The Birds -- Digital Projection

[Roscoe]

Posted: 9/20/12 at 10:26am

I went to see THE BIRDS last night, in a special one-night only event sponsored by Turner Classic Movies, they do this from time to time with classics like CASABLANCA and SINGIN IN THE RAIN. It had an introduction by Robert Osborne and some interviews with cast members like Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette and Tippi Hedren. Great movie, it still works, especially on a big screen.

The problem was that the digital projection left a lot to be desired. A whole lot. I was expecting this to be one of those really nicely cleaned up versions of a film that they make such a fuss about. Frankly, it looked like a third-generation VHS dupe was being projected. The low-light levels in some of those scenes, especially the final moments set during an overcast daybreak, were virtually unwatchable  it looked like Rod Taylor had shoe polish on his face throughout the last few minutes of the film, and the color was washed out completely. When I got home I put on my old DVD just for comparison, and it was like night and day. Even the battered print on that DVD at least seemed to have been successfully color-timed.

Im wondering if it was just the system at the theater I attended (a the 42nd Street NYC AMC theater, which doesnt bode well for the upcoming LAWRENCE OF ARABIA screening) or was it all over the country. Did anyone else go?