Is My Copy of Criterion Detour (1945) Blu-ray Defective? (1 Viewer)

[Classic Movie Fan]

I'm new here but a longtime lover of classic films. Could someone who has the new Criterion Blu-ray Disc of Detour (1945) please do me a quick favor by popping it in the player and checking something?

I'm seeing a slight jump in the video at time index 10:42 during the sentence, ". . . but we'll be together again someday" that Sue says to Al as they are standing talking in the fog. The jump occurs close to the word "again" in that sentence. It's as if a frame or two is missing at that spot (Sue's face moves back away from Al's a bit more abruptly than would look natural). The audio, however, is fine. I just want to make sure that my copy of the Blu-ray isn't defective. The restoration is incredible otherwise, so I was a little surprised to see this.

None of the popular reviewers who wrote about this release mentioned anything about this, so that's why I'm concerned about my particular copy. It's very minor, and if someone can confirm that he or she is seeing the same thing, I'm just going to forget about it.

Thanks.

 

[Robert Harris]

I'm new here but a longtime lover of classic films. Could someone who has the new Criterion Blu-ray Disc of Detour (1945) please do me a quick favor by popping it in the player and checking something?

I'm seeing a slight jump in the video at time index 10:42 during the sentence, ". . . but we'll be together again someday" that Sue says to Al as they are standing talking in the fog. The jump occurs close to the word "again" in that sentence. It's as if a frame or two is missing at that spot (Sue's face moves back away from Al's a bit more abruptly than would look natural). The audio, however, is fine. I just want to make sure that my copy of the Blu-ray isn't defective. The restoration is incredible otherwise, so I was a little surprised to see this.

None of the popular reviewers who wrote about this release mentioned anything about this, so that's why I'm concerned about my particular copy. It's very minor, and if someone can confirm that he or she is seeing the same thing, I'm just going to forget about it.

Thanks.

Could be that a frame or two is missing. In most cases they can be re-created. Did you scan frame by frame?

 

[Classic Movie Fan]

Could be that a frame or two is missing. In most cases they can be re-created. Did you scan frame by frame?

I'm just watching the disc on a normal Sony Blu-ray player that's about eight years old now. I don't know how to advance it frame by frame. I have checked the disc on another Blu-ray player, though, and both play it back exactly the same way (with the little jump in the video I mentioned--as if a frame or two is missing). Do you happen to have this disc? If so, can you confirm that the jump is there in your copy (again, the time index is 10:42)?

 

[Rob W]

Detour is streaming this week on the new Criterion channel and the same (very slight) jump is present in the transfer where you describe it.

 

[Classic Movie Fan]

Detour is streaming this week on the new Criterion channel and the same (very slight) jump is present in the transfer where you describe it.

Many thanks for the reply, Rob W. I really appreciate it. Now I can quit worrying about whether my disc is defective.

 

[obscurelabel]

Thomas, could you check this copy of Detour on YouTube and see if the same problem occurs? The line in question starts at 09:25 in this copy (I didn't see it myself but you have something to compare it to):

 

[DavidJ]

Detour is streaming this week on the new Criterion channel and the same (very slight) jump is present in the transfer where you describe it.

Off topic but is watching on your computer the only current way to watch the Criterion channel?

 

[Rob W]

Off topic but is watching on your computer the only current way to watch the Criterion channel?

Nope. Mine's on Apple TV in an app called VHX which you can download from the App Store.

 

[Classic Movie Fan]

Thomas, could you check this copy of Detour on YouTube and see if the same problem occurs? The line in question starts at 09:25 in this copy (I didn't see it myself but you have something to compare it to):

No, I don't see the slight jump in the video I was talking about in this YouTube video. This is clearly sourced from different elements, of course. The Criterion Blu-ray is sourced from the only major restoration that's ever been undertaken for Detour, from what I understand. It's a marvelous restoration overall, so that's why I was surprised to see that jump (and why I thought I might have a defective disc). I don't know whether it's something that got overlooked somehow or if it was simply unavoidable, given the elements used for the restoration.

 

[david hare]

It's in the 4K used by Criterion. This is the frame right after the splice. As you say the audio is continuous and unbroken. The shot is the last of five quite long single takes, each linked by optical wipes. This one runs from 10'15" to 11'14", one full minute. Clearly the restorers decided a splice for material damage was preferable to inserting the shot from a secondary element like the 16mm, esepcially given the top and tail were opticals.

 

[Classic Movie Fan]

It's in the 4K used by Criterion. This is the frame right after the splice. As you say the audio is continuous and unbroken. The shot is the last of five quite long single takes, each linked by optical wipes. This one runs from 10'15" to 11'14", one full minute. Clearly the restorers decided a splice for material damage was preferable to inserting the shot from a secondary element like the 16mm, esepcially given the top and tail were opticals. View attachment 56718

That's what I suspected. I want to emphasize again, though, how amazing this restoration is overall. I had been wishing for a restoration of Detour (1945) like this for many years.

 

[obscurelabel]

It's in the 4K used by Criterion. This is the frame right after the splice. As you say the audio is continuous and unbroken. The shot is the last of five quite long single takes, each linked by optical wipes. This one runs from 10'15" to 11'14", one full minute. Clearly the restorers decided a splice for material damage was preferable to inserting the shot from a secondary element like the 16mm, esepcially given the top and tail were opticals. View attachment 56718

I really wish that they could have added the frames back if they had them in any half-way presentable condition, even if 16mm. For me, nothing is more distracting than missing frames. Criterion's 8½ DVD (don't know about the blu-ray version) has one instance where a damaged frame from an obviously inferior source was added back for a (presumably missing) frame; this was somewhat jarring but at least I didn't feel that I was missing anything. But, just my personal preference.

I wonder if the restorers contacted Gary Tooze about his copy which is a 16mm print owned by Ann Savage, and which Gary believes is from the same source as the Image/Wade Williams 35mm copy (and which I believe is the source of the TCM copy that I posted earlier). The screenshots from Gary's copy look awfully good, you can see them on his dvdbeaver site. (I have no idea if he would have consented to it being used, or if it contains the frames in question).