I decided to dig up my old PAL DVD of the theatrical cut of Blood Simple as well as my Blu-ray copy of the Director's Cut to compare the look and sound of both versions.
I was struck by how different the two versions look. The Blu-ray is far too bright and low-contrast, which kind of diminishes the noir feel of the film. The DVD is sourced from a print (there are cue marks at the reel changes), so I think it's safe to say it's more in line with how it looked theatrically.
Here are some screenshots:
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD1.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/sExB55VHu61eB3WoXTdF8w/47160/471595324/BD1.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD1.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/b13vTFBKVKAGvuEdKUdSUA/47160/471595336/DVD1.jpg)
Quick regrade test
![[Image: RG1.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/kZlUSJ56iUvE40_POQVIcg/47160/471595346/RG1.jpg)
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD2.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/3kJOOuaUb0DXjVzn3qHJTg/47160/471595327/BD2.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD2.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/Rrn9k30P2IPLs8SuVwqvkg/47160/471595337/DVD2.jpg)
Quick regrade test
![[Image: RG2.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/LpLmVRaBut6Y8i560ThN8Q/47160/471595348/RG2.jpg)
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD3.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/bfBdBMmAYiyKFrcxCZIDRg/47160/471595330/BD3.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD3.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/TxQWx374aoCymVWEnoJJfw/47160/471595341/DVD3.jpg)
I also compared a couple of shots from the trailer:
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD4.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/1hMQ4St5GRlTraK_GRk7Ig/47160/471595332/BD4.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD4.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/EjMb4DUWh5JySs_-I3-Zfg/47160/471595342/DVD4.jpg)
Trailer
![[Image: TR4.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/9Iw5OoPqKw6FrneqYc93-w/47160/471595351/TR4.jpg)
As you can see, the DVD and the trailer match almost exactly.
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD5.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/YEwwbKRN7-vmBNftNpF87A/47160/471595333/BD5.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD5.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/Lg8QyVQ2nk7i8rF5SHXDmg/47160/471595344/DVD5.jpg)
Trailer
![[Image: TR5.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/4XslQ_Kgs7mRUSc0R7hlHA/47160/471595354/TR5.jpg)
Here the trailer has slightly stronger blue tint than the DVD, but it's a much closer match than the Blu-ray.
The two sound mixes also sound drastically different. I feel it's kind of a similar situation as with The Terminator. The film originally had a charming lo-fi crummy sounding mono mix, but the Blu-ray has this new fancypants remix with an all new foley track. The DVD does have the original mix, but I would like to get my hands on the Laserdisc to sync the audio to the Blu-ray.
So, what do you guys think? Anyone here who would like to see this regrade?
I was struck by how different the two versions look. The Blu-ray is far too bright and low-contrast, which kind of diminishes the noir feel of the film. The DVD is sourced from a print (there are cue marks at the reel changes), so I think it's safe to say it's more in line with how it looked theatrically.
Here are some screenshots:
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD1.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/sExB55VHu61eB3WoXTdF8w/47160/471595324/BD1.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD1.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/b13vTFBKVKAGvuEdKUdSUA/47160/471595336/DVD1.jpg)
Quick regrade test
![[Image: RG1.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/kZlUSJ56iUvE40_POQVIcg/47160/471595346/RG1.jpg)
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD2.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/3kJOOuaUb0DXjVzn3qHJTg/47160/471595327/BD2.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD2.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/Rrn9k30P2IPLs8SuVwqvkg/47160/471595337/DVD2.jpg)
Quick regrade test
![[Image: RG2.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/LpLmVRaBut6Y8i560ThN8Q/47160/471595348/RG2.jpg)
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD3.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/bfBdBMmAYiyKFrcxCZIDRg/47160/471595330/BD3.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD3.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/TxQWx374aoCymVWEnoJJfw/47160/471595341/DVD3.jpg)
I also compared a couple of shots from the trailer:
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD4.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/1hMQ4St5GRlTraK_GRk7Ig/47160/471595332/BD4.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD4.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/EjMb4DUWh5JySs_-I3-Zfg/47160/471595342/DVD4.jpg)
Trailer
![[Image: TR4.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/9Iw5OoPqKw6FrneqYc93-w/47160/471595351/TR4.jpg)
As you can see, the DVD and the trailer match almost exactly.
Blu-ray
![[Image: BD5.jpg]](http://105.imagebam.com/download/YEwwbKRN7-vmBNftNpF87A/47160/471595333/BD5.jpg)
DVD
![[Image: DVD5.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/Lg8QyVQ2nk7i8rF5SHXDmg/47160/471595344/DVD5.jpg)
Trailer
![[Image: TR5.jpg]](http://114.imagebam.com/download/4XslQ_Kgs7mRUSc0R7hlHA/47160/471595354/TR5.jpg)
Here the trailer has slightly stronger blue tint than the DVD, but it's a much closer match than the Blu-ray.
The two sound mixes also sound drastically different. I feel it's kind of a similar situation as with The Terminator. The film originally had a charming lo-fi crummy sounding mono mix, but the Blu-ray has this new fancypants remix with an all new foley track. The DVD does have the original mix, but I would like to get my hands on the Laserdisc to sync the audio to the Blu-ray.
So, what do you guys think? Anyone here who would like to see this regrade?