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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Solo Complaints/Criticisms of Solo

Discussion in 'Anthology' started by MotivateR5D4, May 25, 2018.

  1. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Honestly, watch the Solo behind the scenes features, read and listen to all of Young’s commentary on Solo, and look at period films of his like Selma. You’ll come out of that knowing that Solo’s look is a 100% deliberate choice. And if you haven’t watched Solo on Blu-ray, it’s worth it as a lot of cinema projectors couldn’t handle Young’s style and it sometimes projected much darker than the film actually looked. So what looked like a mistake on some big screens is clearly not on the small screen.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2019
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  2. 3sm1r

    3sm1r Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2017
    @Bor Mullet I posted a very short segment of the interview few messages ago. He kind of acknowledges that it might be disturbing for some viewers. He says "intense".
     
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  3. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Got it. Yeah, that’s a good one. The BTS videos with him are also very illuminating. Or not illuminating, given how dark his sets are. :)

    Yes, I made that joke. I’ll be here all night.

    ETA: But in that post I think you’re missing the point of what we’re saying. We’re not saying you have to like that style. We’re simply saying it was deliberate. It mostly works for me, but I prefer the more naturalistic look of Rogue One. In my view, Greig Fraser is a much better DP than Bradford Young. But yeah, if you don’t like it, then it will be “bad.” But it’s deliberately that way. And I think Young is defending it because he knows that the audience for Solo is much, much bigger than for most of his films which have a more niche audience (with some being of interest mostly just to cinephiles). So he’s smart, and knows he’s talking to a general audience that isn’t used to that kind of lighting in their blockbusters.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2019
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  4. Frisco

    Frisco Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Jan 21, 2019
    As her audition demonstrates, the titular character could've been better cast ...

    [​IMG]
     
  5. V-2

    V-2 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 10, 2012
    @Bor Mullet
    I've not seen the film since seeing it at the cinema and I have no plans to buy a copy, but just out of interest, is there a negative word said by anyone on the commentary? If so, what?

    In my experience newly released films tend not to have very honest commentaries and supporting material. They're still in the promotion phase, so everything is wonderful and oh what a lovely time was had by all.

    Also, you seem to be defending the lighting when the grading is under attack. They're not the same. Considering the problems the film had with sacked directors, reshoots, tonal conflict, and varying quality, the obvious 'fix it in post' solution was to filter everything to look as uniform as possible. Hence the cheap B-movie splurge of murkiness.
     
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  6. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    Of course not. But again, I’m taking about intentionality not negativity vs. positivity. And I’ve talked about both lighting and filters/ grading. The point is simple. You absolutely don’t have to like Young’s lighting and grading style in Solo. But it’s definitely intentional when you look at his commentary about both lighting and grading to achieve a grungy 70s look, the BTS set footage of him lighting scenes, AND Young’s filmography, where you note he prefers dark, muted, muddy grading. He’s even said explicitly that that’s his signature look.

    Secondly, if you only saw Solo in the cinema, that may be a major issue behind your experience. Multiple theaters across the world were reported to have issues probecting Solo properly. I went to one, for example, where everything was sharp and clear, and another where I could barely see anything in a number of scenes on Corellia and Kessel.

    Then at home, with the digital version, Blu-Ray and DVD, it looks perfect. The grading is no longer oppressive, it’s sharp, and you can see a lot more. It really looks miles better.

    That said, I do think LFL failed to accommodate cinemas that had projectors that couldn’t accurately capture Young’s style. So yeah. Someone on the team didn’t anticipate the issue, and it’s led to a lot of complaints about overly-dark projections of that movie. Haven’t heard even one complaint about the home release, in contrast.

    You don’t have to buy it. But I’d suggest renting it just to see the dramatic difference. It’s really a pretty good looking film.

    Though it can’t beat Rogue One’s masterful cinematography. Which is why Fraser is now DP on Villeneuve’s Dune remake...
     
  7. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 1, 2012
    [​IMG]
     
  8. 3sm1r

    3sm1r Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 27, 2017
    @Count Yubnub
    That gif stopped being funny after the first 100 times it was randomly used.
     
  9. Count Yubnub

    Count Yubnub Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 1, 2012
    As I'm sure you well know, it wasn't intended to be funny, nor was my use of it random.
     
  10. V-2

    V-2 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 10, 2012
    ...So it was the cinema's fault that it looked so bad? Okay.

    The home video version might have actually fixed that problem, but the people who bought it are obviously not a representative sample. I don't know many people who buy the DVD of the film they don't like.

    And renting? What is this, 1998?
     
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  11. 3sm1r

    3sm1r Force Ghost star 6

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    Dec 27, 2017
    @V-2
    It is too dark on YouTube.
     
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  12. 11-4D

    11-4D Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2015
    Okay so I rewatched it on my bluray a while back and I kept noticing these "pause for laughter" moments throughout the movie. After a character says something funny there's a pause where mainly Han doesn't respond for a couple of seconds so he can give them a funny facial expression and allow the audience to laugh.

    "Does she have sharp teeth?"
    *weird pause while Han does a facial expression*

    "Or blow us all straight to hell!"
    *weird pause while Han does a facial expression*
     
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  13. TCF-1138

    TCF-1138 Anthology/Fan Films/NSA Mod & Ewok Enthusiast star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    It was some cinemas' fault that it looked too dark. I saw the film twice in the theater, and on the first showing I could see everything perfectly fine. On the second showing (at a different theater) the screen was so dark that I could hardly make out anything that was happening in some scenes.
    This is something that seems to have happened everywhere, since many people are describing the same thing.
     
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  14. V-2

    V-2 Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Dec 10, 2012
    Does it change anything if I tell you I thought TFA, RO and TLJ look too dark too? Perhaps murk is just the new orange and teal.
     
  15. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

    Registered:
    Apr 6, 2018
    I didn’t say that. I said that a lot of cinemas had problems projecting Solo the way it was meant to be seen, while it looked great at other cinemas. That’s the experience of a lot of fans, including here. And as I said, LFL should have anticipated the issue and perhaps prepared different versions for some cinemas. So I didn’t lay the blame with cinemas. I swear, it’s like...you don’t care enough to read what I’ve actually written. If that’s the case, let me know.

    As for renting...um, it’s a pretty normal thing to do on streaming services like Amazon Prime. Probably for $4.99 or something. I rent movies I don’t want to own all the time.

    Just watch it on Blu-ray, or streaming, and then it’ll be easier to have a rational conversation about it. Otherwise, we may as well bash our heads against the wall. A collective head-bashing.
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2019
  16. Pro Scoundrel

    Pro Scoundrel New Films Expert At Modding Casual star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2012
    Yes, it is the complaint thread, but the above was a clear bait at people who like the film. It's kinda hard to cry foul when you drop a comment like that.

    And for those of you who are defenders of the film, just like in the ST criticism thread, it's not a good idea to set up camp in a thread that you disagree with the very premise of. Don't forget the point of the thread.
     
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  17. Outsourced

    Outsourced Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 10, 2017
    ...Yeah.

    Because that's literally the point of that scene. It's even a plot point. No one notices that Beckett and crew roll in with stolen uniforms because the offensive is in complete disarray. Doesn't Han even ask "Where are we going"?
     
  18. 3sm1r

    3sm1r Force Ghost star 6

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    Dec 27, 2017
    I would agree if it was the only scene in which I had issues, but this is not the case. It was a constant in the whole movie, with maybe the exception of the beach in which they bring the coaxium.
     
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  19. Outsourced

    Outsourced Force Ghost star 5

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    Apr 10, 2017
    I'm only talking about that one scene.
     
  20. 3sm1r

    3sm1r Force Ghost star 6

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    Dec 27, 2017
    There are other movies in which the sense of confusion and alienation of war are very well realized, without having people complaining about the lighting.
     
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  21. Outsourced

    Outsourced Force Ghost star 5

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    Apr 10, 2017
    There are. But I think the lighting in that scene is fine when it comes to what it's trying to convey,
     
  22. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

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    Apr 6, 2018
    OK. And then there’s this movie where the confusion of war is portrayed differently than in those movies...
     
  23. 3sm1r

    3sm1r Force Ghost star 6

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    Dec 27, 2017
    ... with very questionable results
     
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  24. Bor Mullet

    Bor Mullet Force Ghost star 7

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    Apr 6, 2018
    I admit it's not how I would light, dress or grade such a scene. But again, take a look at the Blu-ray. The difference between it and the poor cinema projections I saw are like night and day/
     
    Last edited: Feb 16, 2019
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  25. AndyLGR

    AndyLGR Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 1, 2014
    The main gripe I had watching it for the first time and since is the Kessell mines, it looks too set bound, like something from a TV set in Star Trek.
     
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