8mm Forum: Glorious Technicolor

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Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on November 30, 2007, 11:41 AM:

We were watching a 1940's Fox musical last night - 'Weekend in Havana' - and I was totally knocked out by the beautiful color saturation of this Technicolor film. Some people probably don't like intense color saturation, but I love it, particularly in musical films, and particularly with Alice Faye and Carmen Miranda!. In comparison, you look at modern movies, which often seem to have really weak color, and you have to ask "where has all the color gone?". Maybe modern color is more realistic, but it is so dull and uninteresting compared with the old 3-strip process.
No doubt about it, Technicolor is unsurpassed.

Posted by Alex Fox (Member # 94) on November 30, 2007, 01:59 PM:

Hi! Paul, Lucky you that you were able to watch great old movies like :Weekend in Havana:and as you said great colour,loved to watch those movies in the days gone by, also the Deana Durbin films easy to watch and not complicated, to bad we can/t have them on super 8

Posted by Alex Fox (Member # 94) on November 30, 2007, 02:03 PM:

Hi! Paul, Lucky you that you were able to watch great old movies like :Weekend in Havana:and as you said great colour,loved to watch those movies in the days gone by, also the Deana Durbin films easy to watch and not complicated, to bad we can/t have them on super 8

Posted by Alex Fox (Member # 94) on November 30, 2007, 02:04 PM:

Hi! Paul, Lucky you that you were able to watch great old movies like :Weekend in Havana:and as you said great colour,loved to watch those movies in the days gone by, also the Deana Durbin films easy to watch and not complicated, to bad we can/t have them on super 8

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on November 30, 2007, 02:08 PM:

On the two disc set special edition of "Robin Hood", (the original Erol Flynn cassic!), there is an hour long Turner television broadcast called, "Glorious Technicolor", giving the complete history of he Technicolor process, (including very rare color footage of Laurel and hardy, as well as behind the scenes color footage of the Marx Brothers in Animal Crackers n "glorious Technicolor".

It's definitely worth a watch as it explains in great detail about the process, as well as showing the major difference between the Eastaman color and Technicolor, (and thwe terrible "Liver lips" of Eastman color.

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on November 30, 2007, 09:24 PM:

As cumbersome and challenging as the process could be, it produced some of the best color we'll ever see in films. It truly felt like filmmakers had a real palette to work with.

It is funny to remember the Technicolor consultants that were sent as a mandatory requirement by the company in the early years, to ensure colors and color-matching that could be processed well in 3-strip.

Filmmakers had a love/hate (perhaps more the latter) relationship with these 'pests' who would be on-set and could dictate changes in set- and costume colors. However, the principles laid down regarding the TC color decisions seem to have been very well thought through.

Here's a link to a long, interesting piece on this. It uses Vincente Minelli and "Meet Me in St. Louis" as the centerpiece for an examination of the considerations of color design in a motion picture.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-55082383.html

Best,
Claus.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on December 02, 2007, 05:47 PM:

Paul
I totally agree, the modern film lacks the strong colours of "Technicolor" and there are so many fine examples, and one I can think of, and that is "South Pacific" which was filmed in TODD-AO, the opening scenes of beautiful sunsets etc, to the final scenes where you see a background of stunning colour, flowers etc, the filmakers really did an excellent job of capturing the look and feel of the Pacific using the Technicolor process, other such films as "Gone With The Wind" look fantastic, and its hard to believe it was made way back in 1939, what I would like to see is some of those early Technicolor films back on the big screen where they belong, although the chance of that happening is pretty slim.

Graham.

Posted by Robert Wales (Member # 502) on December 04, 2007, 08:13 PM:

Graham, you might want to check out director Joshua Logan's memoirs if you can find them in your local library. Those notorious colour filters throughout 'South Pacific' were applied to the film after he had finished it and without his approval. As I recall, he's not too fond of them.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on December 05, 2007, 05:00 AM:

Hi Robert
I would agree with his thoughts on the over use of coloured filters, of all the main musical numbers the worst was the red on the "Bali Ha'i" number, what I cant understand is why they decided to use them in the first place considering the location they were filming in, with all the beautiful natural scenery they had at there fingertips, why spoil it? I think the use of filters to lightly enhance the colours of say a sunset or sunrise were fine, its a pity they used them to the extreme, thanks on the info on Joshua Logan's book and will try to search one out.

Regards Graham.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on January 08, 2008, 03:24 AM:

Paul
Came across a very interesting documentary on the two disc special edition of "Robin Hood 1938" called "Glorious Technicolor, Celebrating This Revered Color Filmmaking Process" narrated by Angela Lansbury, a fasinating insight into Technicolor's history.

Well tonight we have just finished watching on DVD, Danny Kay in "Hans Christian Anderson" what a brilliant technicolor film, its hard to imagine that it was made back in 1952, the vivid color in "The Little Mermaid" ballet sequence was amazing.

Graham. [Smile]

Posted by Ricky Daniels (Member # 95) on January 08, 2008, 06:45 AM:

Paul,

As you say, modern film colours may be realistic and true to life but the majority of us live in a rather pale world. Just go outside and look around there isn't too much colour when you take in the big picture.

I love Technicolor movies and think the unrealistic colours that often appear in them (deliberately of course) are truly wonderful and help us escape into a fantasy world we all dream about.

Try 'Technicolor Movies: The History of Dye Transfer Printing'
by Richard W. Haines for more info on the process.

Rick

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