The Stranger - new restoration for 80th anniversary

[Wellesnet]

‘The Stranger’ getting 80th anniversary restoration:
https://wellesnet.com/stranger-restorat ... 1nzmMCEJew

[sherbert]

Great news, if true! The Stranger is the only one of Welles’ completed films that doesn’t yet have a truly first rate home video version.

The Kino (based on the Library of Congress print) and Olive (based on the MGM print) blu rays are both OK, but both prints are pretty badly damaged. The Kino is probably the better overall, but the last half hour or so is marred by horribly distracting vertical scratches down the right side of the screen. Even if the original negatives haven’t surfaced, a better print or even a cleanup of the existing prints would be wonderful.

The film itself is better than its reputation suggests and is certainly ripe for rediscovery.

[edmoney]

Great news, if true! The Stranger is the only one of Welles’ completed films that doesn’t yet have a truly first rate home video version.

The Kino (based on the Library of Congress print) and Olive (based on the MGM print) blu rays are both OK, but both prints are pretty badly damaged. The Kino is probably the better overall, but the last half hour or so is marred by horribly distracting vertical scratches down the right side of the screen. Even if the original negatives haven’t surfaced, a better print or even a cleanup of the existing prints would be wonderful.

The film itself is better than its reputation suggests and is certainly ripe for rediscovery.

I largely agree with what you said, but of the two Blu-ray versions we currently have, I would give the nod to the Olive. Here are the notes I took when I previously did a comparison of the two:

Olive is probably visually preferable because Kino seems to have brightness too high, leading to washed out look with milky blacks and blooming whites. Kino also shows significantly more damage marks. Kino seems to maybe have more detail than Olive, but it's probably because Kino is artificially sharpened. Olive overall looks more filmic and natural.

Olive is missing a few seconds at end (Edward G. Robinson smoking his pipe) before end credits, but it's also said Kino is missing a shot (scene?) regarding ladder in the clock tower.

Kino maybe has better sound, as it sounds more open. Olive might sound muffled and closed in, but I didn't do proper volume-matched comparison.

[Roger Ryan]

... Kino seems to maybe have more detail than Olive, but it's probably because Kino is artificially sharpened...

I believe the increase in detail and sharpness in the Kino version is due to the fact that the transfer comes at least one generation closer to the original negative than the Olive release did (as well as all other home video releases). The archival Library of Congress print used for the Kino release appears to be one that was screened theatrically during the initial run in 1946 when the film was being distributed by RKO Pictures (as identified by the RKO credit superimposed over the final shot of Robinson). I suspect the subsequent re-release in the early 50s by Independent Release Corporation used an inferior dupe of the original RKO distributed film where the final shot of Robinson was truncated to avoid showing the RKO credit. This re-release version is the source of the Olive release.

Both versions are, indeed, compromised as the print used for the Kino release has considerable scratches and missing frames (including a full 25 seconds missing from the scene of Kindler sabotaging the ladder - fortunately, enough of this footage is retained that the viewer understands the action) while the Olive version (and MGM version before that) has the softer, muddier image and truncates the last shot. Despite the damage, I prefer the Kino release for the greater detail, but it now looks like we'll have a significantly better option with the Cinémathèque française restoration. The clip embedded on the Cinémathèque's website has The Stranger looking better than I've ever seen it before.

[edmoney]

... Kino seems to maybe have more detail than Olive, but it's probably because Kino is artificially sharpened...

I believe the increase in detail and sharpness in the Kino version is due to the fact that the transfer comes at least one generation closer to the original negative than the Olive release did (as well as all other home video releases). The archival Library of Congress print used for the Kino release appears to be one that was screened theatrically during the initial run in 1946 when the film was being distributed by RKO Pictures (as identified by the RKO credit superimposed over the final shot of Robinson). I suspect the subsequent re-release in the early 50s by Independent Release Corporation used an inferior dupe of the original RKO distributed film where the final shot of Robinson was truncated to avoid showing the RKO credit. This re-release version is the source of the Olive release.

Both versions are, indeed, compromised as the print used for the Kino release has considerable scratches and missing frames (including a full 25 seconds missing from the scene of Kindler sabotaging the ladder - fortunately, enough of this footage is retained that the viewer understands the action) while the Olive version (and MGM version before that) has the softer, muddier image and truncates the last shot. Despite the damage, I prefer the Kino release for the greater detail, but it now looks like we'll have a significantly better option with the Cinémathèque française restoration. The clip embedded on the Cinémathèque's website has The Stranger looking better than I've ever seen it before.

You're right - Kino does use a lower generation source than Olive does, and that would largely explain the increased detail. I do think, though, the Kino exhibits signs of over-aggressive digital tinkering (giving it a somewhat harsher look) and improper color grading. Thankfully, choosing between the two will soon be less relevant if a new disc comes to market, as the Cinémathèque française restoration evidenced in the clip surpasses them both and looks quite nice.

[cinescot]

Great news.

Was the original camera negative for The Stranger not considered lost? I'm interested to know how it was rediscovered.

[tonyw]

Technical issues aside, I believe it is important for the new material to have a feature on the original screenplay and how the studio ruined this to make THE STRANGER appear choppy so much so that Welles rejected it and most other critics followed his lead. One we have access to the intended original version then everything falls into place along with the other Gothic components Welles's uses in addition to Loretta Young's accomplished performance. We must also remember that during this time the U.S. began to use low profile war criminals in its Cold War battle against its former ally and to suggest that one of them is welcome in an isolated New England community would cause concern. Remember that the Bannisters and Grisby are suggested American Nazis in THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI. Welles saw the writing on the wall in more than one sense resulting in his flight to Europe.