James White on Restoring Movies for Arrow Films

This week, Sonny talks to James White, the Head of Restoration at Arrow Films. On this episode, we dive into the tricky nature of rescuing older films and getting them ready for appreciation on Blu-ray and UHD 4K. What is the actual mechanical process of restoring a film like? Beyond getting elements like the original negatives, how does James work with directors and cinematographers to make sure the color timing is right? What’s the deal with film grain? All that and more on this week’s episode!

By happy coincidence, Arrow happens to be having a sale right now. (I didn’t plan this, I swear!) But if you’re an American and own an out-of-region player, make sure to check out Arrow’s site for some great deals; Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, pictured above, is just £8, as is Time Bandits, about which James had a very funny story toward the end of this week’s pod. (Eight pounds is roughly eleven dollars at the moment, so it’s a good deal.) If you don’t have an out-of-region player, check out Diabolik DVD which has a bunch of their U.S. releases on sale now. Diabolik’s Jesse Nelson was a guest on this here podcast, and his store is really wonderful; if you pick anything up (like the Blu-ray of Why Don’t You Just Die, best described as Tarantino by way of Russia), tell him I sent you.