Page 2/The Battalion/Thursday, November 6, 1986
Opinion
Film colorization vandalizes film’s artistic heritage
Don’t you think Leonardo
daVinci’s “Mona Lisa” would
look better with blue eyes?
Don’t you think Michel
angelo’s statue of David
would look better in jockey
shorts?
Don’t you think that Grant
Wood’s “American Gothic”
would look better if the old
man had long hair and was
smoking a joint?
vorite movies for years. I rented the colorized ver
sion on video the other day and was disgusted. The
film I had loved — the film that I remembered —
had changed. Now there were colors that didn’t
ring true. All the colors were flat and the film
seemed to be a distorted vision of what had
touched me years ago. I hope I don’t have to see
my other favorite films raped in the same way.
to see what it would look like if daVinci had used
an air brush.
Karl
Pallmeyer
Unless you are an artistic
idiot you realize that defacing such works of art
would be criminal. But there is a form of artistic
bastardization that is infesting America — coloriza
tion of film.
In “Casablanca,” when Humphrey Bogart is
talking to Ingrid Bergman about their fling and
says: “I remember it well, you wore blue and the
Germans wore grey,” I don’t want to see Ingrid in
anything but black and white. Just like millions of
visitors at the Louvre don’t want to see the “Mona
Lisa” in anything but the colors daVinci originally
painted.
Several famous directors have come out oppos
ing colorization. Woody Allen, who filmed “Man
hattan,” “Stardust Memories,” “Zelig” and “Broad
way Danny Rose,” four of his last seven films, in
black and white, condemns colorization as being
mutilation of works of art. Martin Scorsese, who
filmed “Raging Bull” in black and white, says he is
afraid films will be changed and destroyed by col
orization.
The only good thing that is coming out oftl |
colorization boom is that many old films are
restored. “It’s a Wonderful Life” was origiitt;
more than two hours long but usually televisi™'
stations cut it down so that it — and about 20
utes of commercials — will fit into a two-hour tin
m
' h<
slot. Years of use and abuse have damaged pmill
of the film to the point where it is almost imposiV
ble to find a good copy. The colorization compa# 11
found the best copy of the film and restored it.B
its original length before coloring it.
Colorization is a computerized process by which
old black-and-white films are turned into color
films. The process costs about $300,000 for a full-
length feature film. Two companies, Colorization
Inc. and Color Systems Technology, are dedicated
to adding color to old movies. The colorization
process has been used in the re-release of Frank
Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Romero’s
“Night of the Living Dead” and Michael Curtiz’s
“Yankee Doodle Dandy.” It’s funny to think that it
probably cost more to colorize “Night of the Living
Dead” than Romero originally spent when he
made the film. Hundreds of films, including Cur
tiz’s “Casablanca,” John Huston’s “The Maltese
Falcon” and others, are scheduled to be colorized.
The other film is Orson Welles’ masterpiece “Ci
tizen Kane,” probably the best film ever made. Di
rector Welles and cinematographer Gregg Toland
filmed a movie in 1941 unlike any movie before or
since. The starkness of the blacks, whites and greys
of the film are representative of the blacks, whites
and greys of Charles Foster Kane’s life. Color simi-
ply would destroy the film.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” has been one of my fa-
One of the arguments for colorization is that
most early filmmakers didn’t use color because it
wasn’t available or was too expensive. That may be
true in some cases, but not in all. During the ’30s,
when color first was introduced in film, many
filmmakers opposed the use of color — just like
they opposed the use of sound during the ’20s —
because they felt it would take away from the aes
thetic values of film. Colorizing films just to see
what they would look like if the director used color
makes as much sense as defacing the “Mona Lisa”
The American Film Institute, the Writers Guild
of American and the Directors Guild of America
have issued statements opposing colorization.
Since the owners of the films’ copyrights have the
final say in colorization, these organizations have
no legal right to stop colorization. The AFI says it
is working to rally public opinion against the color
izing of old films.
The main reason companies are colorizing mov
ies is money. Television stations prefer color over
black-and-white films and are not willing to show
too many old films. Many television stations believe
that most young people will not watch old black-
and-white movies and are trying to pull in larger
audiences by colorizing the old movies.
According to Rob Word, senior vice president in
charge of product development at Hal Roach Stu
dios, the company that released the colorized ver
sion of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Night of the
Living Dead,” sales of films to television stations
have jumped 90 percent now that the films have
been colorized. So far it’s hard to say if the increase
reflects a new interest in the old films or is because
of colorization’s novelty.
Those who favor colorization, those whoareirp"
ing to make money off the process, answer criul/
by saying that films will be available in boththecJE
orized and the original version. Those films
be available in both forms but it will be sillynv
think most video stores would carry both st)le|
Since only a few stores carry movies in both VlPj'
and Beta formats, I doubt they would cairy movllp 1
in both color and black and white.
r
According to Word, colorization should:| '
bother those who want to see the old movies ^
black and white because all they have to do is tuiffio
the color down on their television sets to de-coloffiis
ize the movie. But that is not the point. Futus^ 1 '
generations may not realize that the films oriel
nally were done in black and white when theyJr
the colorized versions. This is nothing more than®,
rewriting of history that distorts our rich filmherl ]
tage in favor of a f ew' dollars.
Vandalism of art is a crime that affects thever
soul of man.
Karl Pallmeyer is a senior journalism major d
a columnist and film critic for The Battalion.
She’s running’ ' e
a bit sluggish
Check the
battery, test
Spark
Freshmen persevere
for the good of A&M
Once upon a
time a fa m o u s
American wrote
something about
these being the
Jeff L. Brady
(ritest Colinnntsl
Foolproof way to get kids to study
A University of
Georgia professor
has thought of a
brilliant idea con
cerning how to
make high school
students, many of
whom have the
ambition of a frog,
bear down on
their studies.
Forget “no pass,
no play,” he says.
Lewis
Grizzard
and I agree. Given the choice of going
out to football practice every day and
being hit on the head and thrown on the
ground or being able to neglect school-
work like always, most high school stu
dents will choose to give up extracurri
cula.
But the professor has realized how to
get to high school kids where it hurts
them the most. He has suggested, “No
pass, no drive.”
It will work this way.
High school students who don’t main
tain a certain average can’t get a driver’s
license at 16. They must wait until the
creaking age of 18.
Now, we have hit the little devils
square in the belly. No pass, no drive.
No drive, and I speak for the boys here,
no girlfriends. No drive, no girlfriends,
no parking in the woods. No parking in
the woods, no life whatsoever.
There are a number of milestone
Mail Call
Facts confused
EDITOR:
Leon Luxemburg’s impassioned denunciation (Tuesday’s Mail Call) of
Olivier Uyttebrouck’s article (Oct. 31) was impressive, but he had some of his
facts confused. We must be careful not to confuse the Palestine Liberation
Organization with the Palestine Liberation Front and other splinter groups
that operate without the control or sanction of the PLO’s leadership. It is
these splinter groups that have been responsible for most of the “Arab
terrorism” of late, along with the Shiite fundamentalist groups who have
completely different motives for their actions.
Regarding Menachem Begin, the former prime minister of Israel, we
shouldn’t forget the bombing of the King David hotel in the 1940s, with
which he was involved. Innocent lives were lost. Wasn’t that an act of
terrorism?
Luxemburg’s final point was the most disturbing, since it was the farthest
from the truth. In all fairness to the Soviets, their treatment of the Jews in
their country has nothing to do with racism. The persecution of the Russian-
Jewish community is caused by their choice to practice their religion in an
atheist state. After all, a good percentage of the Supreme Soviet is composed
of Jews. Oh, and speaking of apartheid, how about the Palestinians on the
West Bank who are kept in concentration camps and are allowed few, if any,
rights?
Brian Petruskie ’83
Letters to the editor should not exceed 300 words in length. The editorial staff reserves the right
to edit letters for style and length, but will make every effort to maintain the author’s intent.
Each letter must be signed and must include the classification, address and telephone number of
the writer.
ages in a person’s life. There is 21, for
instance, when an individual allegedly
becomes an adult.
I had a friend who still lived at home
when he turned 21. Just after midnight,
when his birthday became official, he
jumped out of bed and went running
through his house screaming, “There’s
a man in the house! There’s a man in
the house!”
Frightened, his father got out of bed,
fetched his shotgun and fired twice into
the living room at what he thought was
an intruder. Fortunately, his aim wasn’t
that good and all he hit was the velvet
painting of the bullfighter on the living
room wall.
Twenty-one is nothing like 16, how
ever. Sixteen and you have wheels!
You’re free! Before you’re 16, your
mother has to drive you on dates. Little
else in life is ever more humiliating than
that.
Or, as dangerous. Your mother is
constantly trying to watch the road and
the rearview mirror at the same time,
and you could be in a serious accident.
I counted the days before my 16th
birthday. Finally the day I had longed
for arrived.
I passed the driver’s test easily. That
night I took Kathy Sue Loudermilk to
the drive-in. To this day, every time I
see a 1958 Chevrolet my lips pucker and
I lose complete control of my hands.
The professor’s idea to make kids hit
the books or face no driver’s license
when they reach 16 may be the best
thing to hit our nation’s educational sys
tem since the invention of the black
board.
The libraries and study halls would
be packed. Most of the students actually
would know the name of our president
as well as the capital of Idaho. Some
might even be able to quote Shakespeare
and Disraeli.
Think of it. Literate teen-agers.
American youths hit the books. Even
Ferris Bueller.
The mind boggles.
times that try men’s souls.
The “these” he refers to are those
desperate days preceding the colonists’
declaration of autonomy — the brood
ing calm before the stormy revolution,
the rumbling cloud about the silver lin
ing, the hardship, the frustration, the
anger.
And today I, a not so famous Ameri
can, declare that these are the times that
try freshmen souls. Particularly fresh
men in the Corps of Cadets. They are
hit hard on many fronts this time of
year. Between Halloween and Yuletide
in College Station a bonfire is assem
bled, the weather turns wicked, sopho
mores get more demanding, an aca
demic crunch hits before that last round
of exams, final projects are due and, of
' course, the ever-illustrious Corps brass
is to be earned.
These are the bleakest of times for
freshmen retention.
Corps brass is to a class of freshmen
what diplomas are to a class of seniors.
It symbolizes the end of a long, grueling
trek toward recognition and acceptance.
It represents success. It symbolizes a
coming of age and an end to youthful ir
responsibility. It is like the gold medals
won by an Olympic team — a mark of
unity and cohesion of purpose. It stands
for the strength of one small group of
Aggies working tightly to earn a right to
remain. It represents unity from dispar
ity and harmony from discordance.
And it’s hard to earn — so hard that
some freshmen never do. They never
see the day of reward, never trade in
their A.M.U. fish brass for the Per Unit-
atem Vis of full-fledged cadet Corps col
lar brass. Because they drop out. They
quit. They lose the vision, stop the hunt
and accept defeat.
Who outside the Corps has never
bailed out before time is up, never
stopped with less than an ultimate ef
fort, never cut corners on work that
could be done better, never missed a
chance, hedged a dream or clipped a
goal short of glorious fruition? The as
sociation isn’t difficult.
In the Corps, the reasons are many.
Some drop by the wayside because
the academic pressures become too in
tense. Inadequate high school prepara
tion, he says, has left him awash in colle
giate assignments that demand too
much, and he wants out.
This is the towel pitcher.
Persevere, Fish Jones.
“It
Another claims the Corps is simp]
not designed for his particular taste.Ii|
either too restrictive, too hokey, toodfl
meaning or too demanding. Enoughj
enough. 1 le wants his freedom.
This is the squeaking wheel.
Persevere, Fish Jones.
From time to time a freshman w|
dive overboard for perceived Imam
limits. Money is tight, he says, and com
party dues, dry cleaning costs, Corp
trips and Brasso expenses devour
wallet. He is usually too frugal tot
row and too proud to explore grants.
This is the end-of-the-roper.
Persevere, Fish Jones.
And finally, there is a species offe
that literally defeats himself before am
one has a chance to toss him a rope.Ht
just not measuring up, he says,
buddies catch on, manage their
have radiant brass an spit-shined shoe:
but I just can’t keep up. Let mego.Li
me slip out so as not to slow down
rest. Let me slide.”
This is the wrist slitter.
Persevere, Fish Jones.
Earning Corps brass HAS to begruc!
ing. It HAS to be turbulent. It HAS
be a gritty, sweaty, red-hot job dialiu
sists on shedding tears, busting a gH
and parting with one’s diapers.
It is an odyssey that prepares one
life.
So persevere.
Persevere and thereby remind alH
us that certain things ARE worth busttf
guts. That real reward comes ool
through hope, effort and dogged detei
mination. And the realization thati
1990 there still will he a Corps at Teio
A&M.
So there still will be blocks of loui!
buzz-headed Aggies running througi
campus tin Friday afternoons, still beas
sociations of riflemen clad in whiten
perforin at Silver Taps and Musteraitt
still be a uniformed, historical preseni'
on this campus reminding onlookers!)'
what we Aggies are and from whentf
we came.
We all have dreams — hopes and at
pirations, well-patterned goalsan*
long-sought plateaus that we imagia*
one day reaching. They seem preU 1
tough. They seem far-off and hard
reach right now.
But we want to see you reach yo
goal, Fish Jones, to remind us thato#
are possible too. So DO bust a gut. DO
go the longest yard. DO dig deepaw
hang tight, even in these trying times
And persevere for the good of Agj
land.
Jeff L. Brady is a senior journalism $
jor.
The Battalion
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Member of
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Southwestjournalism Conference
The Battalion Editorial Board
Copyright 1986, Cowles Syndicate
Cathie Anderson, Editor
Kirsten Dietz, Managing Editor
Loren Steffy, Opinion Page Editor
Frank Smith, City Editor
Sue Krenek, News Editor
Ken Sury, Sports Editor
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