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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
I’m dreaming of a black and white Christmas
So I got a new DVD edition of the yuletide classic Holiday Inn in the mail from Universal, and I groaned immediately.
No, it has nothing to do with the movie itself, which is one of my Christmas favorites, and it doesn’t even have anything to do with the fact that I’m already seeing Christmas stuff when fall is only just starting.
No, it has to do with what I saw on the set, due in stores October 14.
Disc Two: New Color Version.
Talk about a lump of coal. I thought it was generally agreed that colorization of black and white movies was grotesque after Ted Turner and his vandals slapped color onto Casablanca to a chorus of boos.
As much as I hate colorization, I can understand from a marketing perspective why studios would want to provide a colorized version of something with heavy kid appeal, like the original Miracle on 34th St. It is sadly true that to get some kids to watch a black and white movie is to pull teeth. But I will tell you right now, no kid of mine is ever going to be raised believing that a movie is broken or not worth watching because it’s in black and white.
But Holiday Inn appeals to adults more than kids, and I would have hoped that adults wouldn’t feel a need for a colorized Holiday Inn. My hopes were dashed when I looked on Amazon and saw testimonials, apparently from grown people, asking for a color version.
“When are they going to come out with a colorized version of Holiday Inn? I have never seen a film call out for it more than this one,” one customer wrote. Another said: “I am in wholehearted agreement with the gentleman who asked for a colorized version of Holiday Inn!! I was sure that this movie would be offered in color on DVD by this time!!”
I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.
Now, to Universal’s great credit, the black and white version is still on the set. And for the colorized version, there is a documentary on the process, which was performed with the help of Jan Mucklestone, the personal sketch artist of the legendary costume designer Edith Head. If colorization has to be done, I’m glad to see it being done with a sense of historical perspective. (The CD soundtrack in the new set is a welcome bonus too.)
Still. I took a look at the colorized Holiday Inn and watched the scene that gave the song “White Christmas” to the world, and I remain staunchly opposed to colorization. It does look a little better than earlier colorization jobs, but the colors still look pasty, and well - fake. No artificial process I have seen has a prayer of matching the real Technicolor of films from the 40s like Meet Me In St. Louis. The only way I’ll be using the colorized disc is as a tree ornament.
I sorely wish people would stop believing that black and white films would be better if only they were in color. Artificially adding color obliterates all the artistic decisions so carefully made on costumes, set design, cinematography, and even, I will argue, the performances - decisions that came about specifically because the movie was to be in black and white.
There is nothing “wrong” with a film that’s in black and white. And I’ll have a blue Christmas knowing that some people out there don’t appreciate that.
What do you think of colorization? I will never understand why it is necessary, but if anyone wants to try to enlighten me, they can.
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