The Violent Years (1956) Jean Moorhead, Barbara Weeks, Art Millan – Agfa (Begagnad)

The Violent Years is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (Note: as can be seen in the screenshots accompanying this review, the transfer is actually in 1.78:1). This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Lasergraphics film scanner from the original 35mm camera negative. Anatomy of a Psycho is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (Note: this film, too, is also presented in 1.78:1). This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Lasergraphics film scanner from an original 35mm theatrical print. Color grading was performed with DaVinci Resolve. Every effort has been made to retain the original theatrical experience of the films. The monaural soundtracks were remastered using Pro Tools HD. The digital transfers were performed by the American Genre Film Archive in Austin, TX.

It's perhaps notable that there's no information in the above verbiage about restoration efforts (typically including the rote phrase of eliminating or minimizing thousands of instances of dirt, debris and other damage), for The Violent Years looks very much like a raw scan without much "tweaking" having been done. As such, the "basic data" here looks fine, with a generally nicely organic presentation and at least decent detail levels, but there is still a lot of damage to be seen. There are a number of different issues that crop up with fair regularity, including relatively minor issues like scratches, but then moving up the damage scale to things like chunks of frames missing, or indeed even entirely missing frames. This pretty recurrent damage may only add to the "charm" of the viewing experience for some viewers. There are noticeable variances in sharpness, brightness and contrast throughout the presentation, but the single biggest hurdle for some videophiles will probably be the recurrent age related wear and tear.