The
Best Colorized Movies
Let’s
stop being dinosaurs and colorize MORE old movies.
It's
not just my opinion - famed sci-fi movie maker Ray Harrryhausen
has overseen the colorizing of several of his 1950s classics,
projects shot in black and white purely because he didn't
have the budget for color.
Before
you read on, here's my current top 5 best colorized movies:
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It's
A Wonderful Life (1946): The timeless Christmas classic
starring James Stewart as a man who really doesn't know
how wonderful his boring, mundane life is - until an angel
named Clarence shows him. Restored black and white version
also included. |
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Holiday
Inn (1942): Bing Crosby sings White Christmas and other
Irving Berlin classics while Fred Astaire dances up a
storm in this wonderful piece of nostalgia. 3-disc edition
includes color and black and white versions plus featurettes
AND a 12 track CD! |
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20
Million Miles To Earth (1957): Special effects pioneer
Ray
Harrryhausen oversaw the colorizing of this classic film
about a (green) space monster accidentally brought back
to Earth. Great documentaries in this release. Restored
black and white version also included. |
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Miracle
on 34th Street (1947): Macy's Santa Kris Kringle (Edmund
Gwenn) thinks he really is Father Christmas. They
wanted to lock him away, but a lawyer (John Payne) is
determined to prove Kris is the real deal. Timeless Christmas
classic. Restored black and white version also included. |
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It
Came From Beneath The Sea (1955): Another Ray
Harrryhausen
sci-fi classic that looks great in its new color version.
Documentary shows how Legend Films brought sparkling new
life to the movie under Harryhausen's supervision. Restored
black and white version also included. |
Here's
why I believe there's a place for colorized movies: If Beethoven
were alive today do you think he`d be satisfied with the tinny
pianos, thin-sounding violins and lightweight sound of yesterday`s
orchestra?
‘Course
not. He’d want a beefy Steinway Grand Piano and the punch
of a modern symphony orchestra with which to raise the roof.
It’s
the same with movies originally filmed in black and white
because they just didn’t have the budget for colour.
Give those filmmakers the chance to see their masterpieces
in colour and many would jump at it.
Notice
I’m making the distinction here between movies intentionally
filmed in black and white and those shot in black and white
because of budgetary restrictions.
I
accept that Citizen Kane
and Casablanca would not
have the same look or feel to them if colorized. The masterful
play of light and shadow used in them would almost certainly
be lost. However, I’m open enough to want to see colorized
versions before completely dismissing the notion.
I
do not agree with critic Roger Ebert, who famously wrote in
1988: “Anyone who can accept the idea of the colorization
of black and white films has bad taste…”
He
went on: "Colorization" does not produce color
movies, but only sad and sickening travesties of black and
white movies, their lighting destroyed, their atmospheres
polluted, their moods altered almost at random by the addition
of an artificial layer of coloring that is little more than
legalized vandalism.”
Wow
- lighten up Roger. We’re talking movies here, not the
Middle East peace process.
OK,
a coupla points in Ebert’s favour: In 1988, colorization
was primitive…crap is the word I’m looking
for. The worst example was the first color version of It’s
A Wonderful Life (1946), which sure wasn’t a wonderful
exercise in colorization. I believe Jimmy Stewart’s face
was green.
Also,
Ebert was specifically targeting then-media mogul Ted Turner’s
bull-headed insistence oncolorizing Casablanca, just “to
piss everybody off”.
You
did, Ted, you did.
Fast
forward almost 20 years and colorization has undergone a breathtaking
technical transformation. The colors are subtle and true to
life, instead of vulgar. And good research of studio photos
and production documents enables costumes and sets to be reproduced
in their actual colours. In fact, check out the new colorized
version of It's
A Wonderful Life - it looks magnificent!
Witness
for the Prosecution: Special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen,
whose 1957 cult classic 20
Million Miles to Earth was released in a special 50th
anniversary edition in 2007 featuring both the black and white
original and the newly colorized one.
Harryhausen
is now an enthusiastic supporter of colorization and was closely
consulted in the color transformation of 20
Million Miles To Earth - a film he originally wanted
to do in color. He raves about the quality of the finished
product which breathes new life into his little green monster
from Venus. It looks like a completely different movie - and
Harryhausen has given his blessing to several more colorized
projects, with Earth
vs. The Flying Saucers and It
Came From Beneath The Sea both released in early 2008.
Hopefully,
Ebert would at least recognize the right of a filmmaker to
artistically alter a project years later. After all, we get
Director’s Cuts that extend and change the mood of a
movie - why not versions changing the look of a movie?
Witness
for the Prosecution 2: Miracle
on 34th Street. This 1947 Christmas classic came out in
a dual B/W/colorized version in 2006 and it’s terrific.
If this means thousands of kids will watch this timeless classic
then I’m all for it. Ditto for the sparkling 2008 3-disc
release of Holiday Inn
- the movie that introduced the world to Bing Crosby singing
White Christmas. It looks fantastic!
Let’s
face facts: many film fans under 40 simply won’t watch
a black and white flick because they think it looks “old
fashioned and boring” … to quote my kids. Add the
colour they’re used to and they’ll at least give
it chance.
If
the project is done with artistic integrity and, if possible
the consent of people involved in the original production,
I’m all for giving colorization a chance.
It’s
all about choice.
