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Stooges released colorized (1 Viewer)

Ronald Epstein

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Just to show that people will buy ANYTHING....

Someone wrote me an email today asking if I
knew when Cagney's Yankee Doodle Dandy
would be released colorized?

The reader felt it looked so much better in color.
 

Gabe D

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I have purchased every Columbia Stooges DVD so far. I wasn't going to buy these because of (a)the colorization, (b)the fact that they are double-dipping on some of the titles, and (c)the reduction to 4 shorts per disc. However, I just realized that one of the new discs contains "An Ache in Every Stake," which is my absolute favorite Stooges short. Also, I'm tempted by the reports of improved quality on the B&W versions. Damnit, this is killing me. I don't like it, but I'm gonna buy it. :frowning:
 

Dave Scarpa

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If you have an appreciation of history of film it matters.
Classics should not be messed with. If someone is narrow minded anough to skip B&W films that their loss.
 

Mark Zimmer

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I am glad that they allowed switching angles on the fly; it makes doing a comparision incomparably simpler. I would have counted it as a demerit had they not permitted switching---I mean, seriously, the gimmick is "Chromachoice" and if you can't compare the two on the fly it's not worth much is it? (or better, would be worth less).
 

Chip_HT

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Yeah. Oops, brain working faster than my hands. Or is the other way around? :)
 

Rob Gardiner

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I love this quote:


C/TS themselves admit that remixing a mono film into 5.1 is just as serious a desecration as colorization!
 

JackKay

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Maybe there should be a special thread on the Miracle of Ted Turner's Colorization Process.
 

Gabe D

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I bought these DVDs last night, and put one on as I was getting ready for work this morning. I asked my six-year-old boy whether he wanted to watch the color or black and white version. He said color, which was okay with me because I was curious about how they'd look. After about 10 seconds he says "Let's go back to the no-color version, because that's how I'm used to seeing the Stooges, and I think I like it better that way." This from a kid who starts kindergarten next week.
 

Zack_H

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I'm a diehard stooge fan. I have been since i was a kid (the 80s). Ive seen every episode, the healy stuff, the pilot they did for nbc (?), know all the history...

Anyhow, with that said I absolutely love the colorized versions of the stooges. I dont understand where the problem lies if they include the black and white version. I honestly see no difference between this and pink floyds dark side of the moon remixed to 5.1, the new megadeth remasters, or the beatles let it be naked. I know the stooges themselves werent involved, whereas the the other artists I mentioned were. However everyone associated with the stooges (pretty much) is long passed away. So who makes the call?

As far as the quality, I cant explain it. They just look really really good. I can honestly say that to my eyes and my tv, it looks as if it was shot in color. It looks like any other color film from that time period. But then again, i'm no expert. I've also realized as I watch them, I see stuff i never noticed before. For example the columbia statue.... I've seen that damn thing thousands of times, but not until the color versions did i notice it had a flag. I have noticed some bleeding and other artifacts (only when I'm zoomed in), and yes, sometimes the colors are a little too saturated, but its not anything really major. I'm just really impressed, and honestly, hope they do more.

Now I do have the complaint everyone else has. The price being too high, the lame 4 episodes per disc, and the double-dipping. I'm not as angry about the double-dipping though, as the black & whites have been restored. How is this any different at all from buying a remastered audio cd? I really wish theyd get on the ball and just release box sets. 1934-1937 for example, with or without color. Its no secret that the stooges arent being treated the way they should be. They are afterall, the foundation of comedy.

Anyways, just my $.02 :)
 

Dave Mack

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I saw the TV ad for these today... 2 discs for 19.95 and a free 3rd... So thats like 6.66 a disc.
Hmmm....
 

Rob Gardiner

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Kurt is right.

Most CDs need to be remastered because they never sounded as good as the corresponding vinyl. Remastering a CD makes it sound more authentic. Example: I bought all the Beach Boys two-fers (16=bit) in 1990 and was pleased with them at the time. A few years later, the 20-bit Good Vibrations box set was released, and everything sounded noticably better. When the 24-bit Greatest Hits 1 & 2 came out a few years ago, the CDs sounded like the 45s for the first time.

Colorizing a black and white film is in no way comparable. It's like re-filming the special effects in a classic science fiction movie! :)

However, the one positive by-product of the colorization process is the pristine, restored black & white version that must be produced before colorization can begin. I posted, back in the earlier Three Stooges thread when this project was first announced, that they should colorize everything, as long as the black & white copies are also made available. Most people denounced my opinion, as they are unable to separate the by-prouct of the process from its final result.
 

Will Krupp

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I don't know that that's entirely true. I have always felt that way about colorization myself. My theory is, and always has been, that as long as I'm not forced to buy or watch it, I have nothing to say about colorization. My objection to these discs was that the consumer is forced to purchase the color along with the black and white and, "super deals" notwithstanding, at a relatively high SRP for the content.
 

Brian Kidd

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The inclusion of two versions of the film cuts the available bitrate on the disc in half. Therefore the color version is detrimental to the overall disc whether or not the original version is included. Plus, do you think that Columbia is keeping track of who watched which version on these discs? No way! They're looking at sales numbers and saying, "Look how many people will by colorized films!"
 

Gabe D

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What?! Are you sure these were the same discs we're talking about, because that's an amazing deal. And what is the free third disc? I'm thinking this can't be right.
 

Mark Zimmer

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If they had these same discs at an $11.99 MSRP, I think my objections would melt away. That's pretty reasonable if you consider four fully restored shorts and just never look at the colorized ones.
 

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