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From: reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.movies
Subject: Re: First Color Films
Message-ID: <4882@ucla-cs.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 18-Apr-85 13:36:41 EST
Article-I.D.: ucla-cs.4882
Posted: Thu Apr 18 13:36:41 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 22-Apr-85 06:10:15 EST
References: <2414@randvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (Peter Reiher)
Distribution: net
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department
Lines: 45
Summary: 

In article <2414@randvax.UUCP> boren@randvax.UUCP (Pat Boren) writes:
>
>Not only was tinting of B&W film tried years ago, but recently too.
>Somebody came up with a computer method of "coloring" Laurel & Hardy
>shorts, frame by frame.  

The use of a computer adds a whole new dimension to tinting, as it becomes
practical to tint portions of the frame.  I never saw any footage of this
process, but the stills I saw did indeed look like pastel renditions of
the shots.  I'm not sure if subdued tones are a requirement or not.  (I'd
guess not.)  At any rate, the last I heard, the owners of the process were
threatening to apply color to "Casablanca".  I shudder at the prospect.

>
>While I'm on Laurel & Hardy, did anybody get a chance to see some of
>their silent films in a movie theater, complete with "live" piano
>accompaniment?  I saw that a couple years ago here in L.A.  Wish the
>same would be done for more films...

Silent films are shown with organ accompaniment on a semi-regular basis in
LA.  Probably in New York, too, and rarely anywhere else.  The problem is
a shortage of people who know how to do it.  There are, it seems, four or
five people in LA who still do this with varying degrees of skill.  A young
man named Robert Israel often accompanies silent films at UCLA (including
all of the films in the Lillian Gish series last summer and the Lon Chaney
series the summer before that).  He is enthusiastic and does a great deal of
research work, but is not very technically accomplished.  He seems to be
improving.  The Erich von Stroheim restrospective just completed at the
LA County Museum of Art featured at least three different accompaniests,
including Israel and an older woman whose name I forget.  She played for
"The Wedding March", and was absolutely splendid.  I think that she actually
did play in theaters back in the silent era.

Next month, on Wednesday evenings, the County Museum will be showing a
restrospective of Murnau films, and I imagine that they will have organ
accompaniment for them.  The Vista theater in LA also shows occasional 
silent bills, and even the Nuart has organ accompaniment once in a while
(for a couple of films in a Chaplin series six months ago).

An even better way to see a silent film is accompanied by a full 
orchestra.  This is very, very rare, and usually very expensive to see.
-- 
        			Peter Reiher
        			reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
        			{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher