8mm Forum: Anscocolor

This is topic Anscocolor in forum 16mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on July 17, 2019, 05:14 AM:

Just bought a 16mm feature that was originally filmed in Trucolor, the print is in Anscocolor.
The colours are still fabulous.
Was this colour process used for many 16mm releases?

[ July 17, 2019, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: Maurice Leakey ]

Posted by Paul Repar (Member # 593) on July 31, 2019, 08:20 PM:

Maurice,the answer to your question is no,not many were,your feature wouldn't happen to be The Last Command 1955 in Anscocolor,would it?It is a film I have been searching for a long time,they have all been red,but a forum member had a print of Command a few years back,in Anscocolor,but sold it.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on August 01, 2019, 02:31 AM:

Paul
No.
It's a 1956 Republic Pictures production starring Yvonne De Carlo. "Flame Of The Islands".
The colour is still stunning and the scenes in the Caribbean are strictly gorgeous. [Smile]

Posted by Zachary Greenberg (Member # 6151) on August 03, 2019, 02:02 AM:

Great topic!
I've also come across 16mm FEATURES in Anscocolor (as well as Kodachrome) albeit extremely rarely. I've always wondered what the stories and provenances of these prints are - were they intended for theatrical exhibition, were they in-house studio prints of some sort, etc.? How long was Anscocolor even used?

I once came across a beautiful 16mm print of BONNIE AND CLYDE (!) in Anscocolor. Not a trace of color fade. Given the existence of this title, Ansco was definitely used at least in the late 60s (for features it seems!)...
I also once came across a 16mm Kodachrome print of THE AFRICAN QUEEN... All the collectors I've talked to seem to agree that 16mm Kodachrome prints must all be dupes because of Kodachrome's nature as a color reversal process (Ansco is also a reversal process?). But why would anyone back then, even a well-stocked lab, make a dupe of a FEATURE length film in Kodachrome out of all processes given its extraordinary expense?

I welcome any info anyone may have regarding these enigmatic 16mm Ansco and Kodachrome features!

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on August 03, 2019, 03:32 AM:

Many years ago the G.B. Film Library, here in the UK, used Kodachrome for many of their J. Arthur Rank 16mm releases, only using Technicolor for their major films. This was because of the cost. Technicolor prices reduced as the number of prints ordered escalated.

For the following information I am indebted to Wikipedia.

Prior to World War II, Agfa color material was imported by Ansco in the USA who branded it Ansco Color and Anscochrome. When the war began supplies dried up so Ansco developed a similar color film in its own factory at Binghamton, New York.

Ansco Color was used on a few Hollywood movies:-

The Man On The Eiffel Tower 1949
Bwana Devil 1953
Kiss Me Kate 1953
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 1954
Brigadoon 1954

The final film on this stock was "Lust For Life" in 1956.

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