tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7307776919552060109..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: I HATE LUCY in colorBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88820449018648302262016-12-11T22:01:41.354-08:002016-12-11T22:01:41.354-08:00and now they are colorizing the Dick Van dyke Show...and now they are colorizing the Dick Van dyke Show Sunday December 11 they have know respect or the classics black & white needs to stay black & white just because they colorize an old show doesn't make the show any funniermagic_man109https://www.blogger.com/profile/08104269073740594312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73461456566206692422015-06-10T18:44:13.561-07:002015-06-10T18:44:13.561-07:00Sorry - this is pretty late(r) to be posting here,...Sorry - this is pretty late(r) to be posting here, on this subject but I just found this site Googlin' how did they colorize it. <br /><br />It's too bad most here feel the color was bad. I did want to point out that if everyone had bad color(s) perhaps it's due to a brand of TV not known for their calibration. I do agree B&W is great stuff - (and "timeless" as mentioned above) but I have to admit - the color to me looked great - then again, I feel my TV brand, as mentioned in one fairly reputable tech mag as "The Best TV Picture Ever!" - recreated the colors quite well. (I don't know the policy of this site but seems every time I mention a brand-name, the post gets kicked back.)<br /><br />Be certain your TV's are _well_ calibrated for proper color. Maybe before discussing how bad the colors appeared to you.<br /><br />Back to my original objective here, does anyone know of/about the technology they used? Certainly this technology (looked to me!) to be MUCH better than those movies they colorized from the 40's and 50's. (Those, the colors jump all over the picture and never stay (evenly) with the subject(s).)BillFinkRIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12353437993072041832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83037124253305760252015-02-03T05:41:53.494-08:002015-02-03T05:41:53.494-08:00The producers behind the colorized Lucy episodes c...The producers behind the colorized Lucy episodes claimed they were "improving" the look by changing the hues to present a more "Technicolor" approach. Not only was this not a plus, but it stands as an insult to the classic Technicolor process. It could more accurately be called Trashycolor. Bloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07098749811869635526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65789951943041473912014-04-26T14:27:51.441-07:002014-04-26T14:27:51.441-07:00Actually to be fair to everyone,this new one was d...Actually to be fair to everyone,this new one was done with an 1080p HD transfer. The one everyone is thinking of is the 1990 version with brown walls. The new version was colourised digitally by legend films(now legend3D)while the old one was done on analogue. And I actually like colourisation as it gives a new life to films like the ray harryhausen films and the single fireball xl5 episode. I would never think of course of colourising orson welle's films as that would ruin the cinematography of them. But for sci fi,family and musicals I'm fine with it.warewolfboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14913615263268441118noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46856369621521858942013-12-26T17:07:49.610-08:002013-12-26T17:07:49.610-08:00Hmm. New Doctor Who special or a Lucy repeat I jus...Hmm. New <i>Doctor Who</i> special or a Lucy repeat I just saw and loathed?<br /><br />Who's on first once again.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2382926770512935672013-12-23T23:37:47.511-08:002013-12-23T23:37:47.511-08:00If you missed hating it on Dec 20, CBS is showing ...If you missed hating it on Dec 20, CBS is showing it again Dec 25 Christmas Day at 8. This may be the world's quickest Lucy rerun.Waynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22605515619987696452013-12-23T19:15:57.645-08:002013-12-23T19:15:57.645-08:00Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I thought the...Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I thought the colorization was pretty well-done. I too noticed the cuts for time (didn't see the grape-stomping episode, but did notice the edits in the Christmas show), but for the most part, it was well done.<br /><br />And just a minor correction: While CBS did indeed air the Christmas episode in color in 1990, and for a few years thereafter, it was slightly different from what we saw last Friday. And, in my opinion, worse. Friday's version looked much more natural.<br /><br />Here's the one from 1990:<br />http://youtu.be/347B7eBba9c Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22518173857519288222013-12-23T12:22:03.339-08:002013-12-23T12:22:03.339-08:00Put me on the list of haters for this whole idea. ...Put me on the list of haters for this whole idea. They knew they were filming in b&w, and they used it. There are shades and shadows in these old films that are part of the art itself. That's why so many professional photographers often choose b&w even today. Colorize it, and you lose the mood, the atmosphere. I knew I would hate what they were doing to Lucy, so I didn't even bother watching.<br /><br />As for young people not wanting to watch b&w, that might be true of some, but it's also true of some that they wouldn't watch Casablanca anyway because it takes place before they were born, it's not vulgar enough, and Ingrid Bergman wears too many clothes. In the meantime, if they ever are exposed to these films it should be the way there were intended to be viewed. That's the only way they'll ever understand why they are classics in the first place.McAlvienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-46031735458913656132013-12-23T11:19:59.119-08:002013-12-23T11:19:59.119-08:00I agree: I hate colorization. Even the ZORRO epis...I agree: I hate colorization. Even the ZORRO episodes looked fake when Disney did it for that series. <br /><br />IF you plan to buy the DVD they promoted, it comes with BOTH color and B&W versions, for the purists (which is most of us).<br /><br />NORM (anonymous as I'm out of town and don't have my GOGGLE account info to log in.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39211317237692163142013-12-23T11:08:30.331-08:002013-12-23T11:08:30.331-08:00This is hardly the first time CBS has run the Chri...This is hardly the first time CBS has run the Christmas special ( as Tim points out it first ran in 1989 )and it has garnered huge ratings every time, regardless of the night it runs. Where has everybody been ?Rob in Torontonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-48203512379557204412013-12-22T16:21:51.199-08:002013-12-22T16:21:51.199-08:00"Tim's" revelation that this coloriz..."Tim's" revelation that this colorizing was done 23 years ago makes sense. It explains why the anemic colorizing looked so bad, so inferior to the colorizing one sees done now. Thank you, Tim, for clearing that up.<br /><br />It did kill in the ratings but I wouldn't put much stock in that. It was a Friday (TV Death Zone) in a week of mostly network repeats anyway, and massively hyped. What else was on? Not much. Add in the morbid-curiosity factor, and yes, great ratings this once. I suspect a <i><b>lot</b></i> of those viewers would not be back for more.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81261196373614512292013-12-22T11:08:46.988-08:002013-12-22T11:08:46.988-08:00@Wayne: The LUCY Christmas special was the evening...@Wayne: The LUCY Christmas special was the evening's top-rated program with adults 18-49.Mikenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65262860363130211562013-12-22T09:49:12.103-08:002013-12-22T09:49:12.103-08:00How bad did colorized Lucy do in the ratings?How bad did colorized Lucy do in the ratings?Waynenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19442274002053071792013-12-22T06:18:16.545-08:002013-12-22T06:18:16.545-08:00While we're getting rid of colorization (other...While we're getting rid of colorization (other than for film restoration and preservation) can we get rid of dubbing, too? <br /><br />The problem with colorization, I've always thought, is that intuitively we know the colors don't look right - because when you were filming for black and white you doubtless picked items and colors for the *way they were going to look in black and white*. So you might well pick stuff in colors you would never use in color because they were luminous in a certain wway in monochrome. So when the research department gets all excited about figuring out what colors were in style etc they are probably choosing the wrong colors for the actual items. And I think on some level we can see this.<br /><br />wgWendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-49015150165649200172013-12-22T02:43:45.845-08:002013-12-22T02:43:45.845-08:00RCP, yes, just seeing Wizard of Oz on a big screen...RCP, yes, just seeing <i>Wizard of Oz</i> on a big screen if you never have before is a great experience. For me, well, I've seen it in theaters several times before. In fact, the very first time I ever saw it was in a theater, before it had ever been on TV. D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-57465414390301308392013-12-22T01:36:53.817-08:002013-12-22T01:36:53.817-08:00Refusing to watch Black and White films isn't ...Refusing to watch Black and White films isn't just a young person thing. My mother hates them too, and she's just turned 80. I'm not sure why. Maybe she just sees them as another bit of the crap side of the past.Jimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-60451784010735997972013-12-21T22:25:07.324-08:002013-12-21T22:25:07.324-08:00Ken, you probably are aware of this and just wrote...Ken, you probably are aware of this and just wrote it as a one-liner, but the initial colorization "pioneer" was <i>not</i> Ted Turner, but Hal Roach. His 1937 classic "Topper," with Constance Bennett, Cary Grant and Roland Young, was the first movie to get the treatment. (Grant was still alive at the time, and IIRC, wasn't publicly opposed to the process.) <br /><br />I say this because Turner is still maligned for colorization after lo these many years, when in reality his firm at the time colorized relatively few films; most movies that got the treatment had it performed by other firms. Turner should really be remembered for his work in film preservation, as his company helped preserve and restore thousands of movies in the MGM, Warners and RKO libraries -- movies that provided the basis for the original TNT channel and later led the way to Turner Classic Movies after TNT was converted to other uses. Fans of classic Hollywood owe Ted plenty, even after he sold Turner Broadcasting to TimeWarner some years back. Learn more about Ted's film preservation achievements at http://carole-and-co.livejournal.com/438472.htmlVP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36448452021484973282013-12-21T16:58:09.622-08:002013-12-21T16:58:09.622-08:00To make matters worse, they redid the closing cred...To make matters worse, they redid the closing credits and even edited the content for time. Since I know the "Grape Vat" episode by heart, I noticed several gag lines were missing. Beyond the circus-like colorization, that fact is even more shamefulLenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18024610955369307729noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52722502219130693692013-12-21T15:38:17.359-08:002013-12-21T15:38:17.359-08:00D. McEwan said...
"The retro-fitted 3-D Wiza...D. McEwan said...<br /><br />"The retro-fitted 3-D Wizard of Oz did make you feel you were there (In a very-grainy universe), only not in Oz. It put you right into a 1938 MGM soundstage."<br /><br />I agree, and it was a distraction throughout. For me, however, the novelty of seeing it on an actual movie screen for the first time went a long way toward compensating for its technical failings. Actually, I was more distracted by a photo I'd seen a few days before of Judy reading a newspaper during a lunch break from WOZ - beside her are three munchkins taking a cigarette break. That was an image I also tried to push away along with the flimsy backdrops.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59717699291074959332013-12-21T15:08:59.584-08:002013-12-21T15:08:59.584-08:00It's a shame you turned it off after 10 minute...It's a shame you turned it off after 10 minutes, Ken - the best part of the hour was Lucy in the wine vat in the last quarter. Lucy said herself that she didn't know what was funny (though she was very funny complaining about her uncomfortable chair on Merv Griffin once), be that as it may, once she's doing physical comedy it's always a joy to watch. <br /><br />The coloring was pretty awful - it looked like they'd poured cream of tomato soup over Lucy's head, and the novelty of it wore off after 30 seconds.RCPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04251247613686669877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-38542850511593321812013-12-21T14:25:52.813-08:002013-12-21T14:25:52.813-08:00Neither of those LUCY episodes aired last night wa...Neither of those LUCY episodes aired last night was newly colorized, despite what many sources claimed. The Christmas show aired on CBS in black and white in 1989 and in colorized form in 1990. Two other episodes, "Lucy's Italian Movie" and "Lucy Goes to Scotland," were colorized a few years later as an experiment that went no further.<br /><br />I'm glad they did well, ratings-wise, but I just hate colorization.<br /><br />As someone mentioned, both episodes were edited. I noticed chunks missing out of both shows.<br /><br />Brighter news: Season 1 of I LOVE LUCY is set to debut on Blu-ray in April, along with season 1 of THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW and the "classic 39" HONEYMOONERS!<br /> Timnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-17601551038444623452013-12-21T14:15:17.733-08:002013-12-21T14:15:17.733-08:00Time for your medicine Mr McEwan.Time for your medicine Mr McEwan.fred nerknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4692118172661191772013-12-21T13:44:56.819-08:002013-12-21T13:44:56.819-08:00Black and white:
Between the ages of 7 and 10, my ...Black and white:<br />Between the ages of 7 and 10, my daughter loved "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "King Kong." Big fan of Buster Keaton and the Marx Brothers. She liked "The Bicycle Thief," "Some Like It Hot," and "Night of the Hunter," and she laughed a lot at "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek." She was okay on "A Hard Day's Night," "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Dr. Strangelove." But she got bored and walked out on "Casablanca," "It's a Wonderful Life," and "Citizen Kane." More recently (age 13) she sat through "Les Enfants du Paradis," and was satisfied with it, but is dying to see "Anchorman 2." I don't think there's a template for this stuff.The next generationnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-23565769191849744312013-12-21T13:01:47.635-08:002013-12-21T13:01:47.635-08:00"cadavra said...
'They did this for all t...<i>"cadavra said...<br />'They did this for all those morons that want to see Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon or Citizen Kane in color.'<br /><br />There's no such animal. Kids don't watch them because they're in B&W. They don't watch them because they're OLD."</i><br /><br />Sorry, Cadav, but not always right about that. Certainly there are a goodly number of young folks who won't watch anything that is older than they are, but I've also met more than a few young people who will happily watch old movies and TV shows, as long as they are in color, but who categorically refuse to watch <i><b>anything</b></i> that is in black & white. They avoid it like the plague, as though B&W offends their eyes somehow, as though it is unhealthy or dangerous. One wonders what the hell these poor benighted dopes are so afraid of. One pities them, but also can not avoid feelings of contempt for them as well.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61650252532145793432013-12-21T12:59:09.033-08:002013-12-21T12:59:09.033-08:00It's like putting Whistler's Mother in a B...It's like putting Whistler's Mother in a BarcaLounger...with a remote...and she'd be watching the colorized "I Love Lucy"!!!<br /><br />Ralph C.noreply@blogger.com