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Remaster Class

Hollywood classics finally get the high-definition treatment

By: Les Shu; Photograph courtesy of Warner Bros./The Kobal Collection
Published: August 2008   [ Updated: Aug 22, 2008 - 12:29:52 PM ]

Ever wonder why it's nearly impossible to get a movie filmed before 1980 in high definition? It's because Hollywood has had to remaster all of its old negatives. Studios often shot on cheap film to save on production costs, and many negatives have faded as they've aged, according to George Feltenstein, who oversees Warner Home Video's theatrical catalog. In order to transfer a vintage title into high definition, studios must digitize the movie by sending the film through mammoth-size scanners that don't touch the negative's fragile sprocket holes. Technicians then spend hundreds of hours meticulously restoring colors frame by frame, while other specialists remove obstructions such as dirt, hair, and lint. The painstaking process averages about two years per film but results in remastered movies so clear that suddenly—as in the John Wayne Western Rio  Bravo—indistinguishable backgrounds turn into detailed mountain ranges. And now that Blu-ray has usurped HD-DVD as the dominant high-definition DVD format, Hollywood has gone into overdrive to restore its classics. Here is the first wave of major films that are ready to be added to your collection.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
When Bonnie fondles Clyde's pistol in an early bank robbery, you can spot nicks on his gun that weren't previously recognizable. While everything looks better in this version of Bonnie and Clyde, nothing looks quite as good as Faye Dunaway, easily the sexiest bank robber in Hollywood's history.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Costumes look infinitely better in high definition. Bet you didn't know, for instance, that Paul Newman and Robert Redford's jackets in Butch Cassidy were corduroy. The fabric's grooves simply weren't clear in earlier versions of the film. Grays stand out better in high definition too. Cinematographer Conrad Hall filmed much of the movie in the shadows, but now you'll be able to clearly spot each character's facial expression beneath his hat.

How the West Was Won (1962)
Shot with three cameras for curved widescreen Cinerama theaters, the film required three projectors in the booth—and seven assistants. But when it was edited for TV, the alignment of the negatives caused distracting "join lines" for viewers. To eliminate them for the Blu-ray release, technicians digitally stitched the panels together. They also added a panoramic-like version dubbed SmileBox, which replicates the original Cinerama experience.

Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Luke's painful prison surroundings become so clean and crisp in high definition that they add to his abuse by making the environment even more claustrophobic. The restoration enhances the film's most enduring scene, when Luke somehow manages to swallow 50 hard-boiled eggs in an hour, so much so that you can clearly distinguish yolks from whites.

Patton (1970)
Filmed on 65 mm film instead of 35 mm, Patton's larger negatives provided technicians a better source for the transfer to high definition. In the film's opening sequence, in which Patton delivers the famous words "No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country," you'll notice George C. Scott's fake eyebrows as well as beads trickling down his powdered face. Hard core.  

Dirty Harry (1971)
While retaining the grittiness of Inspector Harry Callahan's San Francisco, technicians were able to eliminate fading and deliver a brighter and clearer picture. Check out the scenes from the Haight-Ashbury district, in particular. The added detail is also visible at the flick's climax. After Callahan drops Scorpio with his .44 Magnum, he tosses his badge into the riverbed, where you'll notice fine grains of sand.