Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/607566
www.postmagazine.com 34 POST NOVEMBER 2015 landmark sword-and-sandals epic, a breakthrough documen- tary that made American history come alive, a sparkling movie musical, and a cult favorite, all reissued the way their directors envisioned them — all are back in newly-restored versions to engage and delight audiences. SPARTACUS Universal Pictures Home Entertainment marked the 55th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick's legendary Spartacus with an extensive new restoration for the Blu-ray release of the tale of slave-turned-rev- olutionary. The film won four Academy Awards and introduced the defiant phrase of solidarity, "I am Spartacus!" to the lexicon. New York-based archivist Robert A. Harris, who helmed the 1989 analog res- toration of the film, joined Peter Schade, vice president of content management at NBCUniversal, for the project. "The time was right," says Harris. "We did everything we could in 4K, including creating new archival film assets, and it's gorgeous!" Spartacus was shot in Technirama, and NBCUniversal acquired FilmLight's Northlight 2 scanner to scan the origi- nal 8-perf negative. "We have Spirit and Arri scanners, but because Spartacus is 8-perf horizontal, not every scanner can handle it. Northlight can," Schade ex- plains. Scanning began in October 2014, and the project wrapped last July. Video and audio restoration was done by NBCUniversal StudioPost on the Universal lot. "The advantage of having all these capabilities on the lot meant we were all aware of each other's work; it really made everything run smoother," Schade says. StudioPost used an array of tools to handle dirt, scratches, fixes and image stability. MTI Film's Nova software was deployed for dust busting; Autodesk A BY CHRISTINE BUNISH Picture and sound restoration safeguards iconic titles, old and new, for the next generation of viewers Restoring FILMMAKERS' VISIONS