Colorizing old movies:

[ozymango]

If you've ever scene a copy of the restored hand-tinted version (with blood red!) of the silent Phantom of the Opera, accompanied by a great pipe organ and organist, you're in for a hair-raising experience!

Yes, very cool!

As luck would have it, I recently watched the original "Mighty Joe Young" (1949) on DVD and it's a B/W film, but near the end there's a scene that takes place at a building on fire -- and the entire sequence is tinted red. That was done orginally, and it's a neat touch. Also I believe in the original "The Portrait of Dorian Gray," the very last scene is in color?

So I like when films are restored to their original conditions; I'm not crazy about colorizing but if it's between having a film restored/colorized and me turning down the chroma, or not having a print released of the film at all ... I'll take the lesser of two evils.

But Scott touched on some of the qualities of B/W film stock versus color film or colorization -- the contrast levels in B/W film (lighting, shadow, etc.) are different from color, and so you can definitely "soften" a B/W print when you colorize it. So even if you turn down the color on your TV, the contrast can me somewhat "muted." You can lose a bit of crispness there.

At the same time, there are some color movies that I think look better in B/W! The original "Rocky," fr'instance -- both the lighting and the "mood" of the first film work very well in B/W. I first saw this movie when it came out in 1976, and thought it was pretty good, but saw it again on an old B/W set and it was even better! Looks much better in black and white.

[AlecWest]

For me, it would all depend on the movie. I've seen colorized versions of films that, to me, looked better than the BW version (Scrooge, 1951). For others, it was obvious that the techniques used by a cameraman were "meant" for BW ... and colorizing it was a net-loss in quality. I think I'd hate to see a colorized version of "Citizen Kane."

[ember]

A note: The first reel (and the end) of Wizard of Oz was NOT filmed in B&W.

It was filmed in Technicolor but in a sepia tone.

From here:
http://www.eskimo.com/~tiktok/faq12.html#19

The Kansas scenes were filmed in black and white as a contrast to the bright colors of Oz, and also as a way to translate to film a technique Baum and Denslow had used in the book, using different colors in the pictures to show different locations. It is not true at all that MGM ran out of money, and had to resort to black and white as a cost cutting measure. MGM was the biggest, richest movie studio of its day, and could easily afford to film Kansas in color if they chose to. For the initial theatrical release, the Kansas scenes were actually processed with a sepia wash, so that Kansas actually looked like it was brown and white. This process was not used again until a 1980s videodisk release, the 1989 video release, and the 1998 theatrical rerelease, so for many years Kansas actually was in black and white. Two instances of sepia remained, however, even during the black and white years: Dorothy's entrance into Munchkinland (which was actually shot in Technicolor with a double for Dorothy wearing a brown dress), and Aunt Em's appearance in the Wicked Witch's crystal ball.

[Nitemare]

I am from the camp that believes that MOST of the old movies were done in B&W because that's all that was available at the time, or that it was more cost efficient to shoot it black and white.

While I can appreciate the older movies AND I appreciate the black and white, I believe that if many of those old directors were alive today they'd be thrilled to see a colorized version of their film.

They are now colorizing the Three Stooges, and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. My kids would never have sat still for "old black and white comedy" but they like the color Stooges very much.

Although even color didn't make them appreciate the original King Kong. Go figure. In most cases, I'd rather see a colorized original than a modern remake. (Jackson's King Kong being an exception, mind you) I love the original but that remake kicks butt.

[cyflyer]

I am from the camp that believes that MOST of the old movies were done in B&W because that's all that was available at the time, or that it was more cost efficient to shoot it black and white.

While I can appreciate the older movies AND I appreciate the black and white, I believe that if many of those old directors were alive today they'd be thrilled to see a colorized version of their film.

I couldn't agree with you more. Let them colorise the old classics and offer them as a bonus on new dvd releases.

[ember]

I'd agree that the original teams involved with making B&W would love to see their work in colour but you need to also remember that filming in B&W requires painting certain props/clothes in a way that looksgood in B&W. It can also affect the type of shots you make. Film noir is atmospheric for those reasons. Had colour been available to the original production teams the entire look may have been different. (And if you were to bring back to life many of the older directors I'm sure they'd want to use the modern techniques to make those films! Rather than just colouring in what we have on celluloid.)

Apart from that - I can't see what's wrong with colourising old movies. Nobody forces you to watch them.

[wulf109]

Hollywood shot in B&W because that was state of the art then. If B&W is so wonderful why did Hollyood switch to color when color film became practical.
B&W existed because that's all they had. It's just snob appeal to praise old B&W films. They would have been shot in color if they had color film.

[cyflyer]

Anyone got any updated info if more b/w movies are being colorized ? Is the trend still continuing ? Just ordered a copy of Purple Heart (dvd), new release, from Amazon., the specs saying 'color' when I know its a b/w movie. Can't get a answer though if its a misprint or a colorized version. I'm all for colorized old movies. Guess I'll have to wait and see, unless anyone knows something ?

[chazzman]

there really are many new movies being colorized by Legend Films...
Most Sci Fi film buffs my age (53) are familiar with Ray Harryhausen.
He provided direct input to the colorization process for three of his
black and white flicks, "Twenty Million Miles to Earth", "Earth vs. the
Flying Saucers", and "It Came from Beneath the Sea. " Four Sherlock
Holmes films with Basil Rathbone also have been colorized and restored.
"Night of the Living Dead", Abbot and Costello movies and shows,
Shirley Temple movies, stooges, etc. This list keeps growing.