Watch as I compare the color timing between the 1997 DVD, the 40th anniversary Bluray and the 2023 4K of “The Exorcist”. Music provided by: www.chosic.com...
The dvd is the same original color as my long lost laserdisc version. Thanks for putting this together. These re-imagined color palettes are getting out of control.
Excellent job, Modern Peasants. I agree almost entirely. Aside from the often downright hideous oversatch on 4K, what gets me is the blatantly waxy look on certain scenes. I shudder to think what DP Owen Roizman would make of this. (I recall him getting vocal about the first French Connection xfer debacle. 😳. So much that they corrected it). Anyway…You may recall you corrected me on my erroneous comments about the 25th anniversary Exorcist DVD matching the color of the original when it in fact was this 1997 one. Question is…where can I find it? I have looked since and no dice. After seeing this, I must own it! Thx again. Doing a real solid for us true fans! ✌️
Right now the 1997 DVD is sold out on amazon. But keep looking! Also try ebay and some other sites if you want. I lucked out a few weeks ago and snagged the last one the seller had on amazon. But I will keep looking for it and if I see it in stock I will post a link in the community section for you guys!
Holy SHIT has the 4K been color corrected out of this stratosphere! It's like EVERYTHING has been horribly sunburnt... I'm sticking to my original digibook Blu-ray from 2010.
its such a bummer that the 50th anniversary brought not only the death of William Friedkin and a crummy sequel but they even botched the 4k release. WB needs to just do a proper HD release of the original with correct colors throughout.
Thank you this comparison video, I wish more people would make them to compare different releases I think more people would then reach the logical conclusion that in many cases the good old DVD is preferable in the color department and that is super important to me, we're talking about movies after all not books so what's on screen is very crucial to my enjoyment. With 95% of modern productions, I spend more time being distracted by the grading attracting all attention thus yelling at the screen instead of paying attention to the story, it's ultimately destructive to one's own product as a filmmaker due to the crappy grading employed so frequently these days with yucky teal and other fake new shades passing for green, yellow, orange, etc. Just because certain tools are available, does not equal use them. I believe, one day we'll most likely conclude that we actually never had it better than DVD (we, being folks who know how authentic colors used to look not altered by college intern revisionists). Seriously, it's the most authentic look for films in terms of original color we're likely to ever get (for classic films) and on a good Blu-ray player upscaling the image I'm a happy camper, it's the best of all possible worlds. Yes, I realize DVD is a 2D flat picture while still being sharp where Blu-ray has better depth but I still prefer DVD due to the grading, besides a bit of dirt on an image never bothered me or most who grew up with that we don't demand a spotless picture to enjoy it, I don't anyway.
Also, the exorcism scene looks way scarier without the blue filters....the filters are not needed at all. How does a 1997 DVD or a 2013 blu ray look superior to a new 4K that came out in 2023? That makes zero sense. The shot of Merrin arriving at the house looks like someone dipped the film negative in Crayola blue paint, even the damn lamp light is smothered in blue..... it's not supposed to look like that lol. Now nothing pops out or is distinguishable in the image, it's all glopped together now as one blue mess.
I’m so happy I cancelled the 4K, it looks awful! Unfortunately that is the last DOP and director approved transfer, and will be the one used in the future since they’ve both checked out and cannot be dragged back into the editing room to do it the right way as they did with the second release of French Connection. I’ll be sticking with the Blu… Thank you for the comparison video!😊
If you listen to Ben Mankowitz, who introduced the fathom events screening of The Exorcist extended cut, Friedkin himself wanted the color boosted, especially in the Exorcism scenes, and said that would be what was being shown. In some ways, I dig the moodiness of the color. But what I would have liked was for the original theatrical version to retain the original color look and let the tweaking happen on the extended version. I foresee some fan doing a UHD and HD color timing on their own using the 97 disk as a guide and restoring the red WB zoom logo and offering it as a torrent.
I’m working on this very thing. Well, I doubt I’ll do UHD, but we’ll see. Just getting going. There are some impressively heinous things on the blu ray, like this nasty glow added to all the scenes with Damien’s mother, where detail is lost. Excited to see what I can do. Original cut, of course. That version you’ve never seen can go let Jesus fuck it.
@@dannyjorde2677 That makes sense. See I watched a DVD for 10 years before the bluray came out, so I was used to a more desaturated look. Which is why I think I dig this 1997 DVD. The exorcism scene on the DVD I had was not like the 1997 DVD though, it still had some blue tint. But I really like the warm tone of the 1997 exorcism scene. But yea, I totally get what you mean! Thanks for watching!
@@modernpeasants7 I also have the DVD version, which is one of the first editions that came out in Spain with the Director's Cut, I'm really fond of it.
Hello! Here are the reasons why I chose the winner of each round. Round 1 Iraq: I chose the bluray because the DVD is too desaturated and the sand in the 4K looks like cheeto dust. Round 2 Filming on campus: I chose the DVD because the bluray boosts the blue tones too much (this is a problem throughout the bluray) and the grass in the 4K looks crazy bright green. Round 3 The subway: I chose the DVD because its looks the most natural to me. The bluray has too much blue tint and the 4K looks like bladerunner 2049. Very unrealistic. Round 4 Chris meets Karras: I chose the DVD because the more natural tones of the clothes, greenery and the architecture. The bluray once again boosts blues too much and the 4K gives off a pink-ish tone. Round 5 Merrin Arrives: This explains itself 😂 Round 6 The Exorcism: I chose the DVD because the original intent of the film was to be documentary style and realistic as possible. This is also the same bedroom lighting in regans room in all other night scenes in the film. It wouldn’t make sense for it to be blue lighting all of a sudden in the end scene. The DVD provides the best continuity in terms of the bedroom’s lighting at night. The bluray has too much blue again and the 4K is bathed in blue-ish purple lighting.
@@LetsMakeGhosts The 1997 DVD is different from the 25th Anniversary. The 25th released one year later in 1998 and was the beginning of the blue tint in the exorcism scene. Thats the only differences I know of between the two. Some people/sites might have more details. This transfer is highly sought after due to the color timing of the exorcism scene it seems.
Why would warner bros approve such a horrible color grading for the 4k release? It's like they're joking with us. The 4k looks good on most of the scenes, but it's absurdly awful on the exorcism scenes. This amount of blue makes no sense. Even for the 40th anniversary blu-ray it didn't make much sense, but they managed to make it even worse now. Even the white highlights are blue now. Not to mention the BLUR they added. The purple cloth thing on Merrin's neck has a major color bleed and blur. The room and the exorcism looked a lot scarier in the original color grading from the 1997 DVD, the blue makes it look like a dreamy family friendly fantasy film. Now let's wait another 10 years to see if Warner or some boutique distributor like shout or criterion could redo the 4k transfer or maybe even use the same transfer but redo the color grading and rerelease this in the future.
Has to be a thing with Friedkin wanting the film to look a certain way, he approved of the more commonly seen blue tints. He was one of the legendary directors at the charge of wanting their classic films to look different, everything had to be digital.
I must say, I'm so glad I never jumped on the 4K bandwagon. For the most part, I find the grading on releases of classic movies to be utterly appalling with crazy teal everywhere that never played a prominent role in the image before or those muted orange skin tones on everybody, no thanks.
The 4K Version looks like a colorized black & white movie....so sad! I still got my warner flpper from 97....and this insult of an 4K 🙄....what a waste of money.
I’ve not got these 3 copies,I’ve got the British deluxe,leather bound bible boxed 4K and Blu-ray edition. Both the 4K and Blu-ray transfers are stunning. I’d rush out to your nearest Wallmart and buy it. Beware on 2000 printed worldwide. OOPS SORRY YOU CAN’T,THEY ARE’NT AVAILABLE IN NORTH AMERICA 😂😂😂😂😂
No disrespect to William (RIP) but I think these directors just have their own vision that is stuck in their heads till they day they pass. Same with James Cameron and Lucas. They can’t accept imperfections at all and frankly have OCD (Imo) They see the movie as vividly as they wanted it at the time of release and use modern tech to tweak it to their vision. The issue here is perspective. We know what the movie looks like and yet we don’t see what they see. This is the same of Wong Kar wai’s controversial re do Criterion set. I just don’t understand why we can’t just have an original negative transfer and then a “new version” option. That’s all. Sooo many movies have been lost and mangled due to studios and these directors wanting a, “modern” look. You cannot change what was done at the time. And I’m so glad I snagged what I feel was a last copy of the 97 DVD. The Saul bass logo and unaltered colors give it such a natural feel and give us that grounded atmosphere which makes the film so much scarier. This is simply a botched job and an insult to the original release. Studios don’t see movies as they are anymore, they see them as experiments and go on what they think current audiences want instead of passionate film fans. Warner and paramount are the worst at this. Sometimes they strike gold, other times they produce crap.
I prefer the Blu-ray for all shots up to the arrival of Merrin, at which point it becomes a big blue nightmare, and then I need the original color grade. The 4K is an atrocity. I don’t think it’s salvageable for me. Devastating.
From what I have read the 25th anniversary DVD was the first release to use blue tint in the exorcism scene which is not how it looked upon its theatrical release. The 1997 DVD seems to be the only DVD release without the blue tint. But, VHS releases prior to 1998 are colortimed just like the 1997 DVD if you cant get your hands on the 1997 DVD.
I have the 25th DVD, sadly it's blue too which I'd forgotten all about it being. I'm surprised this nonsense began even that long ago, I usually cite 2004 as the year it all went to hell in a handbasket for movies in general before that you'd still get natural looking lighting and color for the most part. I know, stuff like The Matrix (1999) and The Ring (2002) used weird grading early but most movies still felt natural until 2004 broke everything down going forward in Hollywood.
@@LarryFleetwood8675 Yes, I have it too and yesterday I reviewed it and verified the sad reality, the truth is I had the 1997 DVD but I sold it precisely to buy the 25th anniversary version for the mainly because of the extras, who was going to predict what would happen, the hope is that someone who has the 1997 dvd will share the ISO image
Glad I did not fork out money for yet another upgraded/updated copy of this film to add to the previous ones. I wouldn't call this color correcting, but color saturation. Anymore punching up of this film and it's going to resemble the old school technicolor Saturday morning Looney Toons cartoons. The color upgrade is not realistic. I saw the 50th anniversary screening recently at my local theater and was let down two ways, one...they opted to release The Version You Never Saw cut to celebrate this milestone occasion 🤷♂️ It's as if they're forcing this version as the definitive one and trying to bury the original theatrical released version, which is far superior. Two...these colors were so unnatural and distracting. The vomit no longer looked like green pea soup and more like the color of some Nickelodeon children's tv game show goop or slime. It was practically neon. I think it's time to put these cash grab versions back in a vault at Warner Bros. And only stick to the 1973 cut.
Not to goo *too* off-topic, but it's a weird state of affairs with the blue tinting on the 4K releases. Like with "The Shining", during the chase sequence in the snow-covered maze, the blue tinting (which Stanley Kubrick intentionally "turned up" on purpose when he did the color timing) has been toned down so that Jack and Danny's faces look more flesh-toned. I swear, WB is completely ruining these movies for this new format, and making them unwatchable.
Yea it has a very natural look. The bluray has good detail but the blues pop too much in it. Even the light hitting father karras’s hair looks blue on the bluray lol. Still a great transfer overall but in terms of color timing, the DVD is my fav.
The 4K Blu-ray is a mixed bag. I thought it looked fine for the most part. Where it suffers is the exorcist scenes towards the end of the film. It loses its advantage in clarity and the scenes are too blue. The Atmos track is pretty solid. With that said, I don't see myself going back to the Blu-ray or DVD ever again. I can live with the 4K Blu-ray.
Many scenes do look good on the 4K but when it misses, damn it misses lol. I chose scenes that I see the most issue with on the 4K. Thanks for watching!
What picture modes were these grabs taken in? That can make all the difference - I'm using a Warm 2 color temp and my display is adjusted correctly in Movie picture mode, so this film doesn't look like any of these screen grabs on my setup... it's a lot more neutral and far less super colorful and cool.
The dvd for the version you never seen and the 40th Anniversary blu-ray still look better than that 4K and all of that unnecessary blue can be distracting with it's inconsistencies. lol what a sh*tty year for The Exorcist!
@@nathanloggins1721 yes, the 2013 bluray is the best hi-def experience we have. I actually prefer the color timing of the 1997 DVD but it does suffer from low resolution. Sadly there is no perfect way to view this film. Each transfer has major issues in one respect or another.
I’ve not got these 3 copies,I’ve got the British deluxe,leather bound bible boxed 4K and Blu-ray edition. Both the 4K and Blu-ray transfers are stunning. I’d rush out to your nearest Wallmart and buy it. Beware on 2000 printed worldwide. OOPS SORRY YOU CAN’T,THEY ARE’NT AVAILABLE IN NORTH AMERICA 😂😂😂😂😂
It’s great in some areas but I find it too saturated and there has been DNR used in various places. It’s a very mixed bag. But if you love the film and want to own mutliple relesases, buy it.
It's a good thing I didn't buy the 4k version... The image is extremely dark and its bluish tint during the exorcism is even more disgusting than the first extended version that came out in 2001, which I wouldn't have thought possible. Definitely the first bluray version of 2010 fixed that factor a bit, although the tints were between green and blue. The best version by elimination in digital format is the 1997 DVD, nothing like its beautiful clear and sepia colors during the exorcism but if we get demanding the VHS and Beta of 1979 WCI HOME VIDEO have a coloration (although not sharpness or sound, everything That is to say) much prettier, it is the closest thing to the original cinema colors, probably very much in line with the 1979 LD.
Who wins? Well Britain of course,I’ve got the beautiful transfers of the 4k and Blu-ray versions in The Exorcist 4k Deluxe Leather Slipcase Steelbook (includes BFI Book) only 2000 made. I’m sorry to say the USA’s 4k version looks tacky 😂
So 🇬🇧 version on 4k is different? Why would that be the case? I’ve just bought it with a pile of 4ks to enjoy when my new player and 📺 arrives tomorrow. After watching this video, I now regret getting this disc, but are you saying the British and American ones look very different, colour-wise?
@@ToThePointCT it really is. It’s not as bad as my screenshots make it seem but it’s not far off. I have watched the 4K 10 times or more at this point just trying to adapt and I can’t. It looks too happy. I much prefer the less saturated, dreary look of previous releases. It adds to the documentary vibe the film is known for. The HDR here makes it seem too “movie” like. I would not buy it personally. I would stick with the 2013 bluray if you have it or the 1997 dvd. Thanks for watching!
