00:00The first step in any Criterion DVD release is to secure the best available film elements for digital transfer.
00:12For Il Posto, Criterion obtained the original camera negative restored by Cineteca Bologna
00:17for the film's anniversary screening at the 55th Cannes Film Festival in May 2002.
00:22The transfer was recorded in high definition on a Cintel C-Reality Telecine at LVR Laboratories in Rome.
00:34The footage you see here represents the condition of the negative prior to additional digital restoration.
00:39Note the wear and tear it has accumulated since the film's initial release in 1961,
00:44which is evident in the amount of chemical stains and debris,
00:47but most intrusively, the continuous vertical scratches, seen here.
00:53Scratches like these are among the most difficult challenges for even the best restoration tools used today.
01:06Taking advantage of cutting-edge technology, Criterion employed Cintel's proprietary digital wet-gate system,
01:11known as OLIVER, to reduce these signs of damage.
01:14In this split-screen image, note the striking difference between pre- and post-OLIVER treated footage.
01:32To understand how OLIVER works, it is helpful to know a little bit about the physical properties of film.
01:36All film images are sandwiched between two protective coatings.
01:48Light rays during the development process are reduced or reflected by surface damage to either or both of these layers,
01:55resulting in a printed image that can be marred by scratches and debris.
01:59A traditional chemical wet-gate process is an intermediate step used when creating new prints from original or duplication negatives.
02:06In chemical wet-gate processing, the negative is bathed in a liquid chemical solution that masks surface damage,
02:12which allows light to travel unimpeded in the printing procedure, resulting in a cleaner picture.
02:18For real-time use during the transfer process, Cintel has developed OLIVER, a digital wet-gate system based on the same principle.
02:26Oliver collects the reduced light rays and recombines them to produce an original, near-perfect image.
02:33In extreme cases, such as the one seen here, scratches penetrate the emulsion protection and physically damage the image.
02:41This damage, which appears only on the shot of the trolley and not on the footage intercut with it,
02:47most likely occurred during production, either in the camera or during the development of the negative,
02:52and cannot be repaired by the OLIVER alone.
02:56Using mathematical technology's dirt removal system, Criterion's restoration team digitally removed the scratches by hand,
03:02moving through the film literally frame by frame, a process that required several weeks,
03:07since each frame required dozens of individual fixes.
03:11As you can see, though the final result is not entirely scratch-free, the improvement is dramatic.
03:20Until very recently, many of the fixes made to Il Posto would not have been possible without destroying original characteristics of the film,
03:41such as the grain structure of the picture or the dynamic range of the sound.
03:45Fortunately, digital restoration systems continue to improve,
03:50and international labs have redoubled their efforts to preserve and restore the actual film elements.
04:01As a result, Criterion is able to meet new challenges without sacrificing its essential commitment to reduce the distracting evidence of damage,
04:08without removing the fundamental qualities of the medium itself,
04:11to present films that look and sound like film.
04:14To me, if I give 35,000 lire a month, I'm happy.
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