Technicolor threads have been started and died a quick death around here, which is surprising given most of our ages. But doesn't the Golden Age (1934-1955) of Three-strip Technicolor really turn you on, or does it look garish? Here's one from The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) Unlike the topics of older closed Technicolor threads, the technology in 2022 helps Technicolor film restoration a lot further than it used to. Those 3 negatives can be aligned near perfectly now. But it doesn't end there. As Three-strip Technicolor gave way to Eastman stock on a single strip of film, the Technicolor process in labs thrived throughout the late 1950s through the 1960s, eventually giving way to a more "naturalistic" look. That's cool, too! Do you have any favorite Technicolor films of any vintage? Does the look just not suit you?Any fond memories of watching Technicolor movies? Me, I recently picked up Ziegfeld Follies (1945) and I'm digging the hell out of the performances and the nice saturated colors. Bonanza!
I love Technicolor! I really enojoy the stylized look of older movies before the process was refined. Looks great on cartoons too. Here's imo THE Technicolor movie, even if it is a bit obvious:
I've never heard of or seen this film, but it looks way entertaining. I'll take an old-school newspaper caper any day! Quite sophisticated editing and cinematography for this era, particularly when we're used to seeing early color in bright, fantasy sequences rather than noir. Fascinatingly – according to Wiki – this was shot in an "improved" 2-strip Technicolor AND B&W. Both versions still exist. I'm gonna search this one out. Doctor X (film) - Wikipedia dan c
If you like reading about old film technology, my favorite book is Barry Salt's "Film Style and Technology: History and Analysis". https://www.amazon.com/Film-Style-Technology-History-Analysis/dp/0950906654 It has lots of stuff on the development of color cinematography. You might be able to find it much cheaper in used book stores.
Warner Archives has been on fire with their restorations. Show Boat for instance stands head and shoulders above anything that was previously available. These films are a feast for the eyes.
Well of course! There's no better introduction to Three-strip Technicolor than The Wizard of Oz. When Dorothy opened the door, we all opened the door. Yeah, this release is a stone-cold gorgeous representation of Two-strip Technicolor. The blu-ray is a bargain for both the color and B&W versions. The color version was photographed by Ray Rennahan, who went on to win an Oscar for Gone With the Wind (1939). To make the pot sweeter, Dr. X stars Fay Wray, as you might have noticed. Once you've seen her in color, you can't unsee her in color. What a doll!
You know, I think I'll pick this up. I'm far from an expert. In fact, @Vidiot, @Steve Hoffman, and @Derek Gee have all corrected some of my misconceptions about Technicolor (and/or where I'd confused myself), so my grade level is a sophomore, for sure. You're so right about Warner Archives (WAC). Their restorations are second to none, without the bloated price. You're also right about Showboat (1951) as being on the best Three-strip Technicolor films out right now. Not only that, but it's a really good musical. Those Ava Gardner closeups are mesmerizing. I'll also add Ziegfeld Follies (1945), as being pure eye-candy, which has the only time Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly performed together in their prime. The aforementioned The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) is also super rich. Bold colors and many of them. It might not be the best film, but Bette Davis scorches the screen with her performance.
Here's a brief article and video on how they did that magic. It involved a dye transfer technique which was pretty complex. Be sure to watch the short video from the George Eastman house at the end of the article. Remembering Technicolor Dye Transfer Printing
What I vaguely remember reading about two strip technicolor is that the two strips varied in color depending on the exposure. The "red" strip's color varied from a brick red in low exposure to something close to salmon color when fully exposed. That meant that if you fully exposed the actors you could get something of a convincing skin tone along with muted reds in the darker areas. The "blue/green" strip was a dark green at low exposure and shifted to a kind of teal color at full exposure. So if you used color filters on the camera you could get a convincing green landscape with a kind of weak blue sky if you overexposed it. Of course some colors like yellow were impossible to reproduce.
The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus are essential technicolor films, taking the use of color into a dark and stylized direction. The color Powell/Pressburger films in general are all important, but these two are tops.
It's a huge book divided into decades and the parts on color are often just one section in each chapter. Over half the book covers just the Silent Era since that formed the basis of all film making as we know it. Also it focuses on the technology far more than the people so you find out that innovations attributed to famous directors and cinematographers were often just applications of new technology that a bunch of forgotten anonymous nobodies invented in a lab.
When I had a famous IB Tech film for a short while (as a collector) I felt I was going mad. Seems I had the best print of this friggin' film in the dang world under my bed. Started keeping me up at night. The Academy has it now and it was used as a restoration guide for a 4k release. I don't miss collecting film, too stressful... But (and this is a big butt), these modern restorations of Tech films have somehow forgotten the special B&W layer that reinforced the basic picture image. I was watching a BR of The Private Lives Of whoever the hell it was, Liz and Essex and it was beautiful but (as an old film dude seeing the vault print so many times) I could see that the reinforcing black outline was missing. Beautiful colors but missing that one crucial thing. Drives me bonkers..
I should have posted this longer clip. I think these King of Jazz restorations are the result of a lot of 21st century color correction. The brass instruments have a brown/yellow look which was not technically possible to reproduce and I'm certain the bright reds in this clip were a much more muted brick red in the original release.
Here's a basic question: given the spectrum of colors that Technicolor was able to reproduce, did the filmmakers have to limit certain colors on set or use certain colors on set to get the desired colors on screen by the end of the process? In a related area, did they use certain makeups or shades of makeup on the actors to give them a more natural skin tone?
I believe there was a Technicolor consultant on set to help with this. Of course, British crews disagreed with their consultant which is why the Archer films look different compared to, say, an MGM musical. Whether that difference is noticeable on home video is another question.
Yes, very essential. They are not only great films, but also the British treatment of Three-strip Technicolor holds its own charm. There is also The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943). It doesn't hold the same gravitas as Powell and Pressburger's later films, but it was a necessary stepping stone to get there.
Also, please watch "A Matter Of Life And Death," one of the greats of British cinema. New hi-rez version is awesome. Over and out.
Unfortunately that's not George Gershwin. It's Roy Bargy, who looks a lot like Gershwin. But, King of Jazz is notable for the film debut of 27-year old Bing Crosby, who was singing with The Rhythm Boys at the time. Bing also sings solo over the credits. Crosby missed out on a number, though, because he was in jail! "Bing Crosby went on several benders during the filming, crashed his car on Hollywood Boulevard, nearly killing his female passenger, and after showing up in golf attire, and wise-cracking to a judge, [he] was sent to jail for 60 days. Whiteman replaced him with John Boles for "The Song Of The Dawn"." King of Jazz - Wikipedia
There is way too much emphasis on green for my liking. It's as if that was the easiest colour to process using this technique. Dress everyone in green so. When they were colourizing those Laurel and Hardy shorts in the 90's there was a huge amount of green in those too. Not sure if it is connected.
Well, they only had 2/3 of the color spectrum, so they probably thought green was important so that plants and trees weren't some weird color and skin tones were "somewhat" accurate. This pretty much leaves out blue. I can imagine that some skies were pretty strange looking in these type of movies.
