The DNR Debate
June 21, 2008
A DVD Talk review I did for new Blu-ray disc of The Longest Day has been accessed a lot recently by an interesting website called AV Science Forum. The gist of the debate there concerns one aspect of the high-def mastering process called digital noise reduction, or DNR.
Basically, DNR as I understand it has two functions: to make video compression easier and to eliminate film grain. The folks over at AV Science Forum are pretty much up in arms over The Longest Day, saying that the DNR work has made the image look singularly unnatural - almost like a painting, or a cartoon, or a computer-generated image.
Although I was generally knocked out by the quality of the image, I can also see their point. It raises two issues, one having to do with the widespread ignorance of consumers, DVD reviewers and, for that matter, home video department personnel about what reasonably can be expected of older catalog titles in a high-def world. The second issue concerns the basic dichotomy between film buffs and videophiles: Video is Video and Film is Film, and never the twain shall meet.
Basically I’m coming from a different perspective than probably just about everyone over at AV Science Forum, and probably a lot of the people posting over at the similar Home Theater Forum. My perspective is as that of a film historian who knows a thing or two about film: I’ve shot film (in 8- and 16mm), I’ve projected film, and know a fair amount about film production and cinematographic technologies and their histories, and having worked at MGM’s Technical Services Department for several years, know about film and sound elements, and have a pretty good general sense about the work that goes into tracking down original elements and preparing them for remastering.
In the case of The Longest Day, I’ve also had the opportunity to see the film in 35mm within the last 10 years or so, plus I have seen a lot of other black and white CinemaScope movies in 35mm from the same general period, late-1950s to mid-’60s, so when I look at something like the Blu-ray presentation it’s with a pretty good frame of reference.
Ultimately though, it’s what looks good to the naked eye. I can look at, say, an HD DVD of The Searchers and remark, “This looks outstanding!” with some authority because I’ve seen that film probably at least 20 times over the years, multiple times in 35mm, 16mm, laserdisc, VHS and probably even CED format, and also know the advantages and some of the problems in trying to remaster a film shot in the VistaVision format, as that was. Conversely, having seen Spartacus in 70mm on Detroit’s Fox Theater’s 90-foot-wide screen, I can vouch that Universal’s HD DVD of that looks like crap!
Sometimes it seems hardcore videophiles don’t have these frames of reference, only the immediate, most-high-end aspects of current home video technology. Forget having a background in film; many of these guys don’t remember when all big screen TVs delivered pictures that looked like they were being projected by big Christmas lights through an algae-filled aquarium. Their cup may be half-empty, but mine’s more than half-full. Looking at the latest slate of Fox and MGM-owned war epics, I’m continually amazed how closely one can recreate the 35mm theatrical experience (as opposed to watching “a video”) in the comfort of one’s own home.
That said, in selling high-def to a hesitant public I do think the studios are pushing DNR too hard, as if movies aren’t supposed to have grain. Of course they are – that’s what film is! In the case The Longest Day, I really think at least part of the problem has to do with the way it was shot; even in 35mm it always had a harsh, strong-contrast look and maybe the DNR work exaggerates this even more.
But as more and more new movies use CGI effects as a crutch – and count me among the few who strongly dislikes almost all CGI visual effects - I am concerned that my favorite pre-1980 movies will start looking like Peter Jackson’s King Kong. Perhaps an ominous sign of this are stories I’m hearing from old colleagues at MGM about the work being done to the classic James Bond titles. It was probably two years ago now that one former colleague told me about seeing the Lowry’d (I think it was them) work on Dr. No and From Russia with Love- two titles due out on Blu-ray this fall – and he was saying way back then the elimination of grain also made the film and the faces look unnatural. An ominous sign of things to come?
