I spent all afternoon working on MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION. First I watched the movie proper. Mostly beautiful transfer at the proper ratio (2:1) with light to moderate grain structure very similar to the grain structure in IMITATION OF LIFE. I only saw a couple of places where the registration of the Technicolor went off and one brief shot where it looks like they were using an old dupe or something which was soft, faded, and weird surrounded by all that lush Technicolor and clarity in the other shots.
I had seen the 1954 version several times before, and it's never been my favorite Sirk. I like all of his other Rock Hudson pictures better than this one, and, of course, IMITATION OF LIFE is in a class by itself for lush, over-the-top melodrama. MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION is SO noble and earnest. It's just not much fun to watch, and honestly, I don't have the tear-streaked emotional reaction to it that I have to other similar melodramas.