Black and White...or...Faded Colour ?

[Melvin England]

The senario...

2 films.

Same title.

Same length (4x400')

Same edit

Same condition

Same quality sound.

Film #1 is faded colour (pink going on red)

Film #2 is the black and white version


Which one should stay? Which one should go ?

[Joseph Banfield]

Not something I would need to consider...I trash all pink prints without thinking twice. They look ugly and no one wants to see them, including myself.

[Steve Klare]

I have a black and white print of a film I know was shot in color. It's actually a beautiful print, but the knowledge it's really supposed to be a color film leaves me less satisfied with it than I could be (If I only I didn't know!). All that being said: better black and white than pink and white! (-that's not color, either!)

[Joseph Banfield]

Well put, Steve!

[Janice Glesser]

I'll pick a B&W print over a faded color print any day. I recently bought a B&W print of Picnic off Ebay. There was a faded color print in another listing also...but I opted to the B&W. Because it originally was shot in color I think the contrast is a bit flat and the blacks are not as dark. But overall a much more watchable print over a red print.

[Steve Klare]

I have a Niles print of "You're in the Army now!". One of the things I like about this film is the Army base where it is set later became the research lab where I work today.

The other thing is despite the "Technicolor" title up front, it is in black and white. (It's good to see Niles had a sense of humor!)

[Paul Adsett]

Black and White any day of the week.

[Brian Fretwell]

Colour - you could always telecine it to get a B&W copy.

[Joe Taffis]

I agree with Steve, Joe B., and Janice; but there are still some folks buying faded and red prints for lots of money on eBay and FB. I think that many are newcomers to the hobby and don't know any better

[Trevor Adams]

The film,'Genevieve'. Bin the colour!Keep the crisp B&W!

[Chip Gelmini]

I would choose black and white providing there's no salad dressing included

[Joachim Schmidt]

A black and white copy is very nostalgic: like it was to watch color content on a black and white TV set. Feels more familiar than expected.

[Melvin England]

So far.......

Black and White 9

Colour 1


There was a sort of serious side to asking this "fun" question. I am in that situation at the moment where I have the colour AND black and white versions of a film and, although I had kind of made my mind up as to which one I would keep, these remarks have just confirmed my original thought, so thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.

For your information, the film is....... no....not Genevieve Trevor, but good guess........ She Wore a (greyish) Ribbon !

Or should that have been "Red?"

[Osi Osgood]

Black and white print version!

(unless you like putting a cyan filter on that color version for a nice sepia-tone!)

[Lee Mannering]

Just got back to the Eumig Hid conversion after the car crash and hospital....as you do.
prior to HID I would hang onto the B&W much preferred. Then we have movie mag colour treatment which I find works well on some films.
Then comes the HID and have to say with the chill light quality of that lamp it does improve pinkies so pay your shillings and take your pick what suits your own eyes.

I've also been experimenting printing up some 4K digital efforts to Super 8 with my home grown rig. Several results back thus far and on Kodak looks very good with zero pinky.