A low tolerance for high definition

A witty piece from The Guardian on the harsh reality of HD - where "skin blemishes and hairpieces vie for unwanted attention".

"There are some things we were never meant to see. Now, thanks to high definition technology, we can see them only too clearly.

Films suddenly become more detailed, more textured to a distracting level. Pages of dialogue fly by, important plotlines and revelations go unnoticed as you spend minutes staring at the fabric of costumes, the wallpaper, even the hair. Try watching any of the remastered Star Trek original series without having your eyes continually locked on Shatner's dubious hairline.

The camera may add a few pounds but under HD it adds a few years as well. I watched the standard DVD of No Country For Old Men then saw Tommy Lee Jones again in the Blu-ray of In The Valley Of Elah, two films made in the same year. In the first, Jones looked merely craggy, in the second, it was as if putrefaction had set in.

On a big enough screen, HD offers a dizzying level of detail. It's hard to know what you are supposed to be looking at when everything looks so wonderful."

emily | 8:55 AM | Offbeat |
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