lies.

[@FluffyBear555]

It seems like everyone has an opinion (mostly negative) on what filmmakers like James Cameron and George Lucas have done with their more modern releases of some very beloved titles. I have a couple of thoughts on this. One, if your don’t like how these 4K releases have been done, then don’t buy them and maybe this will send a message to the studios that there isn’t a market for restorations like these. Two, I think that these versions are how these filmmakers want their films to look like, and would probably have make them to look just like this had the technology been available at the time they produced them. They did the best with what they had at the time and those are the original versions that folks fondly remember. It seems that there are two different philosophies in play here. One sees preserving the films exactly as they were at the time of their release, and another that would like to see the films as the filmmakers would like them to have made them with today’s technology. If this latest 4K release is how James Cameron thinks The Terminator is supposed to look like, I’m on board with that and will watch the latest release with that in mind. However, I can appreciate the desire to restore and preserve the film as it was when it was released. I am hopeful there is a way we can have both options.

[@ElliotCoen]

I think you sum it very well at the end there. I’d be happy with Cameron doing whatever he wants to the film if we could have a second version done the good old fashioned way! And sadly, the ‘don’t buy it if you don’t agree’ approach doesn’t work. These releases often make their money back on pre-orders and first week sales. Me not buying it won’t be a drop in the ocean unfortunately! Thank you for the great comment and for watching :)

[@reveriestandard]

@@ElliotCoen not to mention I hardly think AI upscaling errors and artifacts in the background are "part of the filmmakers vision" this is simply a cost cutting method, I'm sure James Cameron wouldn't tolerate these kinds of mistakes and artifacts in his new films, but it's clear he isn't really invested in the original Terminator.

[@FluffyBear555]

@@reveriestandard You bring up a good point about AI upscaling and artifacts, and I agree that they could not possibly be part of the filmmaker’s artistic intent. I believe you are correct about those being the price that is paid to get closer to the filmmaker’s vision at the lowest cost. In an ideal world, it would be nice to get a nice 4K scan of the original camera negative that is simply repaired and cleaned up with proper color grading without the use of AI and/or upscaling. I appreciate the idea of filmmakers enhancing and improving their movies to be closer to their artistic vision, but if this results in noticeable artifacts that distract from becoming immersed in the film, then perhaps the so-called improvements are anything but. I also agree that those that those that refuse to buy these new version will have little effect on sales. There are more than enough folks (me included) that will pre-order these in the hopes of getting the best video and audio experience from these classics.

[@VIDEOgameDROME]

Cameron is just lazy. 2K AI upscale. Just scan the original negative in 4K for f sakes!

[@Sabaki]

My opinion on the Terminator transfer is 180deg different to yours. I absolutely loved it I’m not sure why people would want DVD quality on a 4K transfer. If the director feels today’s technology can realize the vision he wanted for the movie, then who is anyone to believe their opinion should be the right one? No disrespect, I guess we all have our opinions

[@ElliotCoen]

Never said I want DVD quality! I want a 4K scan of the original camera negative absent of AI effects and noise reduction. The same sort of quality you'll find on many excellent 4K discs out there.

[@Sabaki]

@@ElliotCoenbut what’s the point of the 4K if you’re not correcting IQ issues?

[@shannontnutt]

You may not like the Terminator transfer, but it’s NOT a 2K upscale. It’s been created from a 4K scan. This has been CONFIRMED by Warner Bros.

[@jester852]

Nein es ist eine 2K upscale Veröffentlichung

[@ElliotCoen]

And those are some fine words but I think there's evidence to suggest otherwise. If it walks like a duck, etc. Regardless of whether the source is 2K or 4K, my issue is what's been done after the fact.

[@shannontnutt]

It IS 4K, unless you’re calling Warners liars.

[@TheStOne1]

@@shannontnuttof course they are lying...

[@TheFellCloud]

I think your tolerance for the AI upscaling of Terminator depends on your home theatre. If you have smaller than 55” screen with no hdr and a mid range sound capability I’d say the Blu-ray is probably fine and possibly more faithful to the original film. But if you’ve got 55”+ OLED with some good surround then to hell with nitpicking cuz this movie looked and sounded incredible. I loved it so much I watched it twice. Aliens looked like shiny plastic garbage on my setup but Terminator looked amazing.

[@wxman2003]

Terminator looks impressive.Anyone who says otherwise, really has no clue.