The Colorization of B&W Movies & TV

Do you approve of old, B&W movies and TV shows being colorized?

Sure, I guess.

Nay. Colorizing exposes the cheap sets, in everything TNTColor ever did and all who copied, history happened as it did - in black and white - for a reason... art dept, costume and grip/electric picked what they picked b/c they knew what they were working with in 1965 black/white television. Remember color already existed in films and b/w TV existed as it was - changing it color later to "reach a different audience" is just weak on so many levels, and it looks crappy, too.

Yes I do. I like color. The B&W versions ain't going nowhere. If they can sell colorized versions, they should. They can keep the old fashioned stuff for those who like it. Me? I like seeing George Bailey and Donna Reed in color.

Sometimes they actually look good in color but I would want to own both versions.

Sometimes they look good in color, like the 3 Stooges, you would honestly think that's how they looked back then, but then others, it's so painfully obvious that the color was added and isn't real, like Miracle on 34th Street, and it can screw with you. Like the colorized Night of the Living Dead, on tape, all the zombies are green so you're asking yourself WHY didn't Barbara notice anything weird about the man in the cemetery?

But Black and White is always the best way to present them...well almost, I saw Bringing up Baby in color and it was a very poor looking color but I still loved it and couldn't believe that it was really in black and white originally.

I don't like colorized film because the colors look too fake IMO. Reminds me of my momma and aunts senior year HS cap & gown pictures that used to sit on my grandma's mantle. My momma had a standard color photo, but my two aunts had B&W pictures taken that were then colorized by hand after-which made them both look somewhat unrealistic in their photos. The colors were just off. That's how old colorized movies look to me.

AtownPeep wrote:I don't like colorized film because the colors look too fake IMO. Reminds me of my momma and aunts senior year HS cap & gown pictures that used to sit on my grandma's mantle. My momma had a standard color photo, but my two aunts had B&W pictures taken that were then colorized by hand after-which made them both look somewhat unrealistic in their photos. The colors were just off. That's how old colorized movies look to me.

I also hate when they crop movies on TV via pan and scan instead letterbox to show the theatrical widescreen view.

I don't care for vintage black and white films and television being colorized. It's counterfeit and always looks to have a sort of a reddish-orange hue. Also I think it's a slap in the face to the original production crew who did the best work they could under the conventions of the times. Imagine if today's top music producers came along and overhauled classic 60s music, complete with modern sounding synths and drum machines.

femme fatale wrote:... Also I think it's a slap in the face to the original production crew who did the best work they could under the conventions of the times. ...

Your Av Pic is a classic example of what we speak!

Atown gave such a great analogy, but I have to say I am all for the colorization. Anything that may get a youngster into something they may not have opted to see in its original BW version is fine by me.

I see nothing wrong with colorizing old films, so long as the original B&W prints are maintained.