Good news for anyone who’s ever longed to see every single pore on George Costanza’s face, all nine seasons of Seinfeld are going to be released on 4K Blu-ray this December, conveniently just in time for Festivus.
While this would normally be a cause for celebration within the Seinfeld fan community, a lot of people have expressed trepidation concerning the release — and not just because it will cost a whopping $250. Initially, fans were worried about which aspect ratio the 4K disc version of the show will be in.
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Netflix’s 4K Seinfeld upgrade, not unlike the HD remaster that aired on TBS, re-framed and cropped the original boxy image to accommodate modern widescreen TVs. But in doing so, they arguably ruined certain jokes, including a key reveal in “The Pothole.”
Even more jarring was the moment when Jerry discovers that Poppie has pissed on his sofa in “The Couch.” Here’s how it played when the episode first aired on TV:
In Netflix’s widescreen version, they edited in a blatantly manufactured close-up shot of the pee stain because it wasn’t clearly visible in the cropped wide shot, which completely throws off the subtle timing of the reveal.
Sony
Sony
Complaints over similar issues with The Simpsons prompted Disney+ to eventually offer viewers the option of selecting the original aspect ratio instead of the cropped one, but Netflix never provided Seinfeld fans with a similar choice.
Thankfully, the new 4K Blu-ray, from all accounts, will feature the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. But it will only be released as a “limited edition,” whereas the standard Blu-ray set that’s also coming out in December will only be the 1.78:1 widescreen for some odd reason.
But the aspect ratio is only one concern. Netflix’s “all-new 4K scan” of Seinfeld employed fresh color correction that looks distinctly different from the original show. For instance, in the version that’s on Netflix, Jerry’s apartment looks way greener, as if he’s in a late ‘90s David Fincher movie.
Sony
Sony
I mean, what’s the deal with Netflix removing red hues from all the scenes?
Sony
Sony
It’s easy to miss when you’re watching the show on Netflix with nothing to compare it to, but looking at the two color gradings side-by-side, it seems pretty clear that the Netflix version has more of a Matrix sequel vibe than what we first saw on TV.
Seeing as the upcoming 4K release is restoring the original aspect ratio, presumably that also means that we’re getting an entirely new scan (Seinfeld was originally shot on 35mm film) that could better resemble the color palette of the show when it was first broadcast.
For $250, the least they can do is make Seinfeld look like Seinfeld.
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