2020-10-11
Part of a series: Exploring the “Poirot” restoration
[This post contains tons of spoilers about this episode], but it won’t spoil other ones.
In the video clips below, the pre-restoration versions are on the left, and the restored versions are on the right. The videos are HD and they’re best in fullscreen!
“The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly” is brightly lit for most of the episode, which lets the restoration shine.
As a first example, the restoration’s pretty much better in every way in this clip – it’s sharper, the colors are a bit deeper… It’s the same mood but clearer.
Miss Lemon is typing in a crisp, clean, brightly-lit office. We’re looking at her typewriter and it’s easier to see interesting details in the restoration.
Same here with Hastings’s car as they go for a sunny drive:
Even, in some cases, the paintings on the wall are clearer. (Though I have to say that I prefer some of the shadows of the house pre-restoration here):
Don’t worry, though: most of the time both versions have clear views of the art:
Even when there are some pretty big color changes (e.g. swapping blue for orange again), in my opinion either one works!:
However, not all is perfect…
Nighttime
For some of these, I had to laugh. Apparently in the restoration, Poirot sleeps with a floodlight under his bed:
(Best in fullscreen!)
The intense yellow and brightness don’t make sense to me visually in these two, either:
Painterliness
And here we come to the hardest-to-define section. Sometimes the pre-restoration just looks nicer to me. Often it feels more well-composed, like an interesting painting. Often that’s because of the color palette. But these are all much more subjective than “it’s too bright!”, “it’s much sharper!”, etc.
Last time I talked about the benefit – sometimes – of colors that seem to flow into each other. Check out how his hat, the uniform of the officer behind him, and his jacket seem to blend together, while we focus on the expressions on his face. The pre-restoration version pulls me into its world, while the restored version feels more artificial: an actor, a hat, and a background. (Fullscreen really helps on this one): You can see it a bit in the wide shot as well: To me, Hastings feels more part of his environment pre-restoration (and his face is a bit less waxy): Same here, there’s less separation between Hastings and the world he’s in:
Miss Lemon’s door
There’s only one super-short clip in this section but it’s going to keep coming up so I’ll put it here now: the door to Miss Lemon’s office looks distractingly flimsy to me in the restoration. Pre-restoration I see glass; in the restoration I see plastic.
Ending on an ambiguous note
Continuing the habit from last week, I’ll end on a couple open-to-interpretation examples.
Two of these were originally in my “look how nice the restoration is” section but I had second thoughts.
(Fullscreen again!) The car closer to us is sharper in the restoration but pre-restoration it’s more nicely uncomplicated. After letting it loop a couple times I think I find the restoration a little too visually busy.
Most of this one is clearer and nicer in the restoration, but I prefer the reddish wood of the pre-restoration (wood changing color is a common theme), and the shadows on the end of the desk and on the stacks of papers.
There are pros and cons to each again here, but some of the reddish wood has lost its color again, and color-wise pre-restoration feels more like a candlelit dinner. The restoration is definitely crisper, though. If I had to pick one I’d probably go for the restored version on this clip.
That’s all for Johnie Waverly; see you next week!
Last week: “Murder in the Mews”
Next week: “Four and Twenty Blackbirds”