Here is the second clip of ‘Manos’ in high definition.
“Manos: The Hands of Fate” (Clip #2) from Manos in HD on Vimeo.
This section shows a bit of the kind of damage we still have to clean up. The orange blur near the end is actually a light leak from the camera and exists on every copy of the film, though it is much more prominent without cropping.
On the left, the new 2k transfer. On the right is the one that can be seen on Alpha Video / Shout Factory / Internet Archive, etc. I left out the dissolves this time so that some of the heads and tails could be seen.
It is amazing how much detail can be seen in this HD print. Amazing job!
I say leave the light leak in; it’s like the shots in “Lawrence of Arabia” where the desert heat caused cracks in the negative while shooting. I think that I read an interview with Grover Crisp stating that those won’t be removed from the new 8k restoration being done on that film, so you could leave the light leak in “Manos”. This is perhaps the only time LoA and “Manos” can be mentioned in the same comment!
Fantastic work; I cannot wait until the finished product is shown in its full glory including the updated sound and fixed images.
The “light leak” was most likely caused by them filming to the very end of the film reel, which always tends to have light streaks. I used to have to deal with these in film classes in college. However, in this case, I think it works, since the angle of the shot makes it look like it’s actually the fire in the lair and not just a “light leak”.