Feature: Remastering the Classics

Feature by Joseph Floro Photos by Mark Rawlings Layout by Matthew McCabe… Feature by Joseph Floro Photos by Mark Rawlings Layout by Matthew McCabe

OK, movie buffs, this question is for you: Where’s the best place to see Ingmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal?” If you guessed the Melwood Screening Room here in Oakland, you’re correct. If you guessed your living room, you’d be correct as well, provided you’ve got the latest re-release.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers programs several small theaters in the Pittsburgh area, including the Melwood Screening Room in North Oakland and the Harris Theater Downtown. These theaters are owned by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and screen many restored prints of old films, ranging from the classic to the obscure. Some films screened recently include “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Citizen Kane” and “The Seventh Seal.” The schedule of films rotates regularly, so Pittsburgh Filmmakers is always showing something you haven’t seen – at least not for a few decades.

Gary Kaboly, the director of exhibition at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, programs the films these theaters screen. According to Kaboly, there is no one specific demographic of people who come see these older restored films.

“Film buffs are the main group of people who come. However, it’s not limited to 20-, 30- or 40-year-olds. The people viewing these films are driven by the content of the film, meaning [screenings] appeal to all ages,” said Kaboly in a recent telephone interview. “These film screenings usually fill up. There hasn’t been an empty screening for years. Just last Monday we showed a really obscure Russian film. One hundred people came to see it.”

While Pittsburgh Filmmakers tries to program different films for every genre, many people would still rather watch the same movie in the comfort of their own homes.

For the average movie viewer, buying a DVD is a no-brainer. Viewers don’t care what version of the movie the DVD contains nor whether it is fullscreen or widescreen. Picking up the newest release at Wal-Mart or Best Buy has become second nature to many people.

But for the avid film collector, buying the correct version of Akira Kurosawa’s “The Seven Samurai” can be a matter of life or severe disappointment.

“Special Editions?” “The Criterion Collection?” “Definitive Ultimate Super Collector’s Extravaganza?” Selecting the most definitive version of a film might be baffling, but slapping on these superlatives is usually more than a money-making scam – re-mastering older films is a pretty complex process.

Typically, a film is re-released on DVD because the first version is inadequate by today’s standards. The video and sound quality of the original DVDs of the late ’90s suffers in comparison to the releases of today.

It used to be that most foreign films, B-movies and other flicks not aimed at a commercial market were thrown onto a cheap DVD without much thought given to quality. Without a proper transfer to DVD, these films would never see mass production because of the sub-par quality of the original master.

People don’t want to buy films lacking in audio and visual quality, and remastering the classics can be quite an expenditure on the part of a film company, but in terms of preserving the film and contributing to its longevity, the investment is well worth it.

Adam Lowenstein, a professor of film studies at the Pitt, believes in the importance of re-releasing older, rarer films on DVD.

“In an age when digital production and distribution recasts the face of cinema for better and worse, it is vitally important that films from the pre-digital era remain accessible for a wide viewing public,” Lowenstein said. “There is just no substitute for this awareness of the medium’s history and aesthetics.”

One enterprise that “saves” these older, artistic films is a company known as Criterion. The Criterion Collection, as well as its partner, Janus Films, has been re-mastering and re-releasing older films for 24 years now. The Criterion Collection includes films from varied time periods, directors and genres, ranging from Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless” to Michael Bay’s “Armageddon.”

There are currently 428 Criterion Collection DVDs, and more are released every month. All of these films receive a new high-definition transfer, new audio tracks and often a second disc of special features.

But re-releasing a film on DVD is the last step of a long process. To do it, the original master must be replaced with a newer one.

According to Criterion’s website, a new digital master is created from the old film negative using the latest video and sound technology. Film negatives are the highest quality film prints out there, which is why most directors choose to work with the negatives of their films when editing.

This new digital master replaces the old film one. Films that have been selected to be re-released and were mastered digitally a few years ago get the newest high-definition treatment, further enhancing the quality of the film. The audio and soundtrack of the film is also remastered electronically using the latest sound equipment.

Once all of these elements are in place, a producer is selected to put the DVD together, usually the people who made the film (and the first DVD) in the first place. Extra features such as directors’ or producers’ commentaries, interviews with the cast and theatrical trailers are added at this point.

According to Joshua Demaree, a sophomore film studies major, it’s extremely important not only to put the films out on DVD but to do a thorough job as well.

“They need to be re-released well,” Demaree said. So why do companies go through the trouble of re-releasing films already available to the public?

Without Criterion, these films would stay cloaked in obscurity, known only to the elite film scholars and self-taught film buffs of the world. Criterion makes these previously hard-to-find films affordable and as easily obtainable as the latest blockbuster DVD release. The DVDs range from $20 to $45, depending on how many discs come with the film, as well as whether or not the film comes in a set.

While online stores such as Amazon and Deep Discount DVD are your best place to get these re-releases, more traditional stories such as Best Buy carry them too. A warning: expect to pay more money and have more trouble finding the film you want at a retail store. Best Buy, for example, only carries 26 of the 428 Criterion films. But if Criterion makes these films available to the public on DVD, why is it so important that older films continue to screen in theaters?

According to Kaboly, “There are many reasons why people come [to theaters] to see these films. First, it enables people to see these classic works of art on the big screen the way they were meant to be seen. There’s a comfort level because everyone is there for the same reason. A lot of people stay after and hold discussions about the film, something you just can’t do at a multiplex theater.”

Demaree noted, “We live in a society of Hollywood sequels and remakes. People need access to the films that inspired the films of today.” Criterion DVD releases aside, it seems that theater screenings of older films are here to stay.

“Even a big-screen television doesn’t compare to a theater with a full crowd,” said Kaboly. “A lot of people want to get together and see films. It’s in our blood, this longing to go off into another world and lose yourself in the story.”