Why shouldn’t we watch some movies in 4K quality?

Many viewers think that the higher the resolution number, the better the movie viewing experience. However, cinema and technology experts warn that 4K versions of some works are not only of poor quality, but can distort the original experience and be faithful to the creators’ vision.

In fact, many of these versions, instead of improving the visual quality, cause unwanted and unnecessary details to be revealed too much and change the atmosphere of the work. When making a film, decisions about make-up, set, camera angles and other details are made based on how the work will be seen by the audience, and filmmakers rely on the technological limitations of cinema and home televisions to balance cost and detail. Creating higher resolution or wider aspect ratio versions of the original negative can reveal details that are contrary to the creators’ intent.

This can cause stuntmen’s faces, matte paintings, prosthetics or other details to be revealed, and the cinematic feel of the work is lost, and what used to have a dreamlike quality that the audience could easily believe, now looks like a stage play. This change reduces the audience’s sense of immersion in the story, and the experience that should be natural and perfect becomes an artificial and unrealistic experience.

Films recorded on negatives have a natural texture (grain) that is an integral part of the visual effect. This texture creates problems for digital video, and services like Netflix have to remove it and simulate it to keep the look of the videos natural.

In 4K versions, this texture may be overexposed or, as in James Cameron’s “Aliens,” removed, causing audience dissatisfaction. Finally, DVD or Blu-ray releases usually have a better balance between image texture and other visual elements. This harmony makes the image not only look more natural, but also more consistent with the overall atmosphere of the film and preserves the sense of originality of the work.

Many users on internet forums have complained about colors being changed or HDR being added to videos that weren’t made for it. Even some 4K versions are enhanced using poor quality artificial intelligence, which adds artificial and unrealistic details to the image and leaves an undesirable result. Successfully recreating a classic movie in 4K quality requires skill, accurate understanding of the creators’ original vision, and most importantly, caution, and removing too much noise or manipulating special effects can destroy the audience’s viewing experience. A good version should be recreated as the audience remembers the film; Not as actually recorded. This process requires a lot of precision and the smallest change in color, light or image details can change the overall atmosphere of the film and destroy its original feeling.

This version (4K) should be upgraded in areas that help improve the experience, not in areas that reduce the quality of the work. However, in many cases the 4K versions are simply released as a way to attract collectors and are of a lower quality than the previous versions. This shows that many of these remakes are more commercial than artistic, and instead of respecting the originality of the work, they are simply looking for more sales.

For some audiences, older versions still provide the best movie viewing experience. For example, the DVD version of the movie “The Matrix” is a must-see for many, even if it differs in color from the newer versions. Also, the Blu-ray Extended Edition of “Terminator 2” is known as the best version, because the 4K version of this movie has many problems and its color change has completely changed the identity of the work.

The 1999 movie “Boxing Club” also depends heavily on the appearance of its texture. David Fincher is working on the 4K version of the film and is fully aware of the challenges of the process to get the restoration right. In the end, experts stress that any 4K version of an old work should be scrutinized with the utmost care, as many of these restorations distort the quality rather than enhance it.