Happiness Is Happiness On 4k

If you've read The New Yorker recently, you know things are not looking great for Solondz's upcoming Love Child shoot.  Very disheartening.  But one can't be too depressed in the summer when he just got the high def debuts of Storytelling and Happiness.  Because this week, Criterion has given us the first anamorphic release of Happiness is three versions: a full-on UHD/ BD combo-pack, just the BD by itself, and a DVD edition.  So let's compare the very best against what was previously available.

1999 Trimark DVD top; 2024 Criterion BD mid; 2024 Criterion UHD bottom.

Quick Note: UHD shots appear darker in this blog because they're made for devices displaying higher nits.  If you click through to the full-sized, uncompressed graphic on an HDR device (like an imac); it'll display correctly.  Otherwise, just take it on faith that the colors look better than they appear here.  But their increased resolution will still be clear.

Critically, the Trimark DVD (and the Lions Gate reissue and all other DVD releases around the world) are non-anamorphic, meaning they weren't made for widescreen TVs.  I left the negative space around the first set of shots to show what they'd look like on any modern set.  So getting a 16x9 anamorphically enhanced picture alone is a major, sorely needed upgrade.  A smaller, but still welcome improvement, is that the aspect ratio has been corrected from 1.83:1 to 1.85:1.  A small tweak, and it actually tightens the framing rather than revealing more picture, but it's always nice to get the original composition exactly right.

The color correction is a bigger gain; with Criterion's new image looking more natural and no longer overcast by inappropriate hues (skin tones are a bit red in that first shot, and everything's a bit green in the second DVD screen grab).  And of course, the jump to HD is substantial.  Fine detail looks out of focus on the DVD, with unwelcome compression noise replaced by authentic film grain.  It's even better on the triple-layer UHD, but I have to say, it's a surprisingly strong encode on the 1080p BD, too, so it holds its own even against the higher generation disc.

Both releases offer the original stereo track with optional English subtitles, but the audio is bumped up to lossless DTS-HD on Criterion's discs.  Trimark did also include Spanish and French subtitles, which Criterion drops, though, if anybody out there cares about that.  And of course, all previous Happiness releases were barebones, apart from the trailer and a handful of bonus trailers.  Criterion now offers an all new, 40+ interview with Solondz himself.  And there's a nice, roughly 15 minute talk with star Dylan Baker.  The trailer's still here, and Criterion's release also includes a fold-out booklet with an essay by Bruce Wagner (Writer of Maps To the Stars and Scenes From the Class Struggle In Beverly Hills).  So obviously I recommend this, in a "why haven't you already run out and got this" kind of way.  Enjoy it, because it may be a longer wait for Love Child than we though.

Storytelling DVD/ Blu-ray Comparison

It's here!  So let's do another DVDExotica-style comparison of the brand new Storytelling blu-ray from Shout Factory, and the previous DVD edition from New Line Cinema, which up 'till this week, had still been the best version available.  At least it was anamorphic, which is more than you can say for the old Happiness DVD, which will also be getting its HD upgrade soon enough.

2002 New Line DVD top; 2024 Shout Factory BD bottom.

Wow!  It looks like somebody just turned the lights on.  Shout Factory has just given this film a new 2k restoration, but that color correction is definitely the first thing you notice.  There's a world of difference.  New Line's DVD is also slightly window-boxed to 1.82:1, which Shout corrects to a properly letterboxed 1.85:1.  This new scan actually reveals a little more info around all four edges, but especially the left and right.  The jump to high def definitely clarifies new detail - I can finally read "30 DAY ORGANIZER" on the calendar behind the actors in the first set of shots, and film grain may be a little soft now, but the DVD couldn't even begin to process it; so it's a series of big leaps forward in terms of PQ.

2002 New Line DVD.

The one thing I guess we lost, technically, was the optional fullscreen version the DVD threw in.  It has slight curiosity value, I guess, for opening up the mattes and revealing a lot more of the top and bottom of the picture.  But it also cuts off the sides, and of course, is completely improperly framed and spoils the intended compositions.  Honestly, as consumers, we're better off without these confusing the marketplace.

Both discs offer the Dolby 2.0 stereo track and a 5.1 remix, which I believe was created for the DVD.  Shout's edition bumps up both tracks to lossless DTS-HD.  And both discs off optional English subtitles.

The only extras the DVD are the trailer and the infamous "red box" censored scene.  The DVD also gave you the option, if you were so perversely inclined, to watch the film with the scene censored, in both full and widescreen.  So yes, the DVD had four transfers crammed onto one disc.

The blu-ray has the trailer and the red box scene, too, but only presents the film uncut.  And honestly, that's just as well.  The blu also goes the highly appreciated extra distance of conducting new, on-camera interviews with the cinematographer Frederick Elmes and the composer Nathaon Larson.  So I don't know if that quite qualifies it as a full-on special edition, but it's considerably more value added to a new BD that was already a major upgrade.  This is an absolute must-have for any serious Solondz fan.

Happiness Coming In 4k from Criterion!

Holy cow - it's finally happening!  Criterion is releasing Happiness on BD and UHD on September 24th.  Yes, we're jumping all the way from a tragically non-anamorphic DVD to 4k Ultra HD.  Extras-wise, I wouldn't exactly call it over-loaded, but it's got new interviews with Solondz (by Charlotte Wells, director of Aftersun) and Dylan Baker, plus a booklet and all.

But just being able to fire up Happiness and watch it without feeling like you're watching an illicit Youtube upload from 2006 is going to be revolutionary.  And getting this right on the heels of Storytelling's blu-ray debut?  It's gonna be a hot Solondz summer, baby!

Storytelling Blu-ray This Summer!

Here's some good news - Storytelling is getting restored in HD and released on blu-ray this summer!  Specifically, it's scheduled to come out on July 9th from Shout Factory.  It's getting a new 2k scan from the interpositive with uncompressed 5.1 and 2.0 audio tracks and optional English subtitles.

Will it have extras?  Yes!  There will be brand-new on-camera interviews with the cinematographer Frederick Elmes and the composer Nathaon Larson, as well as the censored "red box" scene and theatrical trailer.  So we can finally toss our DVDs and make room for a new, high def version of Storytelling!