Very interesting, I always thought there would have been three filters and three identical B/W negatives.
No problem, Bob. I didn't see you as rude but kind of short with the alternative opinion that didn't tell me something I must've missed. I love discussing these kind of technical subjects as long as I learn something new or am corrected with facts I can understand. Wasn't sure I made myself clear with the color mixing demo. I think the classic "look"of old Technicolor could be emulated quite accurately all within the digital realm if one were to work out the look of the dye formulation whose gamut is adjustable. I just tried it using Vibrance in Photoshop on the African Queen triplets that provided an even gain in saturation purity with no blowouts. Regular "Saturation" slider blasted the yellow channel unevenly and that's the problem with this process is keeping dye purity density balanced from max density to white light. No need to to go to the expense of having dyes manufactured to specs. Even working in sRGB gamut gave enough headroom to tweak the dye matrix triplet formula. Anyway, nice talking to ya'. Take care.
Yeah, it's amazing really - when I first saw the drawings of the "guts" of the camera I was thinking wait ... what? How could that work, knowing what I do about how color separations work for still photography. I took a fair amount of "digging" for further detail until I had that "aha!" moment, then further digging to confirm what I'd figured out - my (figurative) "hat's off" to the technical geniuses who came up with this thing, and the expert machinists who built it!
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) KL This has a very interesting look. I don't know how much I want to go into depth about it, but it's pretty much how I imagined the book in my head. It might be aided by the fact that I, too, remember seeing some form of this movie as a kid, but I don't recall where. There are some laugh out loud moments, even if you know what's coming. Life in the 1840s never looked so real, only when Tom finds the treasure in the cave, the date 1886 carved into the stone. Whoops! The little girl who played Becky Thatcher did a great job. The print used for this release stems from at least two different sources, that's for sure, with the lion's share looking tight and aligned. I think I detected one misaligned source. The opening credits and intro looks to be pulled from another source altogether. At any rate, yes, this is Technicolor, probably just a couple of notches down from The Garden of Allah. Highly watchable. I don't think anyone would pull away and say it stinks. According to Haines' book, "...the entire feature was printed with a saturated sepia hue that utilized few primary colors. This was partly due to the fact that the film had been designed as a black and white production, and the decision to shoot in color was an afterthought." Yet it still looks like Technicolor, which is how that unmistakable look can survive at least one generation of Eastman and retain its intrensic glow. I take that back. Songs do repeat in The Gang's All Here, but it's really only toward the end when they repeat "A Journey to a Star." Maybe I didn't notice because it's such a kick ass melody.
EVOLVIST, Nice. I think I’m not the only one who’ll be interested in your take on Cobra Woman when you get around to it, too!
There exists a beautiful 1944 nitrate IB Tech print of "Cobra Woman" that is begging to be transferred. It looked so beautiful projected at the Egyptian during the "Technicolor Festival" around 7 years ago. I wish everyone could see it like I did.. Seems a shame.
I would add Gone with the Wind, Thief of Baghdad, The Red Shoes, and Singin' in the Rain to the list of the best Technicolor films ever made. Anybody who wants to learn more about the history of Technicolor and why it looks as it does, here's a list of references: Technicolor Movies: The History of Dye Transfer Printing https://www.amazon.com/Technicolor-Movies-History-Transfer-Printing/dp/0786418095 Glorious Technicolor: The Movie's Magic Rainbow https://www.amazon.com/Glorious-Technicolor-Rainbow-Ninetieth-Anniversary/dp/0964706504 The Dawn of Technicolor https://www.amazon.com/Dawn-Technicolor-1915-1935-James-Layton/dp/0935398287 Mr. Technicolor: The Autobiography of Dr. Herbert Kalmus https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Technicolor-H-Ph-D-Kalmus/dp/1882127315 Color Mania: The Material of Color in Photography and Film by Barbara Flückiger https://www.amazon.com/Color-Mania-Material-Photography-Film/dp/3037786078 Color Cinematography (1951) by Adrian Cornwell-Clyne https://www.amazon.com/Colour-Cinematography-Adrian-Cornwell-Clyne/dp/B0000CI1FZ I think about Dr. Kalmus all the time since I work in his old building in Hollywood, where color film literally was invented about 100 years ago. It's amazing how some of the principles in his old work still apply to digital filmmaking today, and how important it is to preserve the classic films of this era. Seeing them projected from film in "real" Technicolor is a challenge now, but I think a good digital transfer can at least give the viewer a little bit of an idea of what all the fuss was about 90+ years ago.
I would have loved to see it - too bad it seems no presentations of that kind seem to be scheduled for the foreseeable future, and that we’re told by people who specialize in this sort of thing that IB prints don’t scan at all well.
I picked up A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcsisus, The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann on BluRay at Barnes and Noble as part of their half-price Criterion sale.
If your credit card isn’t “too hot to handle” (like mine is, at the moment), I would also argue for their (1953) WAR OF THE WORLDS. SH says he doesn’t like it, to me it looks spectacular - Robert Harris at hometheaterforum and whoever did the review (with screenshots) at blu-ray.com thought so too.
I've been told that as well. But, look at the "extras" on some Blu-rays. The trailers are usually true Technicolor prints and they look fab. Did they include the Tech trailer for The Searchers? It was on the Laserdisc and it looked so good compared to the film. It truly glowed.. Check out the second "bonus" short on the disk of "THE BIRDS." It starts out with Alfred H. and shows a few scenes from the movie. Wow, doesn't that look great? True Technicolor. Oh well. I'm going to bed.
I agree that the new restoration sounds poor (though actually not very different than the previous blu-ray and DVD), but I think that's more just due to the norms of modern day film audio mastering than from a problem with combining channels or playing them out of phase. A few other examples with similar issues (streamable comparison clips included): The Wizard of Oz The Thomas Crown Affair Citizen Kane The Best Years of Our Lives
The edited Toto line you mention in the 2009 blu ray was supposedly fixed in the 2013 3D version (and ONLY the 3D version) in the two-disc set released that year. The 2D blu ray was repackage of the earlier 2009 release. I don't know for sure whether any subsequent releases of the film retain the fixed audio, but I believe the 4K Ultra has the fixed audio, but the blu ray in the set is the same 2009 disc. Derek
I mentioned the crappy print of The Naked Spur that TCM ran a couple of weeks ago. They’re running the movie again right now and it must be the restored version Warner Archive put out. It is gorgeous!
A “heads up” for lovers of 3-strip Technicolor movies: As part of the Kino Lorber ongoing “Spring into Summer” sale there’s a list labeled “While Supplies Last” which includes DUEL IN THE SUN (1946) which some wise guys call “Lust in the Dust” @$9.99 GARDEN OF ALLAH (1936) @$7.99 NOTHING SACRED (1937) @$5.99 Last chance for “fence sitters”?
What other three-strip Tech films are from Criterion? The Four Feathers (1939) The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) The River (1951) Am I missing anything out of what you added?
It’s (partly!) coming back to me now - a LONG time ago I saw this in a theater (COULD have been the Motion Picture Academy’s in Beverly Hills) and touted as a Technicolor restoration and I thought it was just awful. It was grainy and contrasty with a mostly “pastel” look to the colors - the better trailers and clips on YouTube look BETTER than what I remember (newer / better restoration efforts?) And the story struck me as overwrought melodrama - so maybe I didn’t remember it is because I wanted to forget! As far as I can tell, I’ve bought all the Criterion 3-strips except Leave Her to Heaven and Tales of Hoffman (if you don’t count the 4K version of The Red Shoes!)
I just finished watching Cobra Woman (1944). Yeah, this is what a '40s B-Movie is like, yet with a Technicolor budget. I wonder who the target audience was for this kind of picture during the war years. Teens, maybe? Unmistakably Technicolor. Opticals are a problem, but medium to close-up shots are choice.
Had to check out the screen grabs of "Garden Of Allah" on another site. The skin tones are from another "better" world. Just bought the BD on Amazon just from the screen caps here on DVDbeaver... The Garden of Allah Blu-ray - Marlene Dietrich Screencaps for Cobra Woman, another good looking 3 strip Technicolor Cobra Woman Blu-ray - Maria Montez
