Colorizing B&W vs. Colored (1 Viewer)

[Carlos Garcia]

I remember when I first saw the last season of the Andy Griffith Show, which was shot in color. To me Mayberry was always this town from the past, even though back in the 60s the show was in its first run. However, when I saw the color season of Mayberry for the first time, I hated it. It was like they had destroyed something good I loved. Mayberry no longer looked pure, simple, and innocent. It now looked like just another town in the real world. Thank God they never made the mistake of shooting any of the Dick Van Dyke show seasons in color.

 

[Chris:L]

In this digital world I'm sure we can make colorizing b&w shows work.... cgi the episode or season.

Like I said. Colorize every other frame. I'd actually like to experience that.

 

[Steve Phillips]

The last THREE seasons of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW were shot and broadcast in color.

What really makes those seasons lame is the fact that Don Knotts had left the series.

 

[JeremyErwin]

The man who wasn't there was filmed using color stock and digitally edited to remove the color. Modern color stock is far superior to B&W stock, and there was always the possibility that someone would want the color version for broadcast. It's still a B&W film.

 

[Mark Oates]

Ouch. Wonder how long it'd take the colour stage in your tv to burn out?

Colorization - even in "this digital world" is a long-winded and above all expensive process. Studios won't use it unless they know they'll recoup the costs in sales, and the even limitless DVD market couldn't guarantee that.

Colorization is a sore point with a lot of people around here. It's a completely artificial process applied to works that were created and intended to be viewed in monochrome. You could use the argument with tv shows (as opposed to classic films) that had the producers had access to colour film/video, the shows would have been shot that way, but that misses the point that because the shows were made in monochrome, they were filmed with monochrome techniques (which differ from colour filming techniques). Would you have a flowery print applied to the dress of the Mona Lisa to brighten her up? (If your answer's yes, you're just being a troll. Stop it.)

The only time I would say colorization comes into its own is when the colour record of a film or tv show has been lost and only a monochrome one exists (this is the case with a lot of BBC material from the late 1960s and early 1970s), but as colorization remains an expensive process (quoted at $50,000/min last time I heard), it's unlikely to be used by the BBC.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I already quoted Orson Welles and declared this conversation ended! What are you people still discussing this for?

 

[Beau]

The only colorization of originally B&W shows I've seen are Bewtitched and I Dream of Jeannie when Hallmark aired them a few years ago. I thought it looked ablosutley horrible. It made the filmed in color episodes look like they could of been made 10 years ago.

 

[David*P]

I'm all for colorization but only as long as I get to see the original b&w too because you can tell the difference between turning the color off on something that was colorized and just watching it in the original b&w.

Where IDOJ is concerned I like it better colorized because I can't stand that Jeannie is supposed to be wearing a PINK harem outfit, smoking out of her bottle in pink smoke, and Major Nelson should be in a blue uniform with Major Healey in a green uniform but yet we're seeing it all in monochrome. IDOJ is a very colorful show so I think that colorizing it made it more of an enjoyable experience to watch.

With BW I it works wonderfully in b&w, and though I did like seeing it colorized, the original b&w is much, much better and classier.

I would not like it AT ALL if the Munsters or Addams Family was colorized because those two shows just work better with no color. The same goes for I Love Lucy and Dick Van Dyke Show.

 

[Rutgar]

Since I was a kid in the 60's, and that's when the transition from b&w to color took place, I had it ingrained in to me that b&w was cheap and old, and Color was expensive and new. At first, only "rich" people had color TV's. For years, I had to watch my favorite TV shows in b&w, even though I knew they were being broadcast in color. When Lost in Space went Color, I had to go to a friend's house, who's father was a Doctor, to see it in color. So, I don't really have any "fond memories" of b&w. And colorized Bewitched is fine by me.

I wish Schindler's List would have been filmed in color too. I know, Sacrilege! But, that's the way I feel.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

The only two shows I could handle colorized are Bewitched and Jeannie, but I would prefer both versions be made available. Other than that, leave the shows the way they were filmed.

 

[Chris:L]

What exactly is Chroma Choice?

 

[Steve Phillips]

It's a feature that allows you to toggle back and forth between the B/W and colorized versions of a movie with your remote.

Sony released a couple of recent Three Stooges discs with this feature, and they've got some more stuff on the way.

I watched the B/W version anyway.

 

[Chris:L]

Can you explain it a little better to me? So it's like switching between two audio tracks? Do you have to lower the bitrate to include the colorized version. This is really confusing. Does it take up more disc space?

 

[JeremyErwin]

I think it uses the "multiple angle" feature. So, yes, it does take up more disc space, as both a B&W and colorized video stream must be stored.

 

[Chris:L]

Wouldn't you have to double the disc number?

 

[David Lambert]

What if doing only one of those choices only takes up half or less of the disc?

Adding the other choice then means you have the same disc count!

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

I agree with Orson Wells and those that say just leave well enough alone. I want my first 5 years of Andy Griffith left in black and white...same with The Dick Van Dyke Show, and the Munsters. If it was intended for black and white than leave it there, if the unwashed masses were to suddenly demand it all in color than I'd either say that they have to make both the proper version and the color version available or I wouldn't buy it. For me this is a lot like the OAR vs. MAR discussion.

 

[Craig Beam]

Agreed, Casey. 'Round here, I would think the issue of colorization would be met with the same ire and rancor as panning and scanning. If a great work of art (say the Mona Lisa) had been painted with only black and white oils, should colors be painted on top of it to make it appear more modern, or to make it match other paintings hanging nearby? Films and TV shows are without a doubt a form of art, and should therefore be presented (and preserved) as such. A show that was filmed in black and white is a product of its time, and as such has historical value. A classic show is just that: a CLASSIC. Colorization effectively removes this context.

As home theater (and film/TV) enthusiasts, how can any of you condone this practice?

 

[Chris:L]

That's would be impossible to do anyway.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Exactly!

And Welles is a perfect example of the value of glorious black and white filming. Can you imagine CITIZEN KANE or TOUCH OF EVIL working as well in color? Please....