Colorization

"It's not 'full' color anyway, just flat color tints over a black and white background, which is why colorized films never look nearly as good and rich as films shot in Technicolor, Eastmancolor, etc. (even Cinecolor). Besides, all black & white films, because they are made to be in black & white (regardless of whether this is an artistic or budgetary decision), are lit and shot and designed differently than color films. Contrast, contrast, contrast is all-important in black & white cinematography, where the palette is 'limited' to black, white and shades of gray.

"Often, the clothes (and other on-screen elements) featured in black and white productions have strange color schemes in real life, but look normal on black & white film, used for visual contrast between actors, or to stand out from the background, etc. This stuff can look very weird and wrong with flat colors slapped over it. So leave it alone. Don't 'fix' what ain't broke."

Tralfaz

DVD

"A lot of classic films are (or soon will be) available on DVD, and a lot aren't yet; it depends on which home video company is doing the releasing. Some studios are more focused on newer blockbusters, while others specialize in classic (or in some cases, not classic, but vintage shlock, which is also a good thing, depending on your tastes), and others offer a healthy variety of old & new.

"As an example, Warner Home Video owns an incredible number of films, including the recent aquisition of all pre-1986 MGM films, to go along with the entire WB library (including the pre-1948 WB titles that used to be owned by MGM/UA Home Video/Ted Turner), RKO, Samuel Goldwyn titles (via Warner subsidiary HBO Video), Allied Artists, Monogram and several assorted titles owned by Ted Turner, including some British films...

"At this point in time, Warner is a little spotty as far as classic films on DVD are concerned. They are primarily focused ... on recent films, and films from the 1970s-80s. However, you can get excellent, low-priced (some are "Collector's Editions", filled with extra material apart from the film itself) DVDs of vintage Warner-controlled titles.

"As for DVD players, most low-end players are pretty decent, uniform quality. In fact, I don't really know what the advantages would be in getting a more expensive player, unless it's one of those 5-DVD carousel players. When I got a laserdisc player years ago, I had to get a special high-end player to do freeze-frame, slo-mo, etc on all discs, but it looks like all DVD players, even the lower-price models, can do those sorts of things. I have a Panasonic A-310, which has served me well, although there have been reports that some Panasonic players can tend to overheat and break down. I think most people opt for either a Panasonic, a Toshiba or a Sony. The new players out now are 3rd or 4th generation players, so I think they've worked most of the minor technical bugs out of them, but it always pays to be an educated consumer and do some research at some of the DVD hardware review websites, and places like The Home Theater Forum, where you can get opinions from various people who've already tried various machines.

"One bit of advice from a dope who learned things the hard way: don't bother with DVD players that have 'built-in' Dolby Digital and/or DTS Sound decoders; I got mine with 'built-in' Dolby Digital, only to get home and find that I'd still need a Dolby Digital-enabled audio receiver to actually plug the speakers in and get DD sound (my receiver ISN'T DD enabled), so a 'built-in' decoder is essentially worthless/superfluous. If a player has Dolby Digital/DTS output jacks, that's okay (and I believe is standard on most players), just avoid the built-in decoders. You'll be paying extra for zilch.

"My Panasonic model A-310 DVD player eventually fell prey to the problem, so this past summer I replaced it with a Pioneer DVD-333 player, which plays everything just fine, no problems at all.

"A handful of longer films were released on DVD at the beginning of the format, before the advent of 'dual-layer' DVDs. These DVDs were like small laserdiscs, with roughly the first half of the film on one side, and the second half on the other side. You have to flip them over to watch them in their entirety, and are nicknamed "flipper" discs ... and they'll eventually be replaced by dual-layer versions, but no word on when this will happen, so bear that in mind when you go shopping for DVDs.

"The DVD of William Wyler's The Best Years Of Our Lives was reissued as a dual-layer DVD this past summer by MGM, so it can now be watched in its entirety without having to flip over the disc halfway through. The Samuel Goldwyn library of films, formerly released on video (including DVD) by Warner subsidiary HBO Video, have become property of MGM Home Entertainment. This is why The Best Years Of Our Lives was reissued. HBO also released a colorized-only DVD of Goldwyn's Pride Of The Yankees a couple of years back, so I expect we'll see a black & white DVD reissue in the near future from MGM."

Tralfaz

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