From: wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu (William R. Cruce)
Subject: Re: Kubrick and Directors -was Re: New Release Info ...
Organization: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine
Distribution: na
Date: Sun, 12 Apr 1992 04:48:33 GMT

In article <1992Apr10.145139.10498@engage.pko.dec.com> boyajian@ruby.enet.dec.com (The fox so cunning and free) writes:
>In article <1992Apr08.200222.6456@uhura.neoucom.edu>, wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu (William R. Cruce) writes...

I understand what you're saying Jerry, but perhaps my emphasis is slightly
different.  I want, first and foremost, to see good transfers to video
(laserdisc, of course) from the best print or negative.  I would like
at a minimum, for that transfer to include an easily reconstructable
version of the original theatrical release (I want to know what
people have been commenting about all these years).  If this exists,
great; let's get on with director's cuts, director's rethoughts,
scenes cut to obtain favorable rating, alternate dendings, etc.  If
a good basic transfer doesn't exist, then a special video release
should enclude this as part of the package (Voyager / Criterion's
release of Close Encounters in CAV version approches this).

In the interest of brevity, I will jump to your last comment.

RE: Citizen Kane

>That depends. If Welles and Toland wanted to shoot it in color, but RKO
>told them no, it has to be black-&-white, then they would make artistic
>decisions (lighting, costume color decisions, etc.) that would make the
>results look best in black-and-white, not color. If, in your sccenario,
>Welles felt that colorization technology would make it possible to add
>color to the film and achieve THE EXACT LOOK THAT HE WOULD'VE WANTED if
>they'd shot it in color in the first place, then I'd support his decision.
>Or if they they made all of their artistic decisions based on the film
>being shot in color, and then just shot it in black and white, then again,
>I would support the decision.
>
>I think a far more appropriate analogy to what we're discussing, however,
>would be this:
>
>Suppose Welles and Toland shot CITIZEN KANE in three-strip Technicolor.
>Then, after they produced the final edit, RKO said, "Ah, gee, we're getting
>a *lot* of pressure from Hearst to scuttle this film. And we think that
>we're going to lose our shirts on KANE. So we've decided that we're going
>to try to cut our losses some by just using one of the negatives and
>printing and releasing it in black-&-white. We could save a lot of money
>that way." So they release the film in black-&-white.
>
>So now it's the 50th anniversary of the film, and the first laserdisc
>release has been announced from Criterion. So Welles calls them up and
>says, "Yo, Voyager! Guess what I ran across up in the attic? The original
>never-before-seen Technicolor print of KANE. Interested?"
>
>Now, would you rather they released the black-&-white version first,
>or the color?

No question.  Black and White.  Because that is what the world has
been watching and commenting upon for 50 years.  Once that was out
of the way or incorporated into the first laserdisc release then
I would love to see variants such as color. 

-- 
BILL CRUCE, NE OHIO COLL OF MEDICINE----INTERNET: wlrc@uhura.neoucom.edu 
        Neurobiology Dept., P.O. Box 95, Rootstown, OH 44272
          "The only reason for time is so that everything
                     doesn't happen at once."
Newsgroups: rec.video.releases