113

LET US JUST SAY THAT A VERY RICH MAN HAS PURCHASED ALL THE
FILMS EVER MADE IN HOLLYWOOD. HE CALLS TOGETHER HIS STAFF
AND SAYS, "TAKE ALL THE BLACK AND WHITE ONES AND TURN THEM
INTO COLOR USING OUR NEW COMPUTER. " THE TECHNICIANS GET
RIGHT TO WORK IMPLEMENTING THIS BECAUSE THEY ARE USED TO
FOLLOWING ORDERS. ONE MAN AMONG THEM HOWEVER, IS PUZZLED AND
ASKS HIS EMPLOYER, "I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY PAINT THEM OVER
WITH COLOR?"

AND THE BOSS SAYS, "BECAUSE MORE PEOPLE WILL WATCH
THEM."

"REALLY?" THE UNDERLING ASKS.

"YES" THE BOSS ANSWERS. "THE AMERICAN PUBLIC IS VERY STUPID, VERY INFANTILE.

IN FACT THEY'RE

IDIOTS. THEY CAN'T ENJOY A FILM UNLESS IT'S FULL
OF BRIGHT COLORS AND ROCK MUSIC. THE STORY MEANS

DIRECTORS GUILD OF AMERICA, 7950 SUNSET BLVD., LOS ANGELES, CA 90046
NATIONAL OFFICE TELEX NUMBER 181498

PAGE TWO

THE

WORKER IS CONFUSED AND TELLS HIS BOSS THAT FOR GENERATIONS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WATCHING AND ADORING FILMS IN BLACK AND WHITE. HE POINTS TO "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE" VIEWED BY MILLIONS EVERY CHRISTMAS ON TELEVISION. HE POINTS TO "YANKEE DOODLE DANDY" AND "SERGEANT YORK" AND "CITIZEN KANE" AND "THE MALTESE FALCON" AND "ON THE WATERFRONT".

"THEY'RE GREAT FILMS", THE BOSS SAYS. "BUT I'M GOING TO IMPROVE THEM. THEY'LL BE GREATER WHEN I'M

FINISHED WITH THEM."

"BUT THE DIRECTOR OF 'CITIZEN KANE' IS DEAD.

WHO'LL TELL YOU WHAT COLORS IT SHOULD BE?"

NEVER DIRECTED FILMS AND KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT, BUT
THEY SURE CAN WORK COMPUTERS AND BETWEEN YOU AND ME

CAGNEY'S JACKET IS GREEN OR YELLOW WHEN HE SHOOTS
HUMPHREY BOGART IN "PUBLIC ENEMY?"

THE POOR UNDERLING IS LOSING HIS RESOLVE. "BY THE WAY", ASKS, "YOU MENTIONED ADDING ROCK MUSIC?"

HE

"OH, THAT'S IN THE FUTURE", THE BOSS SAYS. "FIRST COLOR, THEN MAYBE WE REPLACE THE SCORE OF 'GONE WITH THE WIND' WITH ROCK. I HAVE LOTS OF IDEAS."

PAGE THREE

NOW, YOU MIGHT GET THE IMPRESSION FROM ALL THIS THAT I AM AGAINST COLORIZATION OF BLACK AND WHITE FILMS, BUT BELIEVE IT OR NOT YOU'D BE WRONG. IF A MOVIE DIRECTOR WISHES HIS FILM TO BE COLORIZED, THEN I SAY BY ALL MEANS, LET HIM COLOR IT. IF HE PREFERS IT TO REMAIN IN BLACK AND WHITE THEN IT IS SINFUL TO FORCE HIM TO CHANGE IT. IF THE DIRECTOR IS NOT ALIVE AND HIS WORK HAS BEEN HISTORICALLY ESTABLISHED IN BLACK AND WHITE IT SHOULD REMAIN TRUE TO ITS ORIGIN.

THE

PRESUMPTION THAT THE COLORIZERS ARE DOING HIM A FAVOR AND BETTERING HIS MOVIE IS A TRANSPARENT ATTEMPT TO JUSTIFY THE MUTILATION OF ART FOR A FEW EXTRA DOLLARS.

THE COLORIZERS WILL TELL YOU THAT IT'S PROVEN NO ONE WANTS⚫ BLACK AND WHITE BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE AND IF IT WERE IF AUDIENCES WHO HAVE GROWN UP ON MINDLESS TELEVISION WERE SO DESENSITIZED THAT A MOVIE LIKE "IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT" WHICH HAS BEEN DELIGHTING PEOPLE IN BLACK AND WHITE FOR GENERATIONS NOW HAD TO BE VIEWED IN COLOR TO BE APPRECIATED THEN THE TASK WOULD BE TO CULTIVATE THE AUDIENCE BACK TO SOME LEVEL OF MATURITY RATHER THAN TO DOCTOR THE FILM ARTIFICIALLY TO KEEP UP WITH LOWERED TASTES. NOT ONLY DO THE COLORIZERS HAVE CONTEMPT FOR THE AMERICAN PUBLIC BUT ALSO FOR THE ARTIST. Α LARGE NUMBER OF AMERICAN MOVIES ARE CLASSICS BOTH AT HOME AND ALL OVER THE WORLD. THINKING THEY WERE MAKING POPULAR

ENTERTAINMENT, AMERICAN FILMMAKERS HAVE PRODUCED NUMEROUS

77-848 0 - 88 - 2

PAGE FOUR

MOTION PICTURES

THAT ARE CONSIDERED GENUINE WORKS OF ART

FILM SILLY LOOKING:

COMPARABLE TO FINE LITERATURE, PAINTING AND MUSIC. BUT THE COLORIZERS HAVE NO REGARD FOR THE MEN WHO MADE THESE MOVIES AND WHEN A GREAT AMERICAN DIRECTOR LIKE JOHN HUSTON SAYS HE DOESN'T WANT HIS SUPERB MYSTERY "THE MALTESE FALCON" MADE INTO A COLOR MOVIE BECAUSE THAT MAKES THIS HARD BOILED BOGART THEY COULDN'T CARE LESS WHAT HUSTON WANTS. THE COLORIZERS ALSO TELL US THAT A VIEWER CAN SIMPLY TURN OFF THE COLOR AND SEE THE FILM IN BLACK AND WHITE. THE FACT THAT THE MAN WHO MADE THE FILM WANTS NO ONE AT ALL TO SEE IT IN COLOR MEANS NOTHING TO THEM. FINALLY, THEY SAY WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY AND THE PUBLIC WANTS THESE FILMS IN COLOR BUT IF MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HAD THE RIGHT TO DEMAND

ALTERATIONS TO SUIT THEIR TASTE THE WORLD WOULD HAVE NO REAL

ART.

NOTHING WOULD BE SAFE. PICASSO WOULD HAVE BEEN CHANGED

YEARS AGO AND JAMES JOYCE AND STRAVINSKY AND THE LIST GOES

ON.

THE EXAMPLE OF JOHN HUSTON, INCIDENTALLY, IS PARTICULARLY MEANINGFUL TO ME BECAUSE THE AESTHETIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COLOR AND BLACK AND WHITE IS A SUBJECT THAT HITS HOME IN MY OWN WORK. IN AN ERA OF ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY COLOR FILMS, I HAVE CHOSEN ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, EVEN FOUGHT FOR THE PRIVILEGE, OF TELLING

PHOTOGRAPHY.

STORIES WITH BLACK AND WHITE

INDEED THE DIFFERENT EFFECT BETWEEN COLOR AND

PAGE FIVE

BLACK AND WHITE IS OFTEN SO WIDE IT ALTERS THE MEANING OF

SCENES.

IF I HAD PORTRAYED NEW YORK CITY IN COLOR RATHER

THAN BLACK AND WHITE IN MY MOVIE

NOSTALGIC CONNOTATIONS

HAVE BEEN

WOULD HAVE VANISHED.

EVOCATION OF THE CITY FROM OLD PHOTOGRAPHS AND FILMS WOULD IMPOSSIBLE TO ACHIEVE IN GLORIOUS TECHNICOLOR. WHEREAS IF I HAD FILMED "ANNIE HALL" IN BLACK AND WHITE, ALL THE SCENES THAT NOW COME OFF AMUSINGLY WOULD TAKE A GIANT STEP TOWARD GRIM SERIOUSNESS BY MERE VIRTUE OF THEM SUDDENLY BEING GRITTIER AND LESS CARTOONLIKE. ONE HAS ONLY TO THINK OF A FILM LIKE "THE BICYCLE THIEF" AND IMAGINE THE LIFE AND DEATH SEARCH THROUGH POST-WAR ROME FOR THE PRECIOUS BICYCLE BEING IN REDS AND YELLOWS AND BLUES RATHER THAN THE HOT WHITES AND DIRTY BLACKS AND GREYS AND ONE SEES HOW ABSURD THE WHOLE THING IS. AND IT'S NOT JUST DRAMA

-

MUSICALS JUST

BECAUSE THEY ARE BOUNCY ARE NOT HELPED BY THE ADDITION OF COLOR WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG EITHER. PART OF THE ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE OF SEEING OLD GINGER ROGERS AND FRED ASTAIRE FILMS THE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHY

IS THE PERIOD QUALITY

GIVES IT ITS ENTIRE FEEL. WHEN ASTAIRE MADE COLOR MUSICALS IN A LATER PERIOD THEY HAVE A TOTALLY DIFFERENT QUALITY THAT REFLECTS BEAUTIFULLY THEIR PARTICULAR ERA. THEY ARE NOT

BETTER OR WORSE

-

BUT COMPLETELY DIFFERENT AND TRUE TO

THEMSELVES.