I was in the mood for an old, old movie the other day, so I borrowed a copy of "The Sea Hawk", a classic swashbuckler movie with (who else?) Errol Flynn and his ubiquitious sidekick, Alan Hale (the Skipper's father).
I didn't realize it until I got it home, but I had picked up a colorized version. Wonderful, simply wonderful - instead of mere black and white, I was treated to a vibrant palette of blueish gray, grayish green, reddish gray, grayish brown, and slate.
God Bless You, Ted Turner!
Full Version: Three Cheers for Colorization!
They should make a B&W version of Amanda and the Alien.
ever seen the colorized version of Casablanca? hideous! Sam's jacket is bright yellow. it's gross. ugh. i hate colorization.
for a second there i thought you said, "three cheers for colonization!"
and i got worried.
*whew!
i wonder how coloriziation and colonization are tied together, though?
and i got worried.
*whew!
i wonder how coloriziation and colonization are tied together, though?
Obviously I'm not a huge film person, but I do think that black-and-white film adds significantly to movies shot in that format...I don't think films like Psycho or A Hard Day's Night would've been the same had they been shot in color.
Have you seen the remake of psycho? They even added color to the credits!! Why do people feel the need to remake a masterpiece? They can never improve upon it... especially if all they're really doing is reshooting it shot for shot. It's like when Madonna tried to cover American Pie or when anybody tries to cover the Beatles. argh. (this is turning into my pet peeve thread) 
The I Am Sam soundtrack is good, though.... and it's all folks covering the Beatles.
And Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe" from Pleasantville is good, too...
~fff
And Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe" from Pleasantville is good, too...
~fff
ok, so i'm wrong. it happens.
a LOT.
a LOT.
QUOTE(ChuckS @ Apr 28 2005, 10:49 AM)
God Bless You, Ted Turner!
i think that when ted was a little boy that his mom must not have let him play with crayons or something...
a bad idea, done badly.
QUOTE(posty mcposterton @ May 6 2005, 07:28 AM)
The I Am Sam soundtrack is good, though.... and it's all folks covering the Beatles.
And Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe" from Pleasantville is good, too...
~fff
And Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe" from Pleasantville is good, too...
~fff
Fiona's cover made me want to cry...it was awful. (but I'll admit I'm not a fan, so that was part of it) The I Am Sam soundtrack was really hit and miss but I did like the Black Crowes' take on "Lucy."
QUOTE(bivester @ May 6 2005, 08:59 AM)
a bad idea, done badly.
I agree, Bill. But the one thing I learned, and I hate to sound like a choice-fetishist, but you can turn the color off your television. That's what I do.
QUOTE(BKLYNFRED @ May 6 2005, 03:56 PM)
QUOTE(bivester @ May 6 2005, 08:59 AM)
a bad idea, done badly.
but you can turn the color off your television.
Not mine - for some reason, it only goes so far. That is, the colors fade but do not vanish completely.
QUOTE(BKLYNFRED @ May 6 2005, 04:56 PM)
QUOTE(bivester @ May 6 2005, 08:59 AM)
a bad idea, done badly.
I agree, Bill. But the one thing I learned, and I hate to sound like a choice-fetishist, but you can turn the color off your television. That's what I do.
but, you do lose significant contrast, and yes you can adjust the contrast. i say just leave it as the artist intended. much easier...
I love colorization. If God would have meant the world to be black and white, He would have made it that way. They should stockade anyone that makes black and white film.
As for I Am Sam, I think it's spotty too on the CD, but more hit than miss.. Aimee Mann and Michael Penn do great.. It's a great story, that soundtrack. I think..
Here's some of it:
The director put all the Beatles references and songs in thinking she would get permission in the end, but no.. So they gave every artist a mission to record covers with only one rule: They had to use the exact same tempo so the songs could be interchanged exactly without any re-edits.
Pretty cool.
Almost as cool as colorization.
As for I Am Sam, I think it's spotty too on the CD, but more hit than miss.. Aimee Mann and Michael Penn do great.. It's a great story, that soundtrack. I think..
Here's some of it:
QUOTE
Sean Penn Gets Shanghai'd by The Beatles
A movie made in 1985 is coming back to haunt Sean Penn. It's the cause of trouble for his new film I Am Sam.
As I told you yesterday, Penn's new movie — in which he plays a retarded man fighting to keep custody of his 7-year-old daughter — has several Beatles' songs in it. But none are original recordings. They are all cover versions, recorded by various artists like Aimee Mann and Michael Penn.
You'd think a whole movie of Beatles songs would be welcomed by the Fab Three — George, Paul and Ringo — and Yoko. Good box office sales would mean extra dough in their coffers.
But one Beatle in particular has it in for Penn. And that's George Harrison. The otherwise peaceful Beatle has a long memory, and it takes him back to Shanghai Surprise, the film he produced starring Penn with his then wife Madonna.
Shanghai Surprise, which was released on January 1, 1986, may have been the worst movie of the 80s. It was drubbed by critics and ignored by the audience. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, for example, called it: "Awesome in its awfulness, momentous in its ineptness, and shattering in its stupidity."
The making of Shanghai Surprise was such an ordeal that George — who'd previously had successes with his Handmade Film company — dropped out of the movie business altogether. The film took in a measly $2.3 million at the box office. It cost around $40 million to make.
Certainly one issue at the time was Penn's insistence on playing the part of a con man with a "Ratso Rizzo" type voice. He uses a similar voice in I Am Sam.
According to my sources, and there are more than one believe me, when Penn approached the Beatles for use of their master recordings in I Am Sam, the answer that came back was an instant and resounding "No."
"George has not forgotten Shanghai Surprise," said my source. "He made it clear that Sean was not to get the songs."
If Penn had gotten the Beatles master recordings for his movie, it would have been a precedent anyway. There are virtually no instances of this happening. When Lawrence Kasdan wanted Beatles songs for The Big Chill back in 1982, he was also rejected.
Currently another film — which I've promised not to reveal at the moment — has used two Beatles recordings on its soundtrack for screening purposes only. I know the producers of this film are crossing their fingers and toes that they get permission.
As for Penn, his Sam must make do with new versions of Strawberry Fields, Two of Us, Across the Universe and other classics. If you want to hear the original versions, as usual, you have to buy the Beatles' albums. They didn't get to be billionaires by being stupid, you know.
A movie made in 1985 is coming back to haunt Sean Penn. It's the cause of trouble for his new film I Am Sam.
As I told you yesterday, Penn's new movie — in which he plays a retarded man fighting to keep custody of his 7-year-old daughter — has several Beatles' songs in it. But none are original recordings. They are all cover versions, recorded by various artists like Aimee Mann and Michael Penn.
You'd think a whole movie of Beatles songs would be welcomed by the Fab Three — George, Paul and Ringo — and Yoko. Good box office sales would mean extra dough in their coffers.
But one Beatle in particular has it in for Penn. And that's George Harrison. The otherwise peaceful Beatle has a long memory, and it takes him back to Shanghai Surprise, the film he produced starring Penn with his then wife Madonna.
Shanghai Surprise, which was released on January 1, 1986, may have been the worst movie of the 80s. It was drubbed by critics and ignored by the audience. The Cleveland Plain Dealer, for example, called it: "Awesome in its awfulness, momentous in its ineptness, and shattering in its stupidity."
The making of Shanghai Surprise was such an ordeal that George — who'd previously had successes with his Handmade Film company — dropped out of the movie business altogether. The film took in a measly $2.3 million at the box office. It cost around $40 million to make.
Certainly one issue at the time was Penn's insistence on playing the part of a con man with a "Ratso Rizzo" type voice. He uses a similar voice in I Am Sam.
According to my sources, and there are more than one believe me, when Penn approached the Beatles for use of their master recordings in I Am Sam, the answer that came back was an instant and resounding "No."
"George has not forgotten Shanghai Surprise," said my source. "He made it clear that Sean was not to get the songs."
If Penn had gotten the Beatles master recordings for his movie, it would have been a precedent anyway. There are virtually no instances of this happening. When Lawrence Kasdan wanted Beatles songs for The Big Chill back in 1982, he was also rejected.
Currently another film — which I've promised not to reveal at the moment — has used two Beatles recordings on its soundtrack for screening purposes only. I know the producers of this film are crossing their fingers and toes that they get permission.
As for Penn, his Sam must make do with new versions of Strawberry Fields, Two of Us, Across the Universe and other classics. If you want to hear the original versions, as usual, you have to buy the Beatles' albums. They didn't get to be billionaires by being stupid, you know.
The director put all the Beatles references and songs in thinking she would get permission in the end, but no.. So they gave every artist a mission to record covers with only one rule: They had to use the exact same tempo so the songs could be interchanged exactly without any re-edits.
Pretty cool.
Almost as cool as colorization.
I hate colorization! I bought a copy of "They Died With Their Boots On" without knowing it was colorized and it was horrid! It looked like it must have been about 10 degrees on the set when they were shooting because everyones lips were purple!
Also saw a version of "The Santa Fe Trail" on (ugh) the Hallmark Channel and I couldn't stand to watch 5 minutes of it. Terrible stuff!
~Tiff
Also saw a version of "The Santa Fe Trail" on (ugh) the Hallmark Channel and I couldn't stand to watch 5 minutes of it. Terrible stuff!
~Tiff
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