Blu-ray Review A Few Words About While we wait for A few words about...™ Invaders from Mars - in 4k UHD & Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Jack Theakston]

Bob,

Fortunately now, we are in an age where not only can one give citations, but the original articles. The sources for the details on the "hows" may be found in Alan Gundelfinger's main patent about double-toning (prepared to go glassy-eyed at chemical formulae), as well as the article for the process that was published in the January 1950, which includes some very nice photos of Cinecolor's lab equipment circa 1949.

I wouldn't say that the processing end of things were any more difficult than any other color process of the time, but the research and development of getting it right was probably way more than any one company should have taken on, outside of EK, who had the research labs to do this stuff (and, of course, were the ones who made it all possible with the introduction of bipack stocks and printing in the 1910s.)

 

[Robert Harris]

Bob,

Fortunately now, we are in an age where not only can one give citations, but the original articles. The sources for the details on the "hows" may be found in Alan Gundelfinger's main patent about double-toning (prepared to go glassy-eyed at chemical formulae), as well as the article for the process that was published in the January 1950.

Thank you.

I knew that I’d read through that recently, but couldn’t recall where.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Close. The soundtrack is printed with the blue layer on the dupe negative that has been A/B rolled from the B&W positive seps made from the Eastman Color negative.

Unfortunately, the constant reprinted error here is that the yellow layer was somehow dye-transferred to the print (a typo which I believe stems from a 1938 Cinecolor patent that wasn't ever put into practice for three-color.) What the process did to achieve three-color was to print the cyan and magenta records onto the stock and float-tone the cyan side in the company's patented float tank. Without fixing, what is left on the cyan side is the Prussian Blue dye and two other chemical compounds. The latter two are turned into slightly photo-sensitive silver bromide, which in combination with a precise chemical treatment, and with the Prussian Blue dye surrounding it, becomes an extra photosensitive layer within one emulsion. The yellow record is then printed into this, leaving cyan particles that won't be toned (there's an extra step here I'll leave out for simplification of this already convoluted process) and silver particles developed to a B&W version of the yellow record. The yellow side is then dye-mordant toned, and the film is washed, flipped, and the magenta side is dye-mordant toned. The film is washed and then finished.

Cinecolor had been developing this three-color process since the early '40s, but couldn't do anything with it past animation. Technicolor held both patents on three-strip photography and a handshake deal with Kodak based on a patent stalemate between the two companies that allowed for Kodak to produce Kodachrome in 16mm, in trade for Technicolor's exclusive use of 35mm Kodachrome and their exclusion of dye-transfer printing in 16mm. Kodachrome's patent expired in 1941, and the Troland Patent (ie. monopack color film) that Technicolor was holding over Kodak expired in 1948, so that became the watershed year for Kodak to unleash their new R&D: Eastman Color. The only problem is that EK could not sort out intermediate stocks and print stocks of usable quality.

That is why SuperCinecolor was, for all intents and purposes, entirely a stop-gap process for the lab. Technicolor could A/B roll Eastman color when they made printing matrices, but an all-Eastman show had several methods they could take advantage of, including doing the opticals as seps, and none of them were satisfactory. Yet by 1953, EK had straightened out all of the kinks in their color process (well, enough to make it work on an industrial level), and I don't think Cinecolor thought their SuperCinecolor process would be long for the world, because as soon as they rolled it out, a Philadelphia investor firm called Donner Corporations bought the company and the lab began investing in Ansco Color equipment they purchased from Houston-Fearless, who were also based in Burbank. I suspect this is also at the point where the trade name "SuperCinecolor" became unnecessary, as is seen in INVADERS FROM MARS. Houston-Fearless eventually expanded into the lab business, and once Cinecolor had changed their business to Color Corporation of America, sold all of their shares (and equipment) to HF.

Thanks, Jack.

Your Cinecolor segment on the Beanstalk release will finally set the record straight, thanks to your original research in the primary source documents!

 

[Capt D McMars]

Close. The soundtrack is printed with the blue layer on the dupe negative that has been A/B rolled from the B&W positive seps made from the Eastman Color negative.

Unfortunately, the constant reprinted error here is that the yellow layer was somehow dye-transferred to the print (a typo which I believe stems from a 1938 Cinecolor patent that wasn't ever put into practice for three-color.) What the process did to achieve three-color was to print the cyan and magenta records onto the stock and float-tone the cyan side in the company's patented float tank. Without fixing, what is left on the cyan side is the Prussian Blue dye and two other chemical compounds. The latter two are turned into slightly photo-sensitive silver bromide, which in combination with a precise chemical treatment, and with the Prussian Blue dye surrounding it, becomes an extra photosensitive layer within one emulsion. The yellow record is then printed into this, leaving cyan particles that won't be toned (there's an extra step here I'll leave out for simplification of this already convoluted process) and silver particles developed to a B&W version of the yellow record. The yellow side is then dye-mordant toned, and the film is washed, flipped, and the magenta side is dye-mordant toned. The film is washed and then finished.

Cinecolor had been developing this three-color process since the early '40s, but couldn't do anything with it past animation. Technicolor held both patents on three-strip photography and a handshake deal with Kodak based on a patent stalemate between the two companies that allowed for Kodak to produce Kodachrome in 16mm, in trade for Technicolor's exclusive use of 35mm Kodachrome and their exclusion of dye-transfer printing in 16mm. Kodachrome's patent expired in 1941, and the Troland Patent (ie. monopack color film) that Technicolor was holding over Kodak expired in 1948, so that became the watershed year for Kodak to unleash their new R&D: Eastman Color. The only problem is that EK could not sort out intermediate stocks and print stocks of usable quality.

That is why SuperCinecolor was, for all intents and purposes, entirely a stop-gap process for the lab. Technicolor could A/B roll Eastman color when they made printing matrices, but an all-Eastman show had several methods they could take advantage of, including doing the opticals as seps, and none of them were satisfactory. Yet by 1953, EK had straightened out all of the kinks in their color process (well, enough to make it work on an industrial level), and I don't think Cinecolor thought their SuperCinecolor process would be long for the world, because as soon as they rolled it out, a Philadelphia investor firm called Donner Corporations bought the company and the lab began investing in Ansco Color equipment they purchased from Houston-Fearless, who were also based in Burbank. I suspect this is also at the point where the trade name "SuperCinecolor" became unnecessary, as is seen in INVADERS FROM MARS. Houston-Fearless eventually expanded into the lab business, and once Cinecolor had changed their business to Color Corporation of America, sold all of their shares (and equipment) to HF.

Thanks Jack!!

 

[Robert Harris]

One of the best sources is Hollywood’s Conversion of All Production to Color Using Eastman Color Professional Motion Picture Films by John Waner. 2000.

Lawrence of Arabia was photographed on Eastman 5250, and will be available soon as a stand-alone 4k UHD disc.

Available wherever home video software is sold. Order yours today!

 

[Paul Thrussell]

Has it been said what the source was for the opticals/effects shots that weren't in the Eastman OCN? It'd be a shame if they had to use dupey material because WW is sitting on the separation elements.

 

[Robert Harris]

Has it been said what the source was for the opticals/effects shots that weren't in the Eastman OCN? It'd be a shame if they had to use dupey material because WW is sitting on the separation elements.

The restoration is based upon a number of elements, substantially OCN. There are wonderful discoveries - flop-overs, field enlargements… who knew?

 

[Bob Furmanek]

SuperCinecolor projected via carbon arc illumination has an unusual palette unlike any other color process.

 

[Robert Harris]

SuperCinecolor projected via carbon arc illumination has an unusual palette unlike any other color process.

Yes, but this is not SCC.

Invaders is Eastman 5248. Plain Jane color neg of the time. Nothing special about it.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Indeed and SO incredibly fortunate that the OCN was found. In a stock footage library, I believe? Apparently acquired by the library nearly six decades ago to extract the special effect shots. The flying saucer landing was using on a third season Joker episode of BATMAN in 1967!

 

[Reed Grele]

What an incredible piece of news to end a day with!

We'll HAVE to have a party for this one!!

 

[bujaki]

And raise whichever fingers you want in honor of WW!

 

[Robert Harris]

And raise whichever fingers you want in honor of WW!

Best to leave Wade alone.

 

[bujaki]

Best to leave Wade alone.

Okay. May he rest peacefully. At home.

 

[disctrip]

WOW...There really is a God.

 

[Robert Harris]

The SUPERcineCOLOR printing process was even more complex than the Technicolor dye-transfer process.

Black-and-white separation master positives were made from the Eastman Color negative onto Eastman 5203 Fine Grain Panchromatic Duplicating Film, and from these Y-C-M dupe negatives. These became the Cinecolor printing negatives.

Eastman Kodak 5248 camera negative: SUPERcineCOLOR color separation chart.​

The positive raw stock for SUPERcineCOLOR prints, manufactured by Dupont,was duplitized and featured color-blind positive emulsions impregnated with a yellow dye on both sides of the base. The cyan and magenta were step printed atthe same time on opposite sides of the film, along with the cyan soundtrack, andthen developed into silver. Then the cyan was laid face down onto a solution thatconverted the soundtrack and cyan image into a cyan toned pigment.

The magenta record remained undeveloped and imbedded in the emulsion. Theyellow component was then printed and a bleach solution converted the silver in the yellow and magenta images to dye mordants.. After a final wash, the film wasdried and emerged as a finished three-color print. For a detailed description of this wonky process, the reader is refered to Cinecolor Three-Color Process by Alan M. Gundelfinger, one of the inventors of the process, in the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers ( Volume: 54, Issue: 1, Jan. 1950), available online at www.widescreenmuseum.com/oldcolor/cinecolor.htm.


Mommy Dearest. TOP: Original Cinecolor print. Mommy’s looking jaundiced and the wall is turning violet.

Surrogate Mother. TOP: Purple People Easters from Australia. BOTTOM: Eastman Color camera negative.

Goldilocks and the Three Martians: TOP : Cinecolor from NFSA. This Martian’s too hot. CENTER: Cinecolor from GEM. This Martian’s too cold. 4K scan of Original Eastmancolor Camera Negative. This Martian is just right!

Except from Invaders From Mars: A Nightmare of Restoration by Scott MacQueen.

Text Copyright Scott MacQueen.
Images Copyright Ignite Films BV 2022.

 

[Mark McSherry]

Time to remind everyone of Glenn Erickson's two-part essay on INVADERS FROM MARS. And, of course, there are spoilers...

Part One, Part Two, and Review of Image Entertainment's 2002 DVD.

 

[Jack Theakston]

See below.

 

[Jack Theakston]

The SUPERcineCOLOR printing process was even more complex than the Technicolor dye-transfer process. It was developed in 1950 in answer to Eastmancolor prints as a way for Cinecolor, now 20 years old, to stay in business. Of course there business model was impractical, and they lost money every year until 1955 when, on the brink of bankruptcy, they were bought by Donner and rebranded Color Corporation of America. Then the plug was pulled.

Black-and-white separation master positives were made from the Eastman Color negative onto Eastman 5203 Fine Grain Panchromatic Duplicating Film. Fromthese three records, Y-C-M dupe negatives were made on Eastman 5365 Fine Grain Panchromatic Duplicating Film. These became the Cinecolor printing negatives.


View attachment 132658

Eastman Kodak 5248 camera negative: SUPERcineCOLOR color separation chart.
View attachment 132657

SUPERcineCOLOR first processing stage. From the Eastman color negative, Fine Grain Positive RGB color separations (not pictured) would be made toproduce the YCM dupe negatives pictured here. The cyan and magenta records are printed simultaneously onto the dupletized DU PONT receiving film.


The positive raw stock for SUPERcineCOLOR prints, manufactured by Dupont,was duplitized (coated with black-and-white emulsions on both sides). It featuredcolor-blind positive emulsions impregnated with a water-soluble yellow dye coated on both sides of the base. Two of the three color records, the cyan and magenta, were step printed at the same time on opposite sides of the film, along with the cyan soundtrack. The black-and-white, latent images were developed into silver. Then the cyan was laid face down onto a solution that converted the soundtrackand cyan image into a cyan toned pigment. View attachment 132656

SUPERcineCOLOR second processing stage. With the cyan already processed and floated on a mordant bath, the yellow record is printed onto the film. After bleaching the film the first yellow record , then the magenta record, areindependently floated on baths that convert the mordant images to toned colors fora final three-color print.

In an extremely complex chemical process, the magenta record remained undeveloped and imbedded in the emulsion. The yellow component was thenprinted by the yellow printer negative. A bleach solution converted the silver in the yellow and magenta component images to dye mordants, with the film floated first on a yellow dye solution, then on a magenta dye solution. After a final wash, thefilm was dried and emerged as a finished three-color print. For a detailed description of this wonky process, the reader is refered to Cinecolor Three-Color Process by Alan M. Gundelfinger, one of the inventors of the process, in the Journal of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers ( Volume: 54, Issue: 1, Jan. 1950), available online atwww.widescreenmuseum.com/oldcolor/cinecolor.htm.

Text Copyright Scott MacQueen. Images Copyright Ignite Films BV 2022

I mean, Scott.... If you're going to pilfer my research (and citations), and then slap a copyright on it like that, at least get the facts straight. The yellow layer is on the CYAN side, buddy. That's why it's green, and arc burns on those prints are magenta. And CCA was incorporated in 1953, not two years later.

Of course, now everyone sees the get, so my work here is done.

 

[aPhil]

Other than the history of the original release and the previous presentations of this classic 1953 film (and as something of a color reference source),
it seems that SuperCinecolor ultimately has nothing to do with the restoration of Invaders From Mars.

Am I correct?