Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 9, 2015 9:11:34 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/film/markets-festivals/berlin-retro-celebrates-glory-of-technicolor-1201428552/
The last lab bearing the Technicolor name recently closed in NYC, but at this year’s Berlinale Retrospective, Technicolor is very much alive. And when one speaks of the process from it’s heyday of the late 30s to early 50s, it is usually referred to as “Glorious Technicolor.”
Dave Pultz, a colorist, who worked at that lab, and whose career goes back to the chemical days of 35mm, describes it as “saturated primary colors, rich contrast, and a skin tone that’s fleshy and warm. It’s a dreamy look that just has this ‘presence’ about it. But today,” he adds, “ I don’t get younger filmmakers asking for that quote Technicolor look. It’s a forgotten aesthetic. ”
Certainly many famous examples are available on DVD, Blu-ray or on cabler TCM, but as always with the Retro the true experience comes from seeing these films with an audience on a bigscreen. Nowadays, however, with digital projection the norm, there’s the extra attraction of seeing them in the full glory of their original 35mm.
“As long as there are 35mm prints, we will show them,” says Retro director Rainer Rother, “and of course we want to use the chance to show as many original dye-transfer prints as possible. We’re also showing a number of restorations, some analog, but mostly digitally restored and re-imaged back to film.”
Traditionally Berlin was famous for their yearly outfitting of the festival theaters to show digital, but today it’s necessary to retro-fit ( pun intended) the theaters for 35mm. “Now we’re the exception,” Rother adds, noting that it’s becoming harder to find projectionists familiar with the classic equipment. “In the coming years, we have to take care that these skills are passed on, like archival training, not just restoration but also presentation.”
But today’s restoration technology means more and more films will only be available as DCP, and this year there are two, “Snow White” and “The African Queen,” the latter presented in both digital and 35mm. Program Co-ordinator Connie Betz points out that the colors in the DCP are actually more vibrant than in the print. “Remember that the projection back then was completely different,” she observes, ‘it was less bright and had a warmer, softer look. Today with a good DCP there’s a lot more light on the screen, and one has consider how to reproduce the original effect under today’s conditions. It’s certainly great when you see down to the smallest details in the image, but this warm, soft, liquescence that Technicolor was famous for, that’s not so easy to imitate.”
In principle the ideal of the Retrospective is to honor the original material as much as possible but as Ulrich Ruedel, a film preservationist consulting to this year’s Retro, points out, “It’s an ideal goal, but maybe it’s healthy to be aware that you can’t perfectly reach it. If we make everything historically correct, then we still haven’t accommodated for our brains and expectations that have changed.” Pointing out the variety of original sources and types of restoration, he suggests that this is the very point of a Technicolor retrospective, “because we can have it whichever way is feasible for a particular film and enjoy that extra treat of comparison. I think that’s the best way to pay tribute to the original artists, and the original scientists and technicians as well.”
The last lab bearing the Technicolor name recently closed in NYC, but at this year’s Berlinale Retrospective, Technicolor is very much alive. And when one speaks of the process from it’s heyday of the late 30s to early 50s, it is usually referred to as “Glorious Technicolor.”
Dave Pultz, a colorist, who worked at that lab, and whose career goes back to the chemical days of 35mm, describes it as “saturated primary colors, rich contrast, and a skin tone that’s fleshy and warm. It’s a dreamy look that just has this ‘presence’ about it. But today,” he adds, “ I don’t get younger filmmakers asking for that quote Technicolor look. It’s a forgotten aesthetic. ”
Certainly many famous examples are available on DVD, Blu-ray or on cabler TCM, but as always with the Retro the true experience comes from seeing these films with an audience on a bigscreen. Nowadays, however, with digital projection the norm, there’s the extra attraction of seeing them in the full glory of their original 35mm.
“As long as there are 35mm prints, we will show them,” says Retro director Rainer Rother, “and of course we want to use the chance to show as many original dye-transfer prints as possible. We’re also showing a number of restorations, some analog, but mostly digitally restored and re-imaged back to film.”
Traditionally Berlin was famous for their yearly outfitting of the festival theaters to show digital, but today it’s necessary to retro-fit ( pun intended) the theaters for 35mm. “Now we’re the exception,” Rother adds, noting that it’s becoming harder to find projectionists familiar with the classic equipment. “In the coming years, we have to take care that these skills are passed on, like archival training, not just restoration but also presentation.”
But today’s restoration technology means more and more films will only be available as DCP, and this year there are two, “Snow White” and “The African Queen,” the latter presented in both digital and 35mm. Program Co-ordinator Connie Betz points out that the colors in the DCP are actually more vibrant than in the print. “Remember that the projection back then was completely different,” she observes, ‘it was less bright and had a warmer, softer look. Today with a good DCP there’s a lot more light on the screen, and one has consider how to reproduce the original effect under today’s conditions. It’s certainly great when you see down to the smallest details in the image, but this warm, soft, liquescence that Technicolor was famous for, that’s not so easy to imitate.”
In principle the ideal of the Retrospective is to honor the original material as much as possible but as Ulrich Ruedel, a film preservationist consulting to this year’s Retro, points out, “It’s an ideal goal, but maybe it’s healthy to be aware that you can’t perfectly reach it. If we make everything historically correct, then we still haven’t accommodated for our brains and expectations that have changed.” Pointing out the variety of original sources and types of restoration, he suggests that this is the very point of a Technicolor retrospective, “because we can have it whichever way is feasible for a particular film and enjoy that extra treat of comparison. I think that’s the best way to pay tribute to the original artists, and the original scientists and technicians as well.”