345 h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs 10. cated colorfilmevermade,butby1987 “widescreen” versionwasanabomination. (the printsfaded),and1967’swashed-out 1961 reissuewasincrummyEastmanColor last Technicolorprintswerestruckin1954;the striking newprintsandreissuing thefilm.” 10 or12substantialbookings and we’llgoahead vices atTurnerEntertainment,says“Giveme in timeforthefilm’s50thanniversarythisyear. restoring DavidO.Selznick’sfour-hourclassic, owner ofthefilm,spenttwoyearsand$250,000 not Technicolor. subtlety, lookedasthoughcapturedinCrayola, styles andcostumes,oncemarvelsofspectral generations ofbadlyduplicatedprints.Hair and blue,aresultofunstablefilmstocks The from the saga,WarnerBros.’1938Technicolorhit stands readytobringbackthedefinitivefilmof competition, TurnerEntertainmentCompany produce anewRobinHoodfilminhead-to-head at on rephotographingthenegativesinearly1987 approved bythelateMr.Selznick,workbegan man HouseinRochester. — nitratenegatives,storedspeciallyatEast- returned totheoriginal—andhighlyflammable Richard May,directoroffilmservicesatTurner, With Wind YCM In 1939,itwasthemosttechnicallysophisti- Except forarchivalshowings, Dick May,v.p.ofentertainmentandfilmser- For therestorationof Not anymore.TurnerBroadcastingSystem, While threeHollywoodcompaniesrushto Using asaguide1954Technicolorprint Color PrintProcess(1932–1978) Dye-Imbibition MotionPicture The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolor

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the 2 , nicolor imbibitionprintsis by thisauthor,theimagestabilityoftriacetate-baseTech- balance, density,orstainlevel. for hundredsofyearswithoutperceptiblechangesincolor nicolor dye-imbibitionmotionpictureswillprobablylast room-temperature storageconditions,theimagesofTech- tures withessentiallypermanentimages.Undernormal the UnitedStatesbegana45-yeareraofcolormotionpic- separation negatives,theentertainmentfilmindustryin dye-imbibition printertomakefull-colorprintsfromthe of black-and-whitefilm,andthecompanionTechnicolor through red,green,andbluefiltersonthreeseparatereels simultaneously filmedseparationnegativesinregister Picture Corporationthree-stripbeam-splittercamera,which permanent than iseithertypeoffilm-base material! base uponwhichitismade— thecolorimageisfarmore is limitedbythecellulosenitrate orcellulosetriacetate with mosttypesofcolorfilms. projections —isnotenough tocausesignificantfading exposure oneachframeoffilm —evenafterhundredsof tion ofmotionpictureimagessincetheaccumulatedlight fading isnotusuallyanimportantfactorinthedeteriora- normal room-temperatureandhumidityconditions.Light had extremelygoodstabilitywhenstoredinthedarkunder film archive. — afactthatbecomespainfullyclearwithvisittoany Positive FilmHP8814,hadextremelypoorimagestability Eastman ColorPrintFilm5381and5383,Fujicolor tered themarketin1982–1985.Previousfilms,suchas fade” FujiandAgfa-Gevaertcolorprintfilmswhichen- improved EastmanColorPrintFilm5384andsimilar“low- Technicolor MotionPictures The 45-YearEraof“Permanent” According toaccelerateddarkfadingtestsconducted With theintroductionin1932ofTechnicolorMotion The lifeofaTechnicolordye-imbibition motionpicture Historically, dye-imbibitioncolorimagesofalltypeshave chase oftheold bution rightsfromWarnerBros.inthepur- when UnitedArtistsacquiredthefilm’sdistri- existing printsincirculationhadwornout[faded]. at prints,” hesays. it takesisaphonecalltoourlabmakenew and nowhaveexcellentprintingmaterials.All nicolor materialstomakeanewinternegative MGM/UA “That negativedatesbacktotheearly’50s He notesthatthenegativeusedtomake Variety “Turner Eyes’38 Lawrence Cohn wentbacktothethree-stripTech- –July25,1990 WB 3 library.Fouryearsagowe vastly Robin Hood superiortothatofthe Redux”

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: h xrodnrl tbeTcnclrDeIbbto oinPcueClrPitPoesChapter10 The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess color printswere madefromthenegativesby the dye-imbibition(dyetransfer) processinTechnicolor’slaboratories. Giants Technicolor three-stripcameras onlocationinEureka,CaliforniafilmingtheWarnerBros. 1938feature . Thewidefilmmagazineson the camerascarriedthreerollsofblack-and-whiteseparation negativefilm.Brilliant Valley ofthe

Mac Julian – 1938 (Courtesy of Warner Bros.) 346

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 347 for bothblack-and-whiteandcolormoviesuntil1950–52). printed (nitratefilmwasusedthroughouttheindustry by theinstabilityofnitratefilmuponwhichtheywere projection, theusefullifeoftheseearlyfilmsislimitedonly for andnotphysicallyscratchedabradedbyrepeated mal temperatureandhumidityconditions. essentially permanentwhenstoredinthedarkundernor- and thefewothermodernphotographicmaterialsthatare base printsthathavebeentreatedwithaprotectivetoner, Dyecolor, polyester-baseblack-and-whitefilmsandfiber- (called Cibachrome,1963–91),KodakDyeTransfer,Fuji joined UltraStablePermanentColorPrints,IlfordIlfochrome bases availableatthetime,Technicolormovieswouldhave stead ofthecellulosenitrateortriacetatefilm they beenprintedonmodernpolyester-basefilmstockin- recent Technicolorfilmsaresostable,infact,that,had h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs If cellulosenitrateTechnicolorfilmsareproperlycared The dye-imbibitioncolorimagesofbothearlyandmore Ifhumidity-controlled,low-temperature(i.e., 0 • Cellulosetriacetate-baseimbibitionprints, separation • Forviewingandstudypurposes,avideotape master • Technicolorimbibitionprintsshouldneverbeprojected • SurvivingTechnicolorimbibitionprints,made oneither • Motion PicturePrintsandSeparationNegatives Preservation ofTechnicolorDye-Imbibition Nitrate-baseTechnicolorimbibitionprintsshouldbe • in thedarkwithlowrelativehumidity(20–30% negatives, andotherpreprintmaterialsshouldbestored temperature of0 vaults speciallydesignedfornitratefilmstorage,ata wound oncoresandstoredinuntapedfilmcans storage cannotbeprovided,nitrate-base imbibitionprints aluminum cans. Film insteelcansshouldbe transferredtoplasticor materials shouldbepreservedinthesamemanner. tives, masterpositives,soundtracks,andotherpreprint humidity ofabout30%.Nitratecameraseparationnega- etate-base materialsshouldbestoredat0 a temperatureof40 videotapes. purpose. Theinternegativecanalsobeusedtomake Film 5272(specialorderin35mm)issuitableforthis from theimbibitionprints;EastmanColorInternegative should bepreparedfromacolorinternegativemade color imbibitionprints.Duplicatemotionpictureprints and duplicateusertapesshouldbemadefromTechni- ment. or routinelyviewedonSteenbeckssimilarequip- able historicalartifactsandmustbetreatedassuch. nitrate orcellulosetriacetatesafetyfilm,areirreplace- be transferredtoplasticoraluminumcans. lower. Filmintin-platedorpaintedsteelcansshould ° F (–18 ° F (4.4 ° C ) orlowerandwitharelative ° C ) orlower.Ideally,triac- Recommendations ° F (–18 ° F [–18 RH ° ) and C ° ) or C ]) TheAmericanFilmInstitute,inconjunctionwiththe • Withproperhandlingandstorage,original nitrateand • designed humidity-controlled0 pendix 19.1attheendofChapter19),orinlarger,specially cost explosion-prooffreezers(asubjectdiscussedinAp- dition caneasilybepreservedalmostindefinitelyinlow- years aftertheyweremade. ers remaininverygoodconditiontoday,morethan50 trate filmsbecameunusableafteronly20or25years;oth- base itself.Underadversestorageconditions,someni- early Technicolorfilmsaremuchmorestablethanthefilm relative humidity,thelongerfilmwilllast. how thefilmispackaged.Thelowertemperatureand and relativehumidityofstorage,and,toalesserextent,by cellulose triacetatefilmisinfluencedbythetemperature The usefullifeofbothcellulosenitratefilmandmodern highly flammablecellulosenitrate-basefilmstocktoless preservation, seeChapter9and Chapter20). individuals (forfurtherdiscussion ofmotionpicture ture andvideotapelibraries, museums, archives,and storage servicesforcommercial studios,motionpic- films. Thehigh-securityfacilities shouldofferlow-cost nicolor nitrateprintsandnegativesother other storagebuildings,shouldbeprovidedforTech- cates keptattheother.Separateareas,isolatedfrom should bestoredatonelocation,withback-updupli- motion picturesandvideotapes.Originalmaterials long-term preservationofcolorandblack-and-white facilities attwoseparategeographiclocationsforthe signed, low-temperature,humidity-controlledstorage Library ofCongress,shouldadministercarefullyde- original Technicolorimbibitionprintsmuststop. collecting institutionsaroundtheworldofscreening practice ofsomethemajorfilmarchivesandother production mediaemergeinthefuture.Thecurrent printing mastersforwhateverfilmandelectronicre- in theiroriginalform—savedsothattheycanserveas to seethe“realthing.”Thesefilmsmustbepreserved for thepleasureoffilmgoingaudienceswhowouldlike prints arenotexpendablefilmstobeviewedandabused possibly thousandsofyears.Technicolorimbibition good conditioncanbepreservedforhundredsand cellulose triacetateTechnicolorimbibitionprintsstillin preserved inthesamemanner. soundtracks, andotherpreprintmaterialsshouldbe camera separationnegatives,masterpositives, see (for furtherinformationonnitratefilmpreservation, proof freezersatatemperatureof0 ethylene/aluminum-foil bags,andstoredinexplosion- num cans,double-sealedinvapor-proofpaper/poly- humidity ofabout40%,placedintapedplasticoralumi- should bewoundoncores,conditionedtoarelative In 1950–52,themotionpictureindustryconvertedfrom Cellulose nitratemotionpicturefilmsstillingoodcon- At anygivenstoragetemperature,thecolorimagesof Appendix 19.1 attheendofChapter19).Nitrate ° F (–18 ° F (–18 ° C ) storagevaults. ° C ) orlower

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: ver image,ahotwater“wash-off”(atabout130 Following developmentandchemicalbleachingofthesil- cent tothedevelopingsilvergrainswithinemulsion. ning” developerwhichselectivelyhardenedgelatinadja- camera separationnegativesweredevelopedwitha“tan- print film.MatrixfilmsprintedfromthethreeTechnicolor of imagedyesfromthreegelatinrelief“matrix”filmstoa “Mack” AmesofTechnicolor). cally controlledtransfermachinesdesignedbyMalcolmH. Cambridge, Massachusetts,whichconstructedtheelectri- prints, orIBprints(IBstandsfortheI.B.Corporationof motion pictureprintshavesometimesbeencalleddyetransfer reels ofmotionpicturefilm.Technicolordye-imbibition ery toprintinregisterallthreedyeimagesoncomplete ever, theTechnicolorprocessrequiredcomplexmachin- Japan in1947)printprocessesforstillphotography.How- fer (introducedin1946)andFujiDyecolor dyes inamannerverysimilartotoday’sKodakDyeTrans- images withpreformedacidiccyan,magenta,andyellow Technicolor Dye-ImbibitionProcess Color ImageFormationwiththe life ofbothtypesfilm(seeChapter9). the ImagePermanenceInstitute Chapter10 storage thancellulosenitratefilm,butrecentresearchat etate filmwaslongbelievedtobemuchmorestablein hazardous cellulosetriacetate“safety-base”film.Triac- The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess image (mostearly Technicolorprintsalsocontained alow- ture containedbothasilver soundtrackandadyecolor imbibition printing.Thecompleted full-colormotionpic- and developedfixedinconventional chemicalspriorto tact-speed black-and-whitefilm printedwiththesoundtrack “blank” filmusedbyTechnicolor wasaninexpensive,con- the matrixfilms.Afterintroduction ofsoundfilms,the film absorbed(imbibed,or“drank-up”)dyesfromeach of film (calleda“blank”film),andthegelatincoatingon exact register)withtheemulsionofanunsensitizedprint matrix filmsweresuccessivelyplacedinbriefcontact(in hundreds ofmotionpicturesshotoncolornegativefilm. Technicolor imbibitionreleaseprintsweremadeformany duction ofimbibitionprints.Beginningintheearly1950’s, versal motionpicturecolorfilms;thisinturnallowspro- ration negativesprintedfromKodachromeandotherre- and similarchromogenicnegatives,aswellfromsepa- are normallycarriedoutinbrightlylightedrooms. ing isnotalight-sensitiveprocess;theprintingprocedures thickness atanygivenpointintheimage.Imbibitionprint- dye absorbedbythematrixfilmisafunctionofgelatin the process.Whenimmersedinadyebath,amountof different areasoftheimage.Fixinganddryingcompleted which variedinthicknessaccordingtothedensitiesof removed unhardenedgelatin,forminggelatinreliefimages perature andlow-humiditystoragewill film canlastlongerthancommonlybelieved.Low-tem- has ashorterlifethanoncesupposed,andcellulosenitrate have generallysimilaragingcharacteristics:triacetatefilm cated thatcellulosenitrateandtriacetatefilms The term“imbibition”referstotheabsorptionandtransfer The Technicolordye-imbibitionprocessproducedcolor To makeaprint,thecyan,magenta,andyellowdyed Matrices canalsobeprinteddirectlyfromEastmanColor 4 andelsewherehasindi- vastly extendthe ° F [54.5 ° C ]) supplied byEastmanKodakCompany. gland andItaly.MostoftheTechnicolorprintfilmwas duced thematrixfilmsforTechnicolorplantsinEn- for Technicolor,anduntil1976KodakLtd.ofEnglandpro- after thatyear,Kodakproducedanumberofspecialfilms was usedinthecameratofilmseparationnegatives; cess. Priortoabout1940,KodakSuper-XXnegativefilm tive filmsandmatrixneededintheimbibitionpro- most fromthebeginningandproducedseparationnega- density silver“key”imagetoadddepththeshadows). City, London,andRome, on, however.WithlaboratoriesinHollywood,NewYork operation onJune14,1978.“ColorbyTechnicolor”lives facility —thelastTechnicolorimbibitionplantceased in RomewasshutdownonJune1,1978,andtheLondon ment dismantled.Technicolor’soverseasimbibitionplant Hollywood, Californiawasclosedandtheprintingequip- United StatesandEurope. ended theeraofpermanentcolormotionpicturesin color hadnointerestinrevivingtheprocess.Thisabruptly nicolor imbibitionplantshadbeendismantledandTechni- appearing inmotionpicturepublications.BythentheTech- until 1979,whenaseriesofarticlesoncolorstabilitybegan paratively poorimagestabilityofEastmanColorprints For thatmatter,notmanyknewverymuchaboutthecom- dinary imagestabilityofTechnicolordye-imbibitionprints. few peopleinthefilmindustrywereawareofextraor- mark registrationin84countries. process; the“Technicolor”nameisprotectedbytrade- longer referstoanyparticularmotionpicturefilmstockor also processedthenegatives).“ColorbyTechnicolor”no Technicolor laboratoriesmadetheprints(andinmostcases, duced bytheTechnicolorCorporation,simplymeansthat of mostthetheatricalandtelevisionreleaseprintspro- color,” whichformanyyearshasappearedinthetitleframes theatrical filmproducers.Theslogan“ColorbyTechni- mogenic colornegativeandprintfilmsfortelevision color nowprocessesEastman,Fuji,andAgfa-Gevaertchro- cassettes forthehomevideomarket. world butwasalsotheworld’slargestduplicatorofvideo was notonlythelargestmotionpictureprocessorin it waspurchasedbyCarltonCommunications,Technicolor acquired Technicolorin1983for$100million).Atthetime & ForbesGroup,for$780million(MacAndrews purchased Technicolorfromitspreviousowner,MacAndrews Carlton CommunicationsP.L.C.,aBritishfirmthatin1988 Color MotionPicturesComestoanEnd The 45-YearEraof “Permanent” Printing PlantinChina Technicolor BuildsaNew Imbibition ity. In1974the Chinesegovernmentcontracted withTech- world, thePeople’sRepublic ofChinagainedthecapabil- manent colormotionpicture productionintheWestern Kodak hadbeencloselyinvolvedwithTechnicoloral- In February1975,theTechnicolorimbibitionplantin Ironically,almostsimultaneously withthelossofper- At thetimeofTechnicolorimbibitionplantclosings, With theitsdye-imbibitionlaboratoriesclosed,Techni- 5 thecompanyisnowownedby 6 348

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 349 h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs chines installed in1968. hai isequippedwithtworotary imbibitiontransferma- started producingtheirown. said tohavesuppliedmatrix stocksbeforetheChinese negative andintermediateprint stockstoChina tion plants.Kodaksuppliesconsiderable quantitiesofcolor and matrixfilmformakingreleaseprintsintheirimbibi- movies andvideoproductions. lation inexcessofonebillionpeople,isahugemarketfor for showinginruralareas. of 8.75mm(35mmblankstockslitintofourstrips)copies about 1,000–2,00016mmprintsandthesamenumber being madeforverypopularfilms;inaddition,thelabmakes said tobeabout25035mmcopies,withup500copies The normalprintrunfortheBeijingimbibitionplant is able atlowcost;bothoftheseconditionsnowexistinChina. lease printsarerequiredandwhenskilledlaborisavail- its besteconomicadvantagewhenlargenumbersofre- equipment. an advancedmodificationofpreviousTechnicolorprinting requirements. Ithasbeenreportedthattheequipmentis specially constructedbyTechnicolorLtd.tomeetChinese in 1979commentedonthenewimbibitionplant: Picture andTelevisionEngineers( prepared fromthecolornegatives. and othercolornegativefilms,imbibitionmatricesare been abandoned;ChinesefilmsareshotwithEastmanColor Technicolor cameras(discussedlaterinthischapter)have of theplantbeganinlate1978.Theoriginalthree-strip imbibition printingplantconstructedinChina.Operation nicolor Ltd.inEnglandtohaveacompletemotionpicture Another largeimbibitionfilm laboratory locatedinShang- The Chinesenowmanufacturetheirownblankstock Most oftheequipmentsuppliedtoChinawasnewand A delegationofmemberstheU.S.SocietyMotion for bothsystems. and thatthecolorqualityiscomparable rials color mate- less thanforconventionalpositive ties inwhichtheyaremadeconsiderably imbibition processinthesinglesubjectquanti- friends toldusthattheprintcostsonadye prints aremadeofeachsubject.OurChinese of numbers large China, of all throughout tories nowmakingreleaseprintstobeshown sense. WiththeBeijingandShanghailabora- tion ofourChinesehostsandtheanswermakes lete intheUnitedStates?Weaskedthisques- the imbibitionsystemwhichisvirtuallyobso- materials increased;sowhywouldthePRCadopt gradually declinedastheuseofcolorpositive is notusedintheUnitedStatestoday,having Technicolor processisimportantinChina.It and producingaqualityproduct. cated process,operatingcorrectlyandefficiently, quality. Herewasaverynewplant,compli- were greatlyimpressedwiththescreencolor reels oftheprintswereprojectedforusandwe cleanliness ofthisfacility..Anumber . Somemaywonderwhytheimbibitionor The groupwasimpressedbytheextreme 8 Theimbibitionmotionpictureprocessisat 7 11 9 Thesemachines, whichwere China,withanestimatedpopu- SMPTE ) visitingChina 10 andis transfer thecyan,magenta,andyellowdyeimages. The Russianmachinesrequirethreepassesofeachfilmto stainless steelbeltfoundintheTechnicolorequipment. wheel about40inches(1meter)indiameterinsteadofthe designed andbuiltinRussia,havealargedye-transfer as SocieteTechnicolor. few yearsbeginningin1955;theFrenchdivisionwasknown also operatedaplantinJoinville,France(nearParis)for color ItalianaS.p.A.facilityinRome1955.Technicolor Technicolor Ltd.plantinEngland1937andtheTechni- plant inHollywood,California.Thiswasfollowedbythe 1924 Technicoloropenedaprocessingandimbibitionprinting ratories, andequipmentshopwerebuiltinBoston,but name waschosenasatributetoM.I.T. Comstock &Westcott,Inc.The“Tech”intheTechnicolor and in1912formedtheengineeringcompanyofKalmus, mates attheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(M.I.T.) his partnerC.A.Hight.KalmusandComstockwereclass- nancial backingfromBostonattorneyWilliamCoolidgeand Dr. DanielF.Comstock,andW.BurtonWestcott,withfi- in 1915Boston,MassachusettsbyDr.HerbertT.Kalmus, The BeginningsofTechnicolor color additiveprocess: curred atoneofthefirstpublicdemonstrationstwo- Technicolor. Kalmushasdescribedtheproblemsthatoc- registration sooncausedtheprocesstobeabandonedby register bythetheaterprojectionist,anddifficultieswith the singlepieceofnitratefilmhadtobekeptinprecise and greenfiltersinfront.Thetwoimagecomponentson film. Theprojectorforthisfilmhadtwoapertureswithred single-lens beam-splittercamerawasusedtoshootthe from BostontoJacksonville,Floridafortheproduction.A car withacompleteprocessinglaboratoryandtookthe process. Tomakethefilm,Technicoloroutfittedarailroad this wastheonlyfilmTechnicolormadewithadditive duced in1917Floridausingatwo-coloradditiveprocess; sic design. tion pictureswithimbibitiontransfermachinesofthisba- Soviet Unionformanyyearsprintedsomeofitscolormo- The company’sfirstfilm, The firstTechnicolorprocessingplants,researchlabo- The TechnicolorMotionPictureCorporationwasfounded a picturecalled Hall inNewYorkCity.Wewerephotographing “revolutionary” TechnicolorprocessatAeolian Mining Engineerstogiveanexhibitionofthe then veryyoung company. brought aboutthefirstdeep depression forthe the difficultiesofregistration intheprojection some furtherexperiencesin thetheatrewith to registerthepictureat outset.Thisand seen onthescreen.Theprojectionist hadfailed the mostglaringcolorfringes anyonehadever picture begantoappear,andbeholdtherewere After myenthusiasticpreliminaryremarksthe terested infinancingthegrowthofTechnicolor. and about150others,manyofwhomwerein- The audienceincludedMr.Coolidge,Hight I wasinvitedbytheAmericanInstituteof The

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This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: Casablanca, movies inthe was primarilyinterestedinacquiringthemorethan2,200 broadcasts nationwidebysatelliteandcablesystems,Turner News Network)andWTBStelevision,a“superstation”that System, Inc.AstheoperatorofCNN(theworldwideCable Ted Turner’sAtlanta,GeorgiabasedTurnerBroadcasting purchasing MGM,suchfilmclassicsas purchase, includedmostpre-1950WarnerBros.films).By tures release, first two-colorsubtractivemotionpicturewasaMetroPic- and assuchwasquitedeficientincolorreproduction.The the filmondyebaths.Thiswasstillatwo-colorprocess films wereindividuallydyedwithsubtractivecolorsbyfloating blank film)cementedtogether,back-to-back.Therelief lar tothelater“matrix”filmsfortransferringdyesa consisted oftwocellulosenitrategelatinrelieffilms(simi- until thefollowingyear. small laboratory,andthefilmwasnotwidelydistributed film quicklyexceededthelimitedcapacityofTechnicolor’s New YorkCityinNovember1922.Publicdemandforthe The firstshowingofthefilmwasatRialtoTheaterin May WongandwasfilmedbyTechnicolorinHollywood. Library, atacostofalmost Library, nowknownastheTurnerEntertainmentCo.Film The Cemented-FilmTwo-ColorProcess California, andanumberofother nicolor, Inc.),the44-acreMGMstudiolotinCulverCity, Metrocolor filmlab(whichwaseventuallyacquiredbyTech- division (whichkepttheUAFilmLibrary), sold offthe was inhand,Turnerpromptlybrokeupthecompanyand and MGM/UA Chapter10 The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess acquisition ofUnitedArtistsin1981,thefirmbecame over 200black-and-whitefilm classics, including with filmdirectorsoverTurner’s planstoartificially“colorize” brary, Turnerbecameinvolved inaheatedcontroversy Entertainment Co.division,retainedonlythe to reducethemassivedebtresultingfrompurchase. The Goldwyn Mayer—betterknownas prints permonth.In1924MetroPicturesbecame plant withacapacityofaboutonemillionfeetrelease as producer.In1923TechnicolorbuiltasecondBoston Metro Picturesdistributedthefilm,Technicolorhadacted which Technicolorreceivedabout$165,000.Eventhough was quitesuccessfulandgrossedmorethan$250,000,of more thanblack-and-whiteprintsinthosedays.Thefilm prints costabout$0.27perfoot,whichwassubstantially nal TechnicolorpilotplantonBrooklineAvenueinBoston; since beenenlargedandnowincludesthe 3,300 featurefilms.) market filmlibrary.Inall, Turner nowownsmorethan cation toothertelevisionbroadcasters.Once sale onvideocassetteandvideodisc,worldwidesyndi- Almost immediatelyafteracquiring the Developed in1919,anewmethodofmakingcolorprints Prints of In 1986 In theend,TurnerBroadcasting,throughits

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Film MGM Post- at theUniversityofCaliforniaLosAngeles( man sis ofpatentrights claimedbyEdison’scompanies. attempted tocontrolallfilmmaking companiesontheba- organization, foundedinthe late 1800’sbyThomasEdison, easier toevadetheMotionPicture PatentsCompany;this fornia —farawayfromthe EastCoast—madeitmuch filmmaking companiestoHollywood wasthatbeinginCali- wood. Anothermajorfactor intheearlymigrationof locations, etc.)withinarelativelyshortdistanceofHolly- ral scenery(mountains,deserts,forests,anocean,urban tion filmingandbecauseofthetremendousvarietynatu- U.S. becausethemildclimatepermittedyear-roundloca- become thecenterofmotionpictureindustryin ply rushprintstoHollywoodfilmmakers.had was necessarytosetupthisprocessingoperationsup- were establishedonNorthColeAvenueinHollywood. It In late1985the hair, eyes,skin,etc. for thebackground,props,actors’andactresses’clothes, research, theartistsdecidewhatcolorsareappropriate film. Basedonintuition,andperhapsabitofhistorical by-frame basistoavideotapetransferofblack-and-white ized videoprocesswherebyartistsaddcoloronaframe- a majorprojecttomakenewprintof Toll Is KnowntoExistToday No OriginalPrintof Casablanca, Technicolor OpensItsFirstLabInHollywood with films generallywillceasetobeavailable. cording toPeterComandiniof which hadbeenlocatedintheLibraryofCongress.Ac- created,” usingasaguidewrittenscenarioforthefilm missing section—thefinal300feetoffilmwas“re- camera negativesformostofthefilmhadsurvived.The Eastman ColorPrintFilm5384.Fortunately,theoriginal It islikelythatexceptforafewoftheclassicssuchas black-and-white filmsentunharmedbacktothevault. used fortelevisionandvideocassetterelease,withtheoriginal Incredibly, itappearsthatnotasinglecompleteprintof In 1924thefirstTechnicolorlaboratoryandcameraunit

of YCM Always footage ofthewavesbreakingonrocks. color endingwithactualtwo-colorTechnicolor We effectivelyre-createdtheTechnicolortwo- with anoriginalTechnicolortwo-colorcamera. man Color,butitwasshotonasecondshoot expediency’s sake,weinitiallyshotitonEast- shot somefootageofthattwoways.For ments oftherocksandsurfinshow.We rocks atMalibuthatmatchedframeenlarge- cards onfilmandwegotsomeshotsof grounds andthelettering.Weshottitle of anoriginaltitlecard,reproducetheback- we hadanartist,workingfromablow-upframe four titlecardsweresupposedtohavesaidand

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Sea on 350

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 351 dak Dye Transferprocessforstillphotography. dak are possiblewithanyimbibitionprocess,includingtheKo- composition oftheprintingdyebaths.Controlsthistype the developmentofseparations,orbychanging saturation andcontrastcouldalsobeadjustedbyaltering on thebeam-splitterprismsintwo-colorcameras.Color saturation couldbereducedatwillbychangingthefilters Technicolor processwasthencapable.”Thelevelofcolor black-and-white to“themostgarishrenderingofwhichthe six differentcolorlevels,fromslightlymorethan the picture,TechnicolormadetestprintsforFairbanksat Players-Lasky Corporationproductionof scribed anotherseriousproblem: were easilyscratchedduringprojection,andKalmusde- process haddifficultiesofitsown.Thecementedfilms the previoustwo-coloradditiveprocess;however,new plagued problems that projectionregistration nated the an immediatecriticalandfinancialsuccess. a considerablesumformotionpicturein1925,butitwas relief filmscementedback-to-backwas One ofthemostfamoustwo-colorfilmsmadewith h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 that colorwouldbeagreatassetin color inmotionpicturesbutthatDouglasFairbanksfelt there wasconsiderableskepticismaboutthedesirabilityof Kalmus haswrittenthatatthetimethisfilmwasmade with DouglasFairbanks,releasedbyUnitedArtistsin1925. the The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs In decidingthetypeofcolorreproductiontobeusedin Toll The The cemented-filmtwo-colorsubtractiveprocesselimi-

Wasteland of itsseconddepression. process andTechnicolorentered intothedepths ture ortwoobviouslyitwas notacommercial tention, couldoperateinthis mannerforapic- cess andreshipped.Whilewe, withspecialat- where theywereputthrough adebucklingpro- and returningthemtoourlaboratory inBoston elling aboutthecountryreplacingtheseprints And soitbecamenecessarytohavementrav- out offocusduringprojectioninthetheatre. time andwitheachchangethepicturejumps direction ofthisbucklingchangesfromtimeto film, withgelatinemulsiononbothsides,the celluloid ontheother.Butwithdoublecoated it hasgelatinemulsionononesideandplain and coolingoffagain,curlsorbucklesbecause of passingthroughtheheatprojector piracy withoutcolor. pate them.PersonallyIcouldnotimagine because noonehastakenthetroubletodissi- tional doubtshavebeenentertained,Ithink, unobtrusive blackandwhite.Theseconven- which motionpicturesderivedfromthe militate againstthesimplicityanddirectness action. Inshortithasbeenfeltthatwould ing, andfacialexpression,blurconfusethe and distracttheeye,takeattentionfromact-

Black of As youknow,motionpicturefilm,asaresult The argumenthasbeenthatitwouldtire

the

Pirate

andby Sea wasfollowedin1924bytheFamous costoveronemilliondollarstomake, Ben 17

Hur, 18 releasedin1925by The

The Black The

Black

Wanderer

Pirate:

Pirate, MGM

of . tion ofathree-strip camerawasfarmorecomplicated than necessary forpropercolorreproduction, buttheconstruc- subtractive colors—cyan, magenta, andyellow—were reproduction unobtrusive. and music”inthefilmshelped makethelackofgoodcolor blues weretoogreenish.Kalmus oncesaidthatonly“girls filmed outdoors.Redswerereproducedastoopinkishand duced, andthedeficiencieswereobviousinmostscenes many colorsfoundinnaturalsceneswerenotwellrepro- decoration colorscouldbecarefullyselected.However, results withindoorstudiofilmingwherecostumeandset pleasing reproductionoffleshtonesandgavereasonable color processes;thesesubtractivecolorsproducedfairly improved machineswereoperatingat330feetperminute. by 1975,whentheHollywoodlaboratorywasshutdown, first transfermachineoperatedatabout15feetperminute; film; theprocesswasrepeatedoverandover.Technicolor’s and driedpriortodyeingforatransferanotherprint a dyetransferwascompleted,thematrixfilmwashed capable ofproducingmorethan1,000releaseprints.After matrix filmthatbecameavailableinthelate1960’swas out. Asinglesetofmatricesmadeonthepolyester-base produce manyhundredsofreleaseprintsbeforewearing the courseofrepeatedprintings.Onesetmatricescould fers andalsopreventedthematrixfilmfromstretchingin enabled exactregistrationduringeachofthethreetrans- pins incontactwiththedyedmatrixfilms;thissystem sprocket hole. meters) long;thebeltshadcoin-silverpinstoengageeach stainless steelbeltswhichwerejustover205feet(about63 the transfers.Thematrixfilmswereheldon35mm-wide under waterforabout1secondatthebeginningofeach nate airbubblesbetweenthetwofilms;filmsremained ces werebroughttogetherinawarmwaterbathtoelimi- ing thedyetransfersteps.Theprintfilmanddyedmatri- trix filmsinexactregisterwiththepositiveprintfilmdur- with thecurrentKodakDyeTransferprocessforstillprints. at roomtemperatureisfrom2to5minutesforeachdye and electricalinduction.Bycomparison,thetransfertime color, includingradiantheating,hot-aircirculation,steam, matrix filmtospeeddyetransferweretriedbyTechni- matrix films.Severalmethodsofheatingtheprintfilmand by heatingtheprintfilmwhileitwasincontactwith about 18–20secondsperdye;thetransferswerequickened later yearsTechnicolorachievedadyetransfertimeof diffusion ofdyesinthegelatincoatingprintstock.In minimized lossesinimageresolutioncausedbylateral systems thatpermittedrelativelyhigh-speedprintingand which hadbeentreatedwithadyemordant. the dyestransferredtoasinglegelatin-coated“blank”film These reliefmatricesweresoakedinaciddyes,rinsed,and two-color imbibitionprocessinwhichseparateprinting matrices Dye-Imbibition Process The TechnicolorTwo-Color It wasknownfromthebeginning, ofcourse,thatthree Orange-red andblue-greendyeswereusedinthetwo- During thetransfersteps,filmwasplacedover Equipment wasdesignedtoholdtheTechnicolorma- Technicolor developedrapid-transferdyeandmordant In late1927thecementedfilmsystemwasreplacedbya weremadefromtheoriginalcameranegatives.

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: features andcartoonsreleasedby Corporation tomakereleaseprintsforagreatnumberof process. ent companyofConsolidated)weremadewiththeTrucolor western featuresreleasedbyRepublicPictures(thepar- Agfa-Gevaert motionpicturefilms.ManyoftheRoyRogers lywood labandatpresentprocessesEastman,Fuji, discontinued about1958.ConsolidatedisstillamajorHol- solidated FilmIndustriesinHollywood;theprocesswas Eastman ColorPrintFilm,Type5382. after that,Trucolorwaschangedagain,andthistimeused ploying DuPontColorPositiveFilm,Type275.Afewyears later, Trucolorwaschangedtoathree-colorprocessem- cyan couplerscoatedontheotherside.About3years coated ononesideofthefilmandanemulsioncontaining with anemulsioncontainingmagentaandyellowcouplers unusual color-blindincorporated-couplerchromogenicfilm on EastmanTwo-ColorPrintSafetyFilm,Type5380,an were madefrombipackorsuccessiveframeseparations two-color processwhenitwasintroducedin1948;prints the 1940’sandevenintoearly1950’s.Trucolorwasa Trucolor, andCinecolor,enjoyedsignificantpopularityduring two-color systemsandseveral,includingMagnacolor, companies intheU.S.andEurope.Mostofthesewere motion pictureprocesseswereintroducedbyavarietyof That CompetedwithTechnicolor Other EarlyColorMotionPictureProcesses camera wasperfected. to athree-colorprocessoncethethree-strip(three-color) difficult toadaptthetwo-colorimbibitionprintingprocess process isoftencalledthetwo-stripprocess.Itwasnottoo era negative,andbecauseofthisthetwo-colorimbibition were preparedfromalternateframesoftheoriginalcam- rectly calledatwo-stripcamera.Twoprintingmatrices at atime,thistwo-colorcamerahassometimesbeenincor- Chapter10 Because thecameramechanismpulleddowntwoframes successive framessimultaneouslyonasinglestripoffilm. the two-colorcamerainwhichabeamsplitterexposedtwo The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess incorporated in Kodachromefilmintroduced byKodakin 1931), grantedtoDr.L.T. Troland ofTechnicolor,were of U.S.Patent1,808,584(applied forin1921andissued systems, includingintegraltripack films.Certainelements volved inresearchwithvarious othercolorphotography lose nitrate-basefilm. processes beforeabout1951weremadeonunstablecellu- shot withCinecolor,Trucolor,andothermotionpicture color processes.AswithTechnicolor,all35mmmovies not awareofanystabilitydataonthesenon-Techni- nicolor Corporationduringthelate1940’s.Thisauthor is doned about1954. the ColorCorporationofAmerica;Supercinecolorwasaban- Film), andtheCinecolorCorporationchangeditsname to Supercinecolor (shotonstandardEastmanColorNegative 1950’s Cinecolorbecameathree-colorprocessknownas lumbia, UnitedArtists,Universal,andothers.Intheearly Cinecolor wasatwo-colorprocessusedbythe All threeversionsofTrucolorwereprocessedbyCon- During the1930’sand1940’sanumberofothercolor It isinterestingtonotethat Technicolorwasalsoin- These processeswereseriouscompetitionfortheTech- MGM , Paramount,Co- the photocellsintraditionalprojectorsaresensitive. of thewavelengthslightandinfraredradiationtowhich dye soundtracksbecausesilverhasauniformabsorption Silver soundtracksgivebetterreproductionthan prior totransferringthethreeimagedyesbyimbibition. washed, andtreatedwithabasic5%chrome-alumsolution white motionpictureprintfilm.Thefilmwasthenfixed, silver soundtrackwasdevelopedonordinaryblack-and- cess, Technicolorbegantoproducesoundfilmsinwhicha to music,was talking” picturewith“live”soundthroughout,inaddition motion picturewithmusicandsoundeffects.Thefirst“all included were producedbythetwo-colorimbibitionprocess;these mendous publicinterestincolorfilms. in 1929;thefilmfeaturedanall-starcastandsparkedtre- Technicolor SoundFilmsAppear cussed laterinthischapter. version ofKodachromefilm,calledMonopackdis- company madedye-imbibitionprintsfromalow-contrast an integraltripackfilm,althoughforsomeproductionsthe of theTrolandpatent.Technicoloritselfneverproduced amounted tomillionsofdollars,forrightscertainparts 1935. KodakpaidTechnicolorroyalties,whichultimately Florenz Ziegfieldproduction releasestarringLionelAtwill,andtheSamuelGoldwyn- Bros. back onthetwo-color period,Kalmuswrote: business andrenewedfinancial problems.In1955,looking tion process,Technicolorsoon founditselfwithdeclining ited two-colorprocess. the ultimatecolorqualitypossible withtheinherentlylim- Kalmus hassaidthatthese twofilmsmayhavereached exact register. through asinglelensofthreeseparationnegativesin complex arrangementallowedthesimultaneousfilming and blue-sensitivefilmplacedemulsion-to-emulsion.This at oneapertureandabipackconsistingofred-sensitive prism beam-splittertoexposeagreen-sensitivenegative The Technicolorthree-stripcameraemployedaglass The After theintroductionoftwo-colorimbibitionpro- Between theyears1929and1935,morethan50films Despite theearlysuccesses withthetwo-colorimbibi-

Viking, The

Mystery On releasedin1928,wasthefirstTechnicolor

With

of the

the

Show, Whoopee,

Wax releasedbyWarnerBros.

Museum, starringEddieCantor. a1933Warner 352

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 353 h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs California nexttoHollywood. preprint filmelementsontheWaltDisneylotinBurbank, Storage vaultsfornitrateseparationnegativesandother separate location. features. Allofthenitrateseparations havebeenduplicatedoncellulosetriacetateblack-and-white filmandarestoredata negatives fromDisney’slive-action films,andsequential-frameseparationnegativesforthestudio’s cartoonsandanimated The Disneystoragevaults,which arenotrefrigerated,housetheoriginalTechnicolor three-strip cameraseparation one knows,todoagoodjobofthiskindthree of colorsfromtwocomponentcolors.Asevery- process whichwasanattempttocreateallshades But afterallthiswasonlyatwocomponent

1980 was thenatwocolorprocess. doomed tofailuresimplybecauseTechnicolor the rescue.Thisprematurerushtocolorwas color researchanddevelopmentmustcometo Something hadtobedoneandagainTechni- “it hurtstheeyes,”istooexpensive,”etc. doesn’t wantcolor,”“itdetractsfromthestory,” constantly heardproducerssay“thepublic depression. Oncethetidesetagainstuswe so afterawhileTechnicolorwasinitsthirddeep fects creptinsuchasexcessivegraininess.And And intherushtomeetdemandotherde- out formorecolorandtheywantedplentyofit. garish colorsinhoweverbadtaste.Theywere nity theyhadbyinsistinguponmoreand ployed. Someproducersspoiledwhatopportu- tures intoTechnicolornosuchcarewasem- was clamoringtoturnhisblackandwhitepic- But whentherushwasonandeveryproducer pictures evenwiththistwocomponentmethod. etc., itwaspossibletomakewonderful up, withtheamountofskyshowinginscene, colors placedbeforethecameras,withmake- care inthechoiceofmaterials, components arenecessary.Butwithsufficient 19

1980

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: h xrodnrl tbeTcnclrDeIbbto oinPcueClrPitPoesChapter10 The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess Disney inthe1987 re-release,thefilm’s50thanniversary. animated featurereleasedin1937. Thefilmhasbeenreleasedmanytimessinceandearned millionsofdollarsmorefor Original nitratesuccessive-frame separationnegativesfrom Snow WhiteandtheSevenDwarfs , theclassicDisney

1980 354

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 355 being printedbymeansofwhatthefirmcalled sity andcolorbalanceoftheimagewhileafilmwas better colorsaturationwithlowerimagecontrast. tive-positive processes.Thisgavetheprintssomewhat spectral characteristicsthandyesavailableforcurrentnega- The dyesintheTechnicolorimbibitionprocesshavebetter color reproductionoftheprocesswerecontinuallyimproved. During theyearsthatfollowed,imageresolutionand reproduction, andwasmetwithimmediateenthusiasm. visual indicationsofsulfidingorotherdeterioration. image stillappearedtobeinverygoodcondition,withno clips examinedrecentlybythisauthor,thesilver“key” creased projectionlifeofthereleaseprints.Inearlyfilm and asinglefilm; using abeamsplitterincombinationwithseparablebipack black-and-white separationnegativesthroughasinglelens ing about$25,000,thecamerasimultaneouslyfilmedthree era wascompletedunderthedirectionofJ.A.Ball.Cost- back silver image,Bell&Howell( sity unnecessary.Concurrentwiththeeliminationof genta, cyan,andyellowdyesmadeadditionalshadowden- improvements inthematrixfilm,blankstock,andma- lines aroundeachframe. in bookandmagazinecolorprinting),formedframe image resolution(inamannersimilartothe“blackprinter” to theshadowareasoffilmandincreasedapparent as the“gray”imageinEurope,addeddensityandcontrast prints untiltheearly1940’s.Thissilver“key”image,known Chapter10 tive wasincludedwithmostofthethree-colorimbibition made fromthegreenrecord(magenta)separationnega- dyes. Afourthneutral-gray“key”developed-silverimage printing withnewlydevelopedcyan,magenta,andyellow two-color imbibitionprintersweremodifiedforthree-color the camerastohelpwithfilming. Technicolor alsosuppliedcrewstrainedintheoperationof productions; in1935therentalfeewasabout$90perweek. Technicolor rentedthecamerastofilmstudiosforspecific negative filmsweremadeforTechnicolorbyEastmanKodak. Technicolor MotionPictureCamera The ComplexThree-Strip(Three-Color) The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs changed toKodakStandard( slight dyedensity correctionswereneeded. Thisallowed ing alongindividualsections oftheprocessingmachinesif direct-wired telephones,notified machineoperatorswork- reference printprojectedon anadjacentscreen)and,over tor carefullymonitoredtheprojected picture(oftenwitha special projectorbeforebeing woundonareel.Anopera- following thefinaldyetransfer, itwasfeddirectlyintoa controlled byadjustingthenumberofspray-jetsactivated. moved fromthefilmpriortotransfercouldbeprecisely rinsed withwaterfromspray-jets;theamountofdyere- method wasperfected.Afterdyeing,thematrixfilmswere bath; beginninginthelate1940’s,animprovedwater-spray trolled byvariationofthetimeortemperaturewater Technicolor developedamethodofcontrollingtheden- The three-colorprocessgaveexcellentcolorandtone In May1932,constructionofacomplexthree-stripcam- This silverimagewasdiscontinuedabout1946because With thedevelopmentofthree-stripcamera, When acompletedsectionoffilmcameoutthedryer system.Initially,thedegreeofdyeremovalwascon- 20 thecellulosenitrate-baseseparation BH KS ) perforations,whichin- ) filmperforationswere wash- for theever-popular three-color processwasaWaltDisneycartoonshortcalled cially designed 1934, DisneyStudiosstartedfilmingcartoonswithaspe- toons directlyfromtheoriginalart.However,beginningin said tominimizethenumberofrejectedprints. accurate controlofthecolorbalancefilmandwas a three-stripcamerawas the 1934film strip camerawasnecessaryforgeneralfilming. time, anditwasforthisreasonthatthecomplexthree- all threecolorrecordsmustbeexposedatexactlythesame “cels”). Toavoidcolorfringingwhenfilmingmovingscenes, made byphotographinglargenumbersofstilldrawings,or technique issuitableonlyforstaticscenes(cartoonsare tion pictureprintfilm.Thesingle-stripsuccessive-frame to makecolornegativesforprintingonconventionalmo- tion prints,thesuccessive-framenegativesarenowused negatives ofcartoons;however,insteadmakingimbibi- strip camerasforshootingsuccessive-frameblack-and-white sure anddevelopmentoftheindividualmatrixfilms. negative canbecompensatedforbyadjustingtheexpo- ever, thecontrastmismatchoforiginalsuccessiveframe color recordfilmsaregiventhesamedevelopment;how- same contrastwiththethreecolorrecordswhenall Most black-and-whitenegativefilmswillnotproducethe genta dyematrixisexposedonlywiththegreen-filterframes. exposing themtoeachthirdframe;forexample,thema- for thistypeoffilming.Thematrixfilmsarepreparedby strip camera;anordinarysingle-stripcameraissuitable erate andmuchlessexpensivethantheTechnicolorthree- respectively. Asuccessive-framecameraissimplertoop- film framesinarowthroughred,green,andbluefilters, Santa’s King Flowers The FirstFull-ColorTechnicolorFilms Silly version andhadhisanimationartistsstartalloverincolor. a full-colorcartoonthatheabandonedtheblack-and-white process. Disneybecamesoenthusiasticabouttheideaof Technicolor showedhimsamplesofthenewthree-color nies famous shortfilm producedbyPioneerPictures. entirely inthree-stripTechnicolor, was for theclosingsequence.Also releasedin1934,andshot eth CenturyPictures,which usedthree-stripTechnicolor the Disney Rothschild, others, nearly halfof color cartoonsthattheprocesswasusedforallnew was agreatsuccessandfollowedinSeptember1932by wood fromitsBostonlaboratoriesin1931.Thecartoon for three-colorprintingwhichhadbeenbroughttoHolly- Hollywood, usingtwo-colorimbibitionequipmentmodified The firstmotionpictureproducedwiththeTechnicolor At first,thethree-stripcamerawasusedtofilmcar- The firstmotionpicturetoinclude liveactionfilmedby At thetimeofthiswriting,DisneyStudiosstillhadsingle- Technicolor madetheprintsof and

Symphonies Neptune

Three

Workshop. and Big Silly ablack-and-whitefeatureproduced byTwenti-

Trees;

Bad andinDecember1932bytheDisneycartoon Little Flowers successive-frame

Symphonies and—after

Wolf. thisfilmwasreleasedin1932aspartof Thesewerefollowedin1933by,among

Pigs Mickey

and Disneywassopleasedwiththe andin1934by

Trees

series.Disneyhadcompleted Mouse The camerawhichexposedthree inblack-and-whitewhen

Band series. Flowers

Funny Concert La 21 The

Cucaracha, and

Little

in1935— House

Trees

Bun-

in a of

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: Pioneer Picturesproduction starring AlanMowbrayandMiriamHopkins.Releasedby use ofcolorinmotionpictures: RKO Chapter10 The 1935Productionof The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess Mamoulian, whodirected liam MakepeaceThackeray’s1848novel New separations weremade,andprints produced onEastmanColorPrint Film5384viaacolormaster positive. reconstructed thefilmwithvariousnegativeandprintelements gatheredfromallovertheworld. California, in Laboratories print hassurvivedfromthe448 printsmadein1935.In1984the three-strip cameras.Despitethe artisticandhistoricalsignificanceofthefilm,notasingle completeTechnicolorimbibitio A productionscenefrom The firstfull-lengththree-stripcolorfilmwasthe1935 , thefilmcostalmostonemilliondollarstomake.Rouben cally differentinmanywaysfromanydramatic [Now] wehavecolor—anewmedium,basi- and stronglights,strikeamelodramaticnote. mood; harshcontrasts,withvelvetyshadows lighting andsparklingdefinition,suggestalighter dramatic mood;high-keyeffects,withbrilliant sombre, heavyshadows,expressasomberly nite languageoflighting:low-keyeffects,with action. Wehavebecomeaccustomedtoadefi- pression enhancetheemotionalmoodof black-and-white picturestomakethevisualim- have variedtheirkeylightinginphotographing For morethan20yearscinematographers Becky Sharp. Becky Becky Sharp Becky

Sharp,

Sharp, saidthisaboutthe The Vanity basedonWil- RKO feature,releasedin1935,was the firstfeaturefilmshotwithTechnicolor

Fair and UCLA a reviewerintheJune14,1935 Reflecting theexcitementofadventfull-colormovies, Film,TelevisionandRadioArchives, workingwith expressing dramaticemotion. ism butalsoatremendouslypowerfulmeansof color wehavenotonlyanewdimensionofreal- or previousblack-and-whitepictures.Andin medium previouslyknown,whetherthestage with amiraculousnewelementin ema, havejoinedhandstoendowthescreen charted domain. lant anddistinguishedoutpostinanalmostun- Although itisdramaticallytedious,agal- of thefirstcrudeandwretchedtalkingpictures. regarded astheequalinhistoricalimportance and itmaybethatinafewyearswill As anexperiment,itisamomentousevent, strange, beautifulandunexpectednewworld. standing onapeakinDarienandglimpsing duces inthespectatorallexcitementof earn itdistinctionasascreendrama,pro- . Althoughitsfaultsaretoonumerousto Science andart,thehandmaidensofcin- 23 New

York 22

Becky Times

commented: Sharp. YCM n

Courtesy of UCLA Film, Television and Radio Archives 356

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 357 Sharp process called Cinecolor.Thisreductiongave littlehintof but byaghastlytransformation intoapallid,washed-out cause ofthefadingthatplagues allcolorpicturestoday, Over theyears,original sparkle hadbeenlost,notbe- Rouben Mamoulian’swittyrendition of‘VanityFair.’. even onecopy! producers norcollectingarchiveshavemanagedtoretain other preprintmaterials)canbefoundtoday.Neitherthe ably, formanyfilmsnotasingleprintorintactnegative(or temperature andhumidityconditions.Almostunbeliev- went beyondsimplynotprovidingstoragewithreasonable for everythingelse.Inmanyinstances,thelackofcare future productions,adoptingapolicyof“benignneglect” the industryhasconcentrateditsattentiononcurrentand Studios beingthemostobviousexample—butasawhole, effort toassurethesurvivaloftheirmovies—WaltDisney course, andsomeproducershavedevotedconsiderable duction andrelease.Therehavebeensomeexceptions,of been astonishinglylaxaboutthecareofitsfilmsafterpro- Collins, writinginMarch1985 in Gitt ofthe of Americancinema,isacaseinpoint.ItwaslefttoRobert being calledoneofthemostimportantfilmsinhistory The Resurrectionof said: “ discussed thefateoforiginalprints: elements ofthefilmcollectedfromalloverworld.They Richard Daytonof h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs Throughout itshistory,muchofthefilmindustryhas Becky Becky television printswerefirstmade, changed handsseveraltimes,andby1958,when out ofexistenceintheearlyFifties,film soundtrack negatives.WhenFilmClassicswent the magentaandcyannegativesfrom Film Classicsremovedandjunkedsectionsfrom were cutto66minutes.Inshorteningthefilm, length 84-minuteversion,while35mmprints theatrical purposes,werereleasedofthefull- Cinecolor process.Thus,16mmprints,fornon- but inthecheapertomanufacture,two-color, cided toreissuethefilm,notinTechnicolor, ably forbudgetaryreasons,FilmClassicsde- over allprintingmaterialsonthefilm.Prob- Film Classics,Inc.,andatthesametimeturned the surviving35mmnegativehavebeenlost. cut version.Sincethen,miscellaneousreelsof was onlyavailableinablack-and-white,16mm neer Pictures,soldallrightsin In 1943,theWhitneysandtheircompany,Pio- first tenminutereelforcolortimingpurposes. Company, itself,retainedaprintofonlythe nitrate printshassurvived.TheTechnicolor far ascanbeascertained,notoneofthoseoriginal domestic useand189forforeignrelease.As total of448releaseprintsthefilm,259for UCLA in1984byrecombiningvariousnegativeandprint In Mayof1935,Technicolormanufactureda

Sharp Sharp, UCLA unveiledadazzlingnewversion of‘BeckySharp,’ isonceagaingettingravereviews.Tom whichforthesecondtimein50yearsis Film,TelevisionandRadioArchives YCM Laboratoriestoresurrect Becky Sharp The

Becky Wall in1984 Becky

Street

Sharp

Sharp

Journal, to 24 Becky subsequently beenusedtoimprovepartsofthe from theCinetecaNazionaleinRome,Italy,andthishas spliced, andbadlyscratchedimbibitionprintwasobtained the article,additionalfootagefromanincomplete,frequently Flynn, OliviadeHavilland(Warner Bros.);and reconstruction of were shotwiththethree-stripcameras.Theseincluded: tion of sections ofthesoundtrackreconstructedfilm. New Jersey,andpartsofthiswereutilizedtoimprove construction of effort byMr.GittandRichardDaytonwasputonview.” the gloriesoforiginaluntilthree-yearrestoration Allah, International Pictures); Star (838,000 meters) ofthree-colorreleaseprints permonth. By 1936Technicolorwasproducing about2,750,000feet Joseph Schildkraut(Selznick International/UnitedArtists). Cinematographer A fascinatingarticlebyGittandDaytondescribingthe Between 1935and1938,anumberofwell-knownfilms In a1984interviewwithMamoulianabouttherestora- More recently,onereelofanoriginalprintwasfoundin

is copy of ity ofthelastreel. and significantimprovementofthecolorqual- allowed fine-tuningofthefilm’scolorbalance Technicolor footageintoitsversion.Thishas the usablesectionsofpreviouslymissing appreciate thefilm’srichTechnicolorlook. we willfinallyhaveopportunitytoonceagain vision prints,ormuchinferiortwo-color only ontruncated16mmblack-and-whitetele- ing months.Afterdecadesofbeingavailable theatrically andonvideotapeduringtheupcom- U.S. PresidentRichardNixon]. known asPatriciaNixon[thewifeofformer was ThelmaRyan—butshebecamebetter University ofSouthernCalifornia.Hername was asophomoreputtingherselfthroughthe players aretwoyoungwomenlookingon.One glide aroundtheballroom,among400bit of theCinetecaarchives,lent director. Asaresult,Dr.GuidoCincotti,head along aletterfromRoubenMamoulian,thefilm’s flew toRomeexaminetheprint,carrying Becky ment therestoration. were freeofsubtitlesandcouldbeusedtosupple- version, arealadvantagebecausetheimages port fromRometotheUnitedStates. made toshipthenitrateprintbymilitarytrans- the LibraryofCongress,arrangementswere MarleneDietrich,Charles Boyer, BasilRathbone,

Becky Born, The bestnewsisthatthisupdatedversion of . . . a representativefromthe . As MiriamHopkinsandSirCedricHardwicke The fragileandbadlywornfilmwasadubbed

Sharp

JanetGaynorandFredric March (Selznick Sharp, Becky Becky inNovember1984.Sincepublicationof Becky isexpectedtobereleasedboth

the85-year-olddirectorcommented: Sharp.

Sharp:

Sharp Adventures UCLA Withtheassistanceof waspublishedin hasnowintegrated UCLA

of 27 UCLA

Robin theItalian Archives

Hood, Garden American UCLA 26 Errol re-

25 of A

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: its premierein1939;this,accordingtoDisney,makes had beenseenbymorethan500millionmoviegoerssince Disney Companybelievesthatbytheendof1987film tries includingtheU.S.,China,andU.S.S.R.TheWalt time onJuly17,1987,simultaneouslyopeningin60coun- soundtrack forDolbyStereo. enhance thislatestre-release,Disneyreworkedthe sum formakingamovie.Writing in make, which time atthe budget a farover and was huge film’s earlyhistory: release in1987,filmcritic John Culhanerecountedthe about themovieonoccasion ofits50thanniversaryre- the FilmPremieredin1937 for theEighthTimein1987,50YearsAfter Snow WhiteandtheSevenDwarfs Chapter10 The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess White White for theproject. from themorethanonemillion drawingsthatweremade contains imagesofmorethan250,000drawings,selected filmed withthesuccessive-frameTechnicolorcameraand Walt Disney’sclassicanimatedTechnicolorfeature Based onaBrothersGrimmfairytale, Separation negativemastersfor maintained at38 underground facilityoperatedbytheRecordsCenterofKansasCity,nearMissouri.Filmstorageareasare (operated byTurnerEntertainmentCompany,aunitofBroadcastingSystem,Inc.)arestoredinthehigh-security “themostpopularAmericanfilmofalltime.”To and

the

Seven Snow ° F (3.3

Dwarfs, White ° C) and40%RH.Onlysafetybasefilmisacceptedforstorageattheundergroundfacility. originallycost$1.5millionto wasreleasedfortheeighth Gone WiththeWind The Released

New Snow

York

White

Times Snow Snow was and othercolorfilmsintheTurnerEntertainmentFilmLibrary rowed dollars. — atafinalcostof$1.5million inmostlybor- listened politelyandmadethefeatureanyway was themostimportantelementofsuccess, cost ofproduction. audience wasn’tlargeenoughtopayforthe fairy tale.Andinthefourthplace,juvenile an adultaudiencewouldn’tevergotoseea sit throughsolongacartoon.Inthethirdplace, office. Inthesecondplace,publicwouldn’t truism thatfantasieswerefailuresatthebox crazy. Inthefirstplace,therewasaHollywood — hissincerestwell-wisherstoldhimhewas cartoon —perhapscostingasmuch$250,000 tion ofmakingthefirstfeature-lengthanimated had soundtracks in10differentlanguages. ever made.Itplayedin41countries andsoon lease —atthetimemost moneyafilmhad and promptlygrossed$8million initsfirstre- had itspremiereinHollywood onDec.21,1937, Disney, whoalwayssaidthatself-confidence In 1934,whenDisneyannouncedhisinten- Snow

White

and

the

Seven

Dwarfs 28

1987 358

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 359

1987 a setofduplicateseparationnegativesfrom been duplicatedwithcellulosetriacetatefilm;forsafekeeping, black-and-white cellulosenitratecameranegativeshave h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs prints forthelatestre-release of Kansas. ground inanabandonedsection ofasaltmineinHutchinson, & Storage,Inc.facilitylocated morethan600feetunder- in thehigh-security,atomicbomb-proof UndergroundVaults together withback-upsofmostDisney’sotherfilms,are with conventional chromogenicmotionpicture printfilm, made availabletoTurnerbyGeorgeEastmanHouse. from theoriginalnitratecameraseparationswhichwere prints fromanewlyreconstructedinternegativeprinted of thefilm’s50thanniversaryin1989,Turnermadenew era separationsarelessthanadequate.Ontheoccasion conditions providedbythemuseumfororiginalcam- To preserve MGM House inRochester,NewYork,havingbeendonatedby the InternationalMuseumofPhotographyatGeorgeEastman sas City.Theoriginalsarenowpartofthecollection security undergroundvaultattheRecordsCenterofKan- color 3-stripcameras,arestoredintherefrigeratedhigh- plicates oftheoriginalnitratenegativesshotwithTechni- from A boxofcellulosetriacetateseparationnegativemasters Originally imbibitionprinted byTechnicolor,theatrical toEastmanHousesomeyearsago.Thestorage Gone WiththeWind Snow

White, ; thenegativeswhicharedu- theoriginalsequential-frame Snow

White Snow weremade

White, Library). Initiallyshownontelevisionthe standards. release of total grosstodateofabout$375million!Thenextre- release, thefilmgrossedanother$45million—givingita generation ofchildren.Inonly2monthsafterthe1987re- on ahugenewworldwideaudiencewitheverysuccessive other classicanimatedfilmsevery5to7years—counting future airingsof for anundisclosedamountofcashandalicensesome production of Technicolor three-stripcamerasisthe1939DavidO.Selznick nitrate cameraseparationnegatives. ( had beenprintedbyseparate exposuresfromtheoriginal previously, purchasedthe dollars (TurnerBroadcastingSystem,Inc.,asmentioned With stereo track. the soundtrack“digitallyenhanced”tocreateasimulated quired televisionrightstothefilmfrom years for$37million.In1987TurnerBroadcastingac- a runningtimeofover separation negativefilmhadbeenshot.Thiswaseditedto cameras, morethanone-halfmillionfeetofblack-and-white the completionoffilmingwithTechnicolorthree-strip to make—farmorethananypreviousmotionpicture.At Color Cinematography,thefilmcostmorethan$4million and ClarkGable.WinnerofthefirstAcademyAwardfor be enormous. 1993. Disneyexpectsrevenuesinthecomingcenturiesto black-and-white successive-frameseparations. printed fromduplicatecolornegativesproducedthe produce imbibitionprintsof The Preservationof Entertainment Companyin1986.) MGM Gone Gone Gone re-released manytimes,earning prints foroneofthere-releases internegative whichwasusedtoprintthespecial70mm tion processandalsoallowedtheproductionofa65mm expensive thanmakingprintswiththeTechnicolorimbibi- from anewcolorinternegative.Thiswassomewhatless work, thefilmearned rights tothemorethan2,200otherfilmsin pany in1986,andbecametheowneroftheatricalrightsto Turner BroadcastingSystem, Inc.brokeupthe also knownasMetrocolorFilm Laboratories,wassoldwhen for atheatricalreleasewhenitwasairedin1976.Later, Lucas’s George of release 1977 the until history in ing movie non-inflation-adjusted dollars,thefilmwastop-gross- justed topmoney-makingmovieofalltime,andevenin Probably themostfamousofallfilmsmadewith MGM In theyearssince1939, Beginning in1966, Disney hastraditionallyre-released

madereleaseprintsonEastmanColorPrintFilm the With With With madetheEastmancolorinternegatives for Star

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This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: tions whenthecolorinternegativewasmade. the originalseparationsduringsubsequentprintingopera- also providedaprotectioncopyintheeventofdamageto rations foruseinfutureyears.Theduplicateseparations stable copiesoftheoriginalblack-and-whitecamerasepa- cellulose triacetateblack-and-whitefilminordertohave tions fromtheoriginalnitrateseparationswithEastman to EastmanHouse aftertheywereduplicated in1966. Wind, cate separationsmadeby from theOriginalNitrateCameraSeparations The 1988Reprintingof Chapter10 The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess made. a newsetofduplicateblack-and-white separationswas duplicate colornegativesfor releaseprinting.Inaddition, interpositive positivewhich in turnwasusedtomakenew ester, NewYorkandused thesetomakeanewcolor seum ofPhotographyatGeorge EastmanHouseinRoch- the InternationalMu- from separations camera nitrate was oftenunsatisfactory,soTurnerborrowedtheoriginal nitrate cameraseparations.Buttheprintqualityobtained tives, For the50thanniversaryre-releaseof At thesametime January 22,1989. Wind An advertisementforthenewlyrestored MGM Turnerplannedtomakenewprintsfromthedupli- MGM , whichappearedin mademasterpositivesandduplicatesepara- haddonatedtheoriginalnitrate separations MGM TheNewYorkTimes madethenewcolorinternega- MGM Gone WiththeWind in1966fromtheoriginal Gone Withthe Gone , Sunday,

With

the tion videocassetteforatotalprofitofabout$7million. and sold220,000copiesofaspecial50thanniversaryedi- about $350,000;thefilmearned$2.5millionatboxoffice ity costsforthe1989re-releasereportedlyamounted to in theaters41Americancities.Restorationandpublic- seum ofModernArt.Duringtheyear,filmwasshown Splendor.” Thepremierewasco-sponsoredbytheMu- Classic MasterpieceRestoredtoItsOriginalTechnicolor at agalacelebrationtohonorthe“WorldPremiereof January 30,1989atRadioCityMusicHallinNewYork Times, nal internegatives madefromtheorigi- and interpositives color and negatives separation camera three-strip duplicate sas City,Missouri (adivisionofUnderground Vaults& underground vaultoperated by theRecordsCenterofKan- Refrigerated StorageVault inKansasCity Film ElementsinaHigh-SecurityUnderground Turner EntertainmentCompanyKeepsBack-Up In anarticleaboutthe1988restorationin For safekeeping,TurnerEntertainment Companystores The once-againreprinted Gone quence inwhichthewords planned torestoreonlytheoriginaltitlese- at on rephotographingthenegativesinearly1987 approved bythelateMr.Selznick,workbegan whole picture.” vices atTurner].“Wedecidedtogowiththe it,” saysMr.RichardMay[directoroffilmser- restored title“madeushungryfortherestof simpler blocktitle.)Seeingthequalityof sweep acrossthescreen.(Laterprintsuseda ing withten-thousandthsofaninch.” the sameasothertwostrips.You’redeal- to thesprocketholes,hopingthatitcomesout the originalataslightlydifferentrelationship and error,”sighsMr.May:“Rephotographing ent colors.” of awindow,andhehadthreenoses—differ- Howard] andScarlettweresilhouettedinfront the thought. and magentacheck,”saysMr.May,cringingat white check,butitappearsasayellow-cyan has onatiethat’ssupposedtobeblack-and- the mendiscussimpendingCivilWar.“Rhett Oaks smoking-roomsceneearlyinthefilm,where graphed.” the Technicolorcamerawhenitwasphoto- shrinkage butmaladjustmentoftheprismin at differentrates;infacttheproblemwasnot thought thattheoriginalnegativeshadshrunk MaxAlexanderreported: YCM [Turner EntertainmentCompany]initially Using asaguide1954Technicolorprint Correcting theproblemswas“largelytrial In anotherscene,hesays,“Ashley[Leslie The worstproblemcameduringtheTwelve According toMr.May,“Ithadlongbeen

With LaboratoriesinBurbank,Calif.

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This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 361 under lessthanidealtemperatureandhumidityconditions. book wenttopressinOctober1992,theywerebeingstored to GeorgeEastmanHousein1990where,atthetimethis more deterioration. period onthesametypeof nitrate supporthavesuffered today, whileblack-and-white filmsmadeduringthesame ing backtotheearly1930’s remain inexcellentcondition cess. Tarrreportsthatmany nitrateimbibitionprintsdat- acidic dyesolutionsand/orthe mordantsusedinthepro- were madeincreasedasa result oftreatmentwiththe lose nitratefilmswithwhichtheearlyTechnicolormovies color, hassaidthatitappearstohimthelifeofcellu- still ingoodcondition.ThomasTarr,formerlyofTechni- abuse, manysurvivingnitrateimbibitionprintsarealso negatives andcolorprints. that canstillbefoundareusableformakingnewduplicate tives andmasterpositiveshavebeenkept,manyofthose parently alloftheoriginalTechnicolorseparationnega- nitrate filmandthepoorstorageconditionsinwhichap- prints weremadeoncellulosetriacetatesafetyfilm. camera negatives,masterpositives,matrices,andrelease base filmduringthisperiod.After1951allTechnicolor imbibition colorreleasefilmswerealsomadeonnitrate (nitrate filmsaresometimescalled“celluloid”films).The prior to1948–1950wereallmadeoncellulosenitratebase separations weredamaged,andthematrixfilmsproduced allow duplicateseparationstobemadeincasetheoriginal the masterpositivesprintedfromoriginalnegativesto priceless Wright-Patterson AirForceBasenearDayton,Ohio.The films, weremovedtorentedspaceinstoragevaultsat the separations,alongwithalargenumberofothernitrate not amongthefilmsdestroyedinfire.Afterfire, h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 Gone tained at38 billionaire LamarHunt,theKansasCityvaultismain- section ofanundergroundlimestonemineoperatedbyTexas Storage, Inc.).Locatedinaleasedareaofanabandoned The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs Cellulose NitrateMotionPictureFilm storage ofcellulosenitratemotionpicturefilm. are generallyacceptedasnecessaryforevenshort-term fire controlequipment,noranyoftheotherprovisionswhich perature orrelativehumiditycontrol,nofiredetection The filmswerebeingstoredinabuildingthathadnotem- films, plusanumberofearlycartoons,weredestroyed. grounds ofGeorgeEastmanHouse;327featuresandshort ous combustion,inanitratefilmstoragefacilityonthe in 1978therewasadisastrousfire,attributedtospontane- man HouseinRochester,NewYork.Onahotsummerday the InternationalMuseumofPhotographyatGeorgeEast- even nearbyatomicattack. records intheeventoftornadoes,floods,civilstrife,and for valuablefilms,magneticmedia,microfilms,andpaper mental clients;thevaultsareintendedtoprovidesecurity Kansas Cityrentsspacetoavarietyofprivateandgovern- Other thansufferingfromscratchesandotherphysical Despite thestabilityproblemsassociatedwithcellulose Unfortunately, thecameraseparationnegativefilms, Fortunately, the The originalnitratecameraseparationnegativesfrom

With Gone

the ° F (3.3

Wind

With ° C 31 Gone ) and40% areinthemotionpicturecollectionof

PeterComandini of the

Wind With RH

separationswerereturned the . TheRecordsCenterof

Wind separationswere YCM Laborato- and polyestersupportsareoftenreferredtosimplyas diacetate, cellulosetriacetate,acetatepropionate, stability afterimmersioninprocessingsolutions. high tensilestrength,goodflexibility,anddimensional pared withearlycelluloseacetatefilm,nitratefilmhad manufacturers continuedtoproducethem—because,com- ing withcellulosenitratefilms—andKodakother too hazardousforhomemovieuse. base becauseKodakconsideredcellulosenitratefilmtobe ture filmshavebeenmadeonacelluloseacetatesafety the verybeginning,allKodak16mmand8mmmotionpic- films fortheamateurhomemoviefieldsince1923.From still camerasin1908andhasproducedcelluloseacetate tion picturefilmuntil1951. until 1949.Kodakcontinuedtoproduce35mmnitratemo- until 1948,andthenewfilmsdidnotcomeintocommonuse triacetate “safety”filmsforthemotionpictureindustry lose nitratefilms.Kodakdidnotevenintroducecellulose branch ofphotographytoabandonhighlyflammablecellu- cellent dimensionalstabilityduringlong-termkeeping. a greatmanyyearstocomebecausethematerialhasex- matrices; polyestermatrixfilmsshouldremainusablefor ber ofreleaseprintsthatcouldbemadefromaset port matrixfilmswhichsubstantiallyincreasedthenum- ginning inthe1960’s,Technicoloradoptedpolyester-sup- quired aftertheoriginalmatriceshadbeendiscarded.Be- negative incaseswhereadditionalreleaseprintswerere- from theoriginalseparationnegativesorcolor years oftheinitialprinting;newmatriceswereprepared later cellulosetriacetateprintingmatriceswithin5or6 age at0 condition, itcanbepreservedalmostindefinitelyinstor- each 10 tion ofcellulosenitratefilmisapproximately given relativehumidityofstorage,theratedeteriora- lulose nitratefilmsthatarestillingoodcondition.At a is considerablymorestable than thecolor that undertypicalstorageconditions cellulosenitratefilm Chapter 19. freezers, seeAppendix19.1attheendof explosion-proof cellulose nitratefilmsinlow-cost of preservation term are aslow120 ignite whensustainedtemperaturesinthestorageareas nitrate filmstoredwithoutventilationcanspontaneously idly. Undercertainconditions,largequantitiesofcellulose ness andpackagedinthesamemanner. mately thesameasofordinarypaperthick- burn rapidly;thefirehazardsofsafetyfilmsareapproxi- films. Theterm“safety”indicatesthatthefilmswillnot trate filmsstoredundersimilarconditions. generally havedeterioratedmuchmorethanEastmanni- ries saysthatinhisexperience,nitratefilmsmadebyDuPont were inuseworldwide aslate1983. such asEastmanColorPrint Film5381and5383which In filmindustryterminology,filmsmadeoncellulose The Hollywoodmotionpictureindustrypreferredwork- Kodak introducedcelluloseacetate“safety”rollfilmfor The professionalmotionpictureindustrywasthelast Technicolor normallydisposedofcellulosenitrateand It isbynomeansimpossible,however,topreservecel- To keepmattersinperspective, itshouldbepointedout If ignited,cellulosenitratefilmsburnextremelyrap- ° ° F F dropintemperature;ifthefilmstillisgood (–18 ° C ° ) orlower.Forinformationonthelong- F (49 ° C ). 32 images halved offilms safety for

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: to as contain anyimage dyes.Technicolornever produced 70mm have neutraldeveloped-silver soundtrackswhichdonot designation, itiscertainthat itwasproducedafter1948. 35mm imbibitionprintisedge-printed withthe“SafetyFilm” the lastyearsofimbibition process.IfaTechnicolor — alsomade“blank”printstocks forTechnicolorduring Kodak film stocksandhave area adjacenttotheimageofeachframe. sity areas.Thefilmsusuallyexhibitasilverneutral-gray microscopic grainstructureinthemiddle-andhigh-den- contrast totheshadowareas,andthesefilmswillexhibit a fourth developed-silver“key”imagetoadddensityand deterioration. as farbacktheearly1930’s,showlittleifanycolor the oldestTechnicolorthree-colorimbibitionprints,dating been stored atlowtemperatures.Even have prints the and sufferedsignificantredormagentacolorshiftsunless man Colorprints.OlderEastmanprintshavefaded However, thereliefimageismorepronouncedwithEast- the emulsionwhichcorrespondstoopticaldensity. prints haveaslightphysicalreliefimageonthesurfaceof (which usedDuPontColorFilm,Type275). the 1930–1950’sera,suchasSupercinecolororTrucolor made bysomeofthelesscommoncolorprintprocesses bibition printsmayalsooccasionallybeconfusedwith Ansco, Fuji,Agfa-Gevaert,andFerrania.Technicolorim- other chromogeniccolorprintfilmssuchasthosemadeby bibition printsfromEastmanColorPrintFilmsor man Kodakcolormotionpicturefilmsintheworld. said tobethelargestsinglecommercialcustomerofEast- or similarchromogenicfilms.In1977Technicolorwas release printsbyTechnicolorintheU.S.weremadeonthis printed onEastmanColorPrintFilm),andbymid-1975all (by about1952,dailiesfromEastmanColornegativeswere ducing somereleaseprintsonEastmanColorPrintFilm (most ofthisfootageisnolongerinexistence). feet ofimbibitionreleaseprintssinceitsfoundingin1915 Chapter10 Identification ofTechnicolorImbibitionPrints The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess 2 “Kodak” and“NitrateFilm”werenormallyspacedabout printed insilveronthefilm(thewords“Eastman”and Kodak issilveredge-printedwith day. By1954,thecompanyhadproducedover ing aboutonemillionfeetofimbibitionreleaseprintsper bition process.By1949Technicolorwasreportedlyprint- Technicolor onnitrate-basefilmswereprintedbytheimbi- with theimbibitionprocess.Allreleaseprintsmadeby release printsmadefrom1928toabout1955were and otherchromogenicmaterials;however, guish themfromthecompany’sprintsonEastmanColor nicolor imbibitionreleaseprintsarenotmarkedtodistin- 1 ⁄ 2 Technicolor dye-imbibitionprintsaregenerallyreferred All Technicolorimbibitionprints withopticalsoundtracks The 3MCompany—andpossiblyothermanufacturers Most TechnicolorimbibitionprintsweremadeonKodak Nearly allthethree-colorprintsuntilabout1946havea Both EastmanColorprintsandTechnicolorimbibition It issometimesdifficulttodifferentiateTechnicolorim- Beginning inthemid-1950’s,Technicolorstartedpro- inches[6.4cm]apart).SafetyfilmmadebyEastman IB

Safety printsoroccasionallyas

Film . Eastman

Kodak dye Eastman

transfer

Nitrate

all Safety prints.Tech- Technicolor

four Film

Film

billion edge- or tion color three-stripcameraswastheEalingStudiosproduc- the nextfewyears.ThelastmajorfilmshotwithTechni- led toarapiddeclineinuseofthethree-stripcamerasover tripack, inlate1950(thefilmwasannounced1949) 5247, adaylight-balancedcolored-couplermaskedintegral in conventionalmotionpicturecameras. Color Negativefilmsandotherintegraltripackcolor expensive tooperatecomparedfilmingwithEastman was averybulkydeviceandthesystemdifficult need forcoldstorage.However,thethree-stripcamera record thatcouldbekeptforextendedperiodswithoutthe tion systemwasnearlyidealformakinganaccuratecolor came available,theTechnicolorthree-stripdirectsepara- Imbibition MotionPictureProcess The DemiseoftheTechnicolor were producedforthearmedforcesduring1943–44. 16mm printsslitfrom35mmcellulosenitratefilmstock prints werenormallymadeonasafety-filmstock,although and 8mmreleaseprintsbytheimbibitionprocess;these Technicolor printedlargenumbers of16mm mogenic films. been printedonEastmanColorPrintFilmorsimilarchro- release printsbytheimbibitionprocess;thesehavealways late 1952. significant useinthegeneral filmindustrybeginningin and itsassociatedduplicating andprintfilmscameinto fused withthecurrentEastman ColorNegativeFilm5247) tion ofcolorphotographyin motion pictures. positive systemrapidlyledtothealmostuniversaladop- the movie-goingpublic,andEastmanColornegative- tion ofEastmanColorPrintswasconsideredadequateby into commonuse.Thequalityofcolorandtonereproduc- “squeezed” anamorphicwide-screenopticalsystemscame theater projectionandprovedtobecrucialwhenlaterally when largemagnificationswereneededforwide-screen resolution oftheEastmanprintswasadecidedadvantage available Technicolorimbibitionprints.Thebetterimage pable ofsignificantlyhigherimageresolutionthanthethen- bers ofprintswererequired. Technicolor imbibitionprintswhenrelativelysmallnum- made onEastmanColorPrintFilmwerelesscostlythan Color NegativeFilmoriginals.However,releaseprints tives andalsotoimbibitionprintsmadefromEastman to imbibitionprintsmadefromcameraseparationnega- duction, theEastmanColorprintsweresomewhatinferior from thecolornegatives.Intermsoftoneandrepro- Safety Film,Type5281forprintingdailiesandreleaseprints tive film,thecompanyalsointroducedEastmanColorPrint ring JaneRussellandJeffChandler,alsoreleasedin1955. National Film Board ofCanadaaboutthevisit toCanadaof ture filmedwiththethree-stripcameraswas lease printsforU.S.distribution.ThelastAmericanfea- were shippedtoTechnicolorinHollywoodformakingre- cessed byTechnicolorLtd.inEngland;duplicatematrices The separationnegativesandprintingmatriceswerepro- The introductionofEastmanColorNegativeFilm,Type When dimensionallystablecellulosetriacetatefilmsbe- Eastman ColorNegativeFilm, Type5247(nottobecon- In themid-1950’s,EastmanColorPrintFilmwasca- At thesametimeKodakbeganproducingitscolornega- The

Lady The

Killers,

Royal filmedin1954andreleased1955.

Journey, a1951filmmadebythe Foxfire, star- 362

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 363 h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs color Corporation.In1955Kalmussaid: cess. ThisledtofurthereconomicdistressfortheTechni- lower productioncoststhantheTechnicolorimbibitionpro- picture systemwithhigherimageresolutionandgenerally Print Film,Type5382,resultedinacompletecolormotion tion filmsfromKodakandbytheimprovedEastmanColor film, soonjoinedbyvariouscolorintermediateandsepara- tion andfinergrainthanType5247.Thisnewnegative balanced filmintroducedin1953,hadbetterimageresolu- later. production, andtheprocessfailedinmarketsomeyears ing operations,theAnscosystemwasinferiorincolorre- films toreducecolordegradationduringsuccessiveprint- colored-coupler maskingsystemusedintheEastmancolor cess. PartiallybecausetheAnscofilmsdidnothave Ansco introducedanegative-positivemotionpicturepro- duce thehighercontrastneededforprojection.In1953 camera filmandaprintofthepropergammatopro- was achromogenicreversalprocesswithlow-contrast became seriouscompetitionforTechnicolor.AnscoColor gained popularity,particularlyat duced withthenewEastmanColornegative-positivefilms. Princess Elizabeth,wasthefirstfull-lengthfeaturepro- Eastman ColorNegativeFilm,Type5248,atungsten- During thelate1940’sandearly1950’s,AnscoColor tion ofitsimbibition printswithouttheloss of of Technicolorbecametoimprove thedefini- the ResearchandDevelopment Departments use largerareascreensinthe theatres. apparent whentheindustry began generallyto nition, orvisibility.Thisbecame increasingly rendering butwhichlackedsomethingindefi- usual finecharacteristictonescaleandcolor sulted inTechnicolorimbibitionprintswiththe erate withTechnicolorProcessnumber4re- special laboratoryproblems.Continuingtoop- Eastman Kodaktypenegativeinvolvednewand Process.” color process,“TheImprovedNewTechnicolor in 1955,totheannouncementofafifthTechni- to meetthenewdemands.Andhencewecome, development departmentshadtodosomething changed andagainTechnicolorresearch Beginning about1953bothoftheseconditions screens notlargerthan30or35feetinwidth. special 3-stripnegativeandtobeprojectedon make printsinthelaboratoryfromTechnicolor requirements from1934to1953wastailored a verysubstantialpartofthemotionpicture fourth Technicolorprocesswhichtookcareof theaters andincreasedareanegatives.The And Ialsorefertotheadventoflargescreen the useofTechnicolorspecial3-stripcameras. color negativetypewhichlargelysuperseded photography employingnegativeofEastman ness. Irefertotheadventofanewmethod which wastoovertaketheTechnicolorbusi- which heraldedthefourthseriousdepression So beginningaround1952–3 the objectiveof Making Technicolorimbibitionprintsfrom But about1953cameanotherdevelopment MGM , andthisprocess process. was thecrucialfactorthatledtoendofimbibition some labs,includingTechnicolor,ayearortwobefore1968) Film, Type5249in1968(thefilmwasusedonatestbasis in the introductionofEastmanColorReversalIntermediate the subjectdidnotbecomeamatterofconcernattime. information ithadonthestabilityofitsimbibitionprints, cret, andTechnicolordecidednottomakepublicwhatlittle still keepingthestabilitycharacteristicsofitsfilmsase- tics ofthevarioustypesprintfilms;becauseKodakwas motion picturecirclesoftherelativestabilitycharacteris- Gevaert. Duringthisperiodtherewaslittlediscussionin chromogenic release-printfilmsmadebyFujiandAgfa- erally lower-costEastmanColorPrintFilmandsimilar larity oftheprocessstartedtodeclineinfavorgen- proved imbibitionprocessuntilthelate1960’s,whenpopu- Ektacolor Paper. original printedonIlfochrome(Cibachrome)orKodak ous iftheprintiscomparedwithanimageofsame definition causedbydyediffusion;thelosseswillbeobvi- tion ofaKodakDyeTransferprintwillrevealtheloss generally viewedwithoutmagnification.Closeexamina- is notsoseriouswithreflectionprintsbecausetheyare Fuji Dyecolorprocessesforstillphotographs;however,it diffusion alsotakesplacewiththeKodakDyeTransferand the transfersteppriortodrying.Thistypeoflateraldye cause ofslightlateraldiffusiontheimagedyesduring less thantheresolutionofprintingmatriximagebe- are almostalways required.Majorstudios also oftenmake effects atanintermediatestage, duplicatecolornegatives For thisreason,andtoallow fortheinclusionofspecial replaced ifitisdamagedby repeated printingoperations. original cameranegativebecause thenegativecannotbe losses inreproductionquality. expense and,atthetime,oftenresultedinunacceptable duplicate negative.Thisadditionaloperationwasanadded and thenprintingthepositiveonanotherfilmtomake a duplicate colornegativebyfirstproducingainterpositive tion; beforetheintroductionofthisfilm,labshadtomake a duces ahigh-qualityduplicatecolornegativeinoneopera- film) isacolored-couplermaskedreversalfilmwhichpro- Thomas Tarr,nowretiredfromTechnicolor,saysthat Technicolor continuedsuccessfulmarketingoftheim- The imageresolutionofdye-imbibitionprintsisusually Major motionpicturesarenot printeddirectlyfromthe NICOLOR PROCESS demonstration of 1955 Isawona50-footscreeninHollywood a periodofabouttwoyearsuntilearlyinMay, work progressedonanemergencybasisthrough any ofitsothersuperiorcharacteristics.This rendition. and especiallycolor definition or sharpness including view, of points technical all from any processthatIhaveeverseenonthescreen the mostwonderfulpictureincolormadeby of largescreensintheatres.Theresultwas and Anscocolortypenegativetheadvent been strivingforsincetheadventofEastman in theimbibitionprocessthatTechnicolorhas this demonstrationembodiedallthechanges 34 EastmanColorReversalIntermediateFilm( 33 ANIMPROVEDNEWTECH- . The35mmprintusedfor CRI

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: from thenegativeofRussian 70mmproduction cess. Monopackwasfirstusedforoutdoorsequencesof from thefilmwasinferiortothree-stripcamerapro- conventional cameras,butthecolorreproductionobtained bition process.Monopackcouldbeshotatlowcostwith the Monopackoriginalandthesewereprintedbyimbi- uct Monopackfilm.Separationnegativesweremadefrom reversal filmforTechnicolor;Technicolorcalledthisprod- contrast Kodachromeprocessfilmasacameraoriginal black-and-white separationnegatives. can alsobeusedwithcolorreversaloriginalsbymaking strip cameraorcolornegativefilms;theprintingmethod stricted tofilmsoriginallyphotographedwiththethree- Story tive filmforthemotionpicture in Englandmadeprintsfrom RussianSovcolorcolornega- Ferraniacolor, Gevacolor,Ektachrome, etc.Technicolor color imbibitionprocess; theseincludedAgfacolor, reversal andnegativefilms wereprintedbytheTechni- era filmsfromabout1946to1950.Manyothertypes of Ansco Colorreversalfilmswerealsousedasoriginalcam- better resultsthanwiththe interpositive duplicationmethodwith5243issaidtogive (5249 isstillusedextensivelyfor16mmproductions).The documentary originals fortheimbibitionprocess.The1953full-length conventional Kodachromefilmsoftenservedascamera about 1952. Lassie from ColorReversalFilms Technicolor ImbibitionPrints Chapter10 original isdamagedorfadesduringstorage. negative ofmajorfeaturesforprotectionintheevent black-and-white separationpositivesfromtheoriginalcolor The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess tic 1945. ItwasalsousedforWaltDisney’s derhead first full-lengthfeatureshotwithMonopackfilmwas ture films. least stableofallcurrentEastmanColormotionpicture terms ofstabilitysinceitsintroductionin1968,isbyfarthe In fact,5249,whichhasnotbeensignificantlyimprovedin with 5249isthatitfadesmuchmorerapidlythan5243film. using the tives andduplicatenegatives,manystudiosarenolonger Intermediate Film5253,designedtomakecolorinterposi- ate ences forthenewreversalintermediatefilm. Oscar fromtheAcademyofMotionPictureArtsandSci- and Europe.In1969EastmanKodakCompanywonan that sealedthefateofimbibitionprocessinU.S. tone reproductiontoTechnicolorimbibitionprints—and man ColorPrintFilmthatwerenearlyequalincolorand sible toproducelow-costreleaseprintsonimprovedEast-

Crossing In 1941EastmanKodakmanufacturedaspeciallow- Release printingbytheimbibitionmethodisnotre- From thelate1940’sandcontinuingthrough1960’s, The introductionoftheEastman With the1979introductionofEastmanColorIntermedi- series.MonopackfilmwasdiscontinuedbyKodak II

Film5243,animprovedversionofEastmanColor of

Come

— the CRI werebothphotographedwith16mmKodachrome. Son Flaming filmforduplicatenegativesfrom35mmoriginals

Conquest Home

of

Flicka, (1943),aUnitedArtistsrelease.The

Years

of

releasedby20thCenturyFoxin Everest (1961). CRI film.Afurtherdrawback andthe1958film Othello CRI filmmadeitpos- (1956)andlater True

Life

Antarc- Adven- Thun- The ration positives( man ColorNegativefilms.Initially,Technicolormadesepa- by theTechnicolorimbibitionprocesswerefilmedonEast- in theearly1950’s,mostfull-lengthfeaturemoviesprinted Side Made fromColorNegatives Technicolor ImbibitionPrints The (1967), theJamesBondfilm released in1953by20thCenturyFox. used withthefirstCinemaScopewide-screenfilm released byWarnerBros.in1952.Thisprocesswasalso Eastman ColorNegativeFilmwas from colornegatives.Thefirstfull-lengthfilmprinted began makinglargenumbersofimbibitionreleaseprints Film, Type5247in1950,and52481953,Technicolor inferior alternativeproduct. tions, sotherewaslimitedfinancialincentivetoofferan selling Technicolormostofthefilmstocksforitsproduc- the Technicolorimbibitionprocess.AndKodakwasalso compete intermsofcolorandtonescalereproductionwith it wasnotpossibletoproducereleaseprintsthatcould to thedevelopmentofcolored-couplermaskingsystem, nic negative-positivemotionpictureprocesswasthatprior films intheworldtoday. with nearlyallthestillandmotionpicturecolornegative with modifications,Kodak’smaskingsystemisnowused thereafter inKodacolorfilmforamateurphotographers; negative filmintroducedin1947forstillcamerasandshortly system wasfirstincorporatedinKodakEktacolorcolor coupler maskingsysteminthelate1940’s.This pany perfecteditsnowalmostuniversallyadoptedcolored- picture fieldwithanegative-positivesystemuntilthecom- that timeitwasonlyasinglesilvermask. duce filmswithintegralmaskinguntilabout1953,andat tain color-correctingmasks—Agfadidnotbegintopro- war years.TheearlyAgfacolornegativefilmsdidnotcon- were usedforanumberofGermanproductionsduringthe color printfilmformotionpicturesinlate1939;thefilms make release prints with the imbibition process. towere suppliedtothefilmmakers;Technicolorcontinued Eastman printswereproducedonlyforcolordailiesthat for processingthesefilms.Duringtheearly1950’s, facilities man color negativeand Technicolor print films, installed Transfer process. Soon after the introduction of the East- tives directly onKodak Pan Matrix Film inthe KodakDye film inamannersimilartotheprintingofstillcolornega- pared from the color negatives with panchromatic matrix matrix filmswereprinted. make separationnegatives,anditwasfromthesethatthe tive; theseparationpositiveswerethencontact-printedto quired, theywere producedonEastmanColor PrintFilm. release prints;whenwide-screen 70mmprintswerere- from colornegativeswiththe imbibitionprocessfor35mm With thedeclineinpopularityofthree-stripcamera More recently,Technicolor printed suchfilmsas Following theappearanceofEastmanColorNegative One reasonKodakdelayedintroductionofachromoge- Kodak didnotattempttoentertheprofessionalmotion Agfa inGermanyhadintroducedacolornegativeand pre- printingwere matrices in1953,however, Beginning

Godfather Story (1961), (1972),and YCM My masters)fromtheoriginalcolornega-

Fair

Lady The You

(1964), Godfather

The Only

Lion

Live Bonnie

and Part

Twice

and the The

II (1967),

(1974) Horse,

Clyde Robe, West 364

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 365 the 1935release motion picturesmadeonnitratefilmbasedatingback to clips fromalargenumberofearlyTechnicolorimbibition this authorexaminedoriginalfilm Hollywood, in office fidelity asthedaytheyweremade. Technicolor imbibitionprintsappearasperfectincolor and haveapronouncedredormagentaappearance;the storage, theEastmanprintsexhibitseverecyandyeloss imbibition printsofthesamefilm.After10to20years matically illustratedbycomparingthemwithTechnicolor Print Film.TheinstabilityofEastmanprintscanbedra- the TechnicolorimbibitionprocessandwithEastmanColor lease printsofagivenmotionpicturetobemadebothby tial release.Tarrreportsthatthelastfilm the U.S.tobeimbibition-printedbyTechnicolorforitsini- h emnneadCr fClrPoorpsChapter10 The film eight millionfeetoffilm—weremadetheJamesBond More than1,000imbibitionprints—amountingtoover The PermanenceandCareofColorPhotographs of TechnicolorImbibitionPrints The OutstandingImageStability ered tobeaworthwhilemarketadvantage. superior stabilityoftheimbibitionprintswasnotconsid- Color, Fujicolor,andGevacolor(Agfacolor)printfilms;the lease printsmadeonchromogenicfilmssuchasEastman process wasnolongereconomicallycompetitivewithre- films. Attheend,Technicolorbelievedthatitsimbibition capacity toprocessandprintEastmannegative-positive gland in1978,itopenedalargenewplanttoexpandits color imbibitionprintsoverEastmanColorprints. have preferredthecolorandtonereproductionofTechni- nicolor imbibitionplantshadclosed.Coppolaissaidto the filmwasnotcompleteduntilafterlastofTech- Technicolor inRome.However,duetoproductiondelays, the warinVietnam, have European35mmreleaseprintsofhis1979epicabout Rome plantswerebothclosedinJune1978. closed anddismantledinFebruary1975;theLondon previously madematrixfilms.TheHollywoodplantwas 1960); theprintsfornewreleasewereproducedfrom was the1975re-releaseof imbibition processinHollywoodbeforetheplantwasclosed 70 has beenair-conditionedtomaintain atemperatureofabout Street inHollywood,California. Inrecentyearsthisoffice ditions attheformerTechnicolor officeat6311Romaine cans undernormalroom-temperature andhumiditycon- shift orlossofdensity.The filmhadbeenkeptinmetal to beinuniformlyexcellentcondition,withnoobviouscolor comparison purposes,thedyeimagesoffilmsappeared Although originaldensitometricdataarenotavailablefor istic oftheearlystagesdecompositioninnitratefilm. none oftheyellowingandphysicaldeformationcharacter- trate-base filmswereinexcellentconditionandshowed ° The F In 1977,attheTechnicolorMotionPictureCorporation In the1960’sand1970’s,itwasnotuncommonforre- When TechnicolorcloseditsimbibitionoperationinEn- Tarr reportsthatFrancisFordCoppola,whodirected

(21 On Godfather

Godfather ° Her C ).

Majesty’s and Becky

Part The Apocalypse

Secret

II

Sharp. Godfather (1974)wasthelastfilmmadein Swiss

Service, Withoutexception,theni-

Now,

Family

Part imbibition-printedby releasedin1969.

Robinson II, reprinted hadplannedto (Disney, bythe examined inrecentyears,RobertGittofthe from acellulosenitratereleaseprintof Fujicolor PositiveFilm since 1984,includingEastmanColorPrintFilm5384and than the“high-stability”chromogenicprintfilmsintroduced dark. Thestabilityoftheimbibitionimagesisfarbetter — andwithessentiallynostainingwhenstoredinthe ably survivehundredsofyearswithonlynegligiblefading be predictedthatTechnicolorimbibitionimageswillprob- still materialstestedunderthesameconditions,itcould and stainformationofothercolormotionpicturefilms Eastman cellulosetriacetatefilm;basedondensityloss with framesfromTechnicolorimbibitionprintsmadeon process: archives hadthistosayabouttheimagestabilityof Notes andReferences States andabroad. have beenreproducedinfilmperiodicalstheUnited from oldTechnicolorimbibition-printedmotionpictures years, reproductionsofanumberoriginal,unfadedframes than filmswoundtightlyonalargereelincan.Inrecent packed films,suchfilmsmaybeexpectedtolastlonger composition productscanmoreeasilyescapefromloosely in ametalfilmcan.Becausenitricoxidesandotherde- other filmclips,allabout5incheslongandlooselypacked old. Thefilmcliphadbeenstoredwithalargenumberof press in1992,thenitratefilmwasmorethanhalfacentury in 1935;stillexcellentconditionwhenthisbookwentto reproduced inChapter1.Thefilmwasimbibition-printed Agfa-Gevaert’s AgfaPrintCP1andCP10ColourFilms. nicolor imbibitionimagesisalsofarsuperiortothat of .MaxAlexander,“OnceMore,theOldSouthinAllItsGlory,” 2. MikeClark,“MoviesPrettyasaPicture,” 1. .LawrenceCohn,“TurnerEyes’38 3. .P.Z.Adelstein,J.M.Reilly,D.W.Nishimura,andC.Erbland, 4. Based onthemanyTechnicolorimbibitionprintshehas A non-color-correctedreproductionofanoriginalframe This authorhasconductedaccelerateddarkfadingtests 1987, p.4D. New YorkTimes Safety Film Peter Z.Adelstein,andDouglas W. Nishimura, Vol. 101,No.5,May1992,pp.347–353. Seealso:JamesM.Reilly, Film: PartII–PracticalStorageConsiderations,” and C.J.Erbland,“StabilityofCellulose EsterBasePhotographic 1992, pp.336–346;andP.Z.Adelstein, J.M.Reilly,D.W.Nishimura, tory TestingProcedures,” “Stability ofCelluloseEsterBasePhotographicFilm:PartI–Labora- 340, No.3,July25,1990,p.10. tional EndowmentfortheHumanities tion ontriacetatebaseisvery,verygood. remarkably goodprocess.Technicolorimbibi- one thathasfadedifproperlycaredfor.Itisa they don’tseemtofade them inthedarkanddon’tshowalot, ful withTechnicolorimbibitionprints,andkeep — althoughnotthatbadly.Butifyouarecare- dyes dofadealittlebit—particularlythecyan theater andputalotoflightthroughit,the and youprojecteditmanytimesatadrive-in If youtookaTechnicolordyeimbibitionprint – FinalReporttotheOfficeofPreservation , January29,1989,p.H13. 35,36,37 LP SMPTE Journal 8816.ThestabilityoftheTech- at Robin Hood

all. I’veneverseen USA Today

(Grant #PS-20159-88), , Vol.101,No.5,May Redux,” Becky SMPTE Journal Preservation of 38 , UCLA October15, Variety

Sharp film , , Na- Vol. The is ,

This document originated at on June 6, 2003 under file name: 0 J. A.Ball,“TheTechnicolorProcessofThree-ColorCinematogra- 20. HerbertT.Kalmus,seeNoteNo.13. 19. HerbertT.Kalmus,seeNoteNo.13. 18. 2 AliceEvansField, 22. DavidR.Smith,archivist,WaltDisneyArchives,Burbank,California, 21. 7 HerbertT.Kalmus,“TechnicolorAdventuresinCinemaland,” 17. 3 FredE.Basten, 23. Chapter10 The ExtraordinarilyStableTechnicolorDye-ImbibitionMotionPictureColorPrintProcess 6 PeterComandini, 16. 2 WilliamD.Hedden 12. D.W.Samuelson,seeNoteNo.9. 11. 0 JamesManilla, “ManillainMotion,” 10. 4 PeterHay, 14. HerbertT.Kalmus, 13. 5 See,forexample:LeliseBennetts,“‘Colorizing’FilmClassics:A 15. .GeraldineFabrikant,“TechnicolorPurchaseIsSetbyCarltonCom- 6. In1992Technicolor,Inc.wasoperatingfourmajormotionpicture 5. .D.W.Samuelson,“FilminginChina,” 9. ThomasTarr,TechnicolorCorporation,letterstothisauthorand 8. .WilliamD.Hedden,FrederickM.Remley,Jr.,andRobertSmith, 7. phy,” the December 1938,pp.564–585.Thisclassicarticlewasreprintedin letter tothisauthor,October8,1979. 25, No.2,August1935,pp.127–138. nal oftheSocietyMotionPictureEngineers author, December11,1985. bow York, 1952,p.188 Times and NewYork,1980,p.56 (quotationfrom duplicates madefromtheoriginals). Manyofthesetransparencies or Ektachromestudiopublicitystills (orAnscochromeorEktachrome Technicolor dye-imbibitionfilmclips; rathertheyarefromAnscochrome ous TechnicolorfeaturesinBasten’s bookarenotfromoriginal munications, telephone: (06)411-8881. 5432; Technicolor,S.p.A.,ViaTiburtina,1138,00156Rome,Italy; West Drayton,MiddlesexUB7ODB,England;telephone:(081)759- York 10036;telephone:212-582-7310;Technicolor,Ltd.,BathRoad, Technicolor EastCoast,Inc.,321West44thStreet,NewYork, Blvd., NorthHollywood,California91608;telephone:818-769-8500; film processinglaboratories:Technicolor,Inc.,4050Lankershim 716-475-7230. Rochester, NewYork14623-0887;telephone:716-475-5199;Fax: Technology, FrankE.GannettMemorialBuilding,P.O.Box9887, March 28,1991,ImagePermanenceInstitute,RochesterInstituteof film thatwillbesuitablefortheatricalprojection. be usedtocreatehigh-resolutiontransfersoncolormotionpicture cated image-processingsoftware,thecolorizationprocessalsowill future, withtheaidofmorepowerfulcomputersandsophisti- practical onlyforvideotransfers,althoughitisexpectedthatinthe technology. Atthepresentstateoftechnology,“colorization”is “recolorize” 25alreadycolorizedfilmsusingenhancedcomputer 1988. Inaddition,Turnerplannedtospend$1.5millionin1990 million; in1989,37filmswerecolorizedbyTurner,upfrom27 had 36filmsscheduledforcolorizationatanestimatedcostof$9 $200,000 to$300,000foratypicalfeaturefilm.During1990Turner may runfrom$2,000to$3,000perminuteoffilm,oratotalcost 10017; telephone:212-705-7555).Thecostof“colorizing”amovie Electronic Engineers,345East47thStreet,NewYork,York August 1987,pp.50–55(publishedbytheInstituteofElectricaland 32, No.1,January1983,pp.8,42–43. Vol. 64,No.5,May1983,pp.25–31. York Times See also:SteveLohr,“ABritishStarinTV’sBackRoom,” tors ofthecompany),1955. color MotionPictureCorporation(pamphletpreparedforthedirec- telephone discussionswiththisauthor,1977–1978. 1979, pp.610–618. of China:AReport,” “Motion-Picture andTelevisionTechnologyinthePeople’sRepublic Boon oraBane?”, lanta, Georgia30348),1991,pp.325–327. division ofTurnerBroadcastingSystem,Inc.,OneCNNCenter,At- Press), 21; “DirectorsFightCopyrightingofTintedOldFilms,”(Associated Linfield, “TheColorofMoney,” Silver ScreenBlossomsIntoColor,” the technologyofcolorizationprocess,MarkA.Fischetti,“The January–February, 1987,pp.29ff;and,inacomprehensivereviewof SMPTE Journal ,

A. S.BarnesandCompany,Inc.,South Brunswick,NewJersey Journal oftheSocietyMotionPictureEngineers , June14,1935).Mostofthecolor reproductionsfromvari- The DesMoinesRegister MGM: WhentheLionRoars , July3,1989,p.Y21. The NewYorkTimes Glorious Technicolor–TheMovies’ MagicRain- YCM Hollywood et al. The NewYorkTimes , March1991,pp.182–190. Your CompanyThroughtheYears SMPTE Laboratories,telephonediscussionwiththis , seeNoteNo.7. Journal ,

USA American Film , , October16,1986,p.3A;Susan VantagePress,NewYork, IEEE , Industrial Photography American Cinematographer September10,1988,p.Y17. , Vol.88,No.9,September , TurnerPublishing,Inc.(a Spectrum , August5,1986,p.1and , Vol.XII,No.4, , Vol.36,No.6, , The NewYork Vol.24,No.8, The New , Techni- Jour- , , Vol. Vol. , Roderick T.Ryan,“ColorintheMotion-PictureIndustry,” W. E.Pohl,“TheManufactureof8mmPrintsatTechnicolor,” William Poe,“PreservationofResearchSources:FilmandVideotape,” Gert Koshofer,“50YearsofTechnicolorMotionPictures,” Harlan Jacobson,“OldPixDon’tDie,TheyFadeAway–ScorseseHelms L. B.K.Happe,“TheTechnicolorProcess,” 7 Peter B.Flint,“Mamoulian’sColorClassicRestored–DirectorTells 27. Walter R.Greene,“30YearsofTechnicolor,” Wolf Schneider,“FilmPreservation–WhoseResponsibilityShould It 6 PaulC.Spehr,“Fading,Fading,Faded:TheColorFilmCrisis,” 36. BillO’Connell,“FadeOut,” 35. ThomasTarr,seeNoteNo.8. 34. HerbertT.Kalmus,seeNoteNo.13. 33. Larry Rohter,“NewProfits(andPrestige)fromOldFilms,” 30. MaxAlexander,seeNoteNo.2. 29. John Culhane,“‘SnowWhite’at50:UndimmedMagic,” 28. Robert GittandRichardDayton,“Restoring 24. 8 RobertGitt,telephonediscussionswiththisauthor,June7,1985 38. “FadetoPink,” 37. GregoryLukow,“Lookin’Sharp,” 26. Tom Collins,“TheReelThing:Resurrecting‘Lost’Films,” 25. Roderick T.Ryan, Technicolor MotionPictureCorporation, Adrian Cornwall-Clyne, Additional References Frank Thompson,“FadeOut–What’sBeingDonetoSaveOurMotion 2 PeterComandini, 32. ThomasTarr,seeNoteNo.8. 31. pher, Industry PleatoKodak,” Vol. 35,No.1,July1959,pp.4–9. York Times of Filming‘BeckySharp’,” July–August 1985,p.9. 106. Daytoniswith can Cinematographer the SMPTE, Humanities Report, nal ofPhotography, Be?” [editorial], Focal Press,London,EnglandandNewYork,1977. and Hall,London,England,1951. Film, ber–October 1979,pp.11–17. author, September1985. York Times 1984. of Technicolorimbibitionprintsthesamemotionpictures. have seriouslyfaded–theirdeteriorationisinnowaycharacteristic and April15,1991. 1985, p.177. British JournalofPhotography Street Journal of colorfilms,andreproductionearlyopticalsoundtracks. three-color separationnegatives,contrastandbalancemodification nal, Vol. 17,No.1,April1955,andotherissues. 34–38 and46. 818-843-5300. 2312 WestBurbankBlvd.,Burbank,California91506-1236;telephone: Picture Heritage?” Vol.85,No.7,July1976,pp.496–504. Vol.5,No.2,November1979,pp.56–61. November1947,pp.392–393,410–411. , , Vol.70,August1961,pp.606–607. July12,1987,p.H19. April25,1991,p.B1. A HistoryofMotionPictureColorTechnology, , YCM Premier, March12,1985,p.28;seealso:“ColourRevived,” American Film, YCM American Film, specializesinreproductionfromtwo-colorand Colour Photography, Vol.3,No.10,October1981,pp.13–17. December29,1967,pp.1125–1129. YCM Laboratories,telephonediscussionwiththis , Vol.65,No.10,November1984,pp.99– Vol.2,No.3,December1980,page7. Variety, Laboratories(adivisionof3-Strip,Inc.), Film Comment The NewYorkTimes Vol. July9,1980,pp.1ff. , Vol.132,No.6498,February15, Vol. American Film Technicolor News&Views, XVI XVI , No.8,August1991,p.2. British Kinematography, American Cinematogra- thirdedition,Chapman , No.8,August1991,pp. , Vol.15,No.5,Septem- Becky Sharp , , September26, Vol.X,No.9, SMPTE British Jour- Journal of American The New ,” The New The Wall Ameri- Jour- 366

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