I prefer the Black & White version, but I do like the new colorized version of the film.
The original colorized version of the film was terrible, though. The first colorized version was the one that Jimmy Stewart himself hated when he saw it aired on TV in the late 80s/early 90s.
I am glad that when I bought the DVD and more recently the blu-ray that they had both
versions. I still watch the black & white version more, but I'm glad I have the choice of a quality color version if I do want to watch it in color.
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I don't watch colorized films. I agree with James Stewart who said, "the coloring of black-and-white films is wrong. It's morally and artistically wrong and these profiteers should leave our film industry alone".
In other words, colorization supports Mr. Potter's view of the world.
Although he was entitled to his opinion as you are it is a ridiculous statement to make.....any one in their right mind would know that this movie would & should have been made in color if it was commonplace at the time and wasn't a budget issue. (BTW....Capra was amazed by the color print trial of his movie and gave his OK but later had a disagreement with the backers or something.)
Not just this film but many others which, if the director, etc. had a choice and money wasn't a concern would had filmed in color.
There are a select few (for ex. Citizen Kane which based in the newspaper world seems right in B&W) that would probably not have been but given a carte blanche choice you're kidding yourself if you think most directors, cinematographers, etc. would not have chosen color if allowed to.
If it was being done only for money or in "Mr Potter's view of the world" greed then I guess you can protest it on those grounds (although I doubt a boatload of money was made on colorizing old movies....it's not like they were rereleased in theaters and made a killing or set new DVD/Blu Ray sales records). However, done right and with attention to detail, the colorization of movies seems to be a "re-do" of something that would have occurred anyway and in many cases it adds to the experience for those with an open mind and not afraid of change or an upset of how they want to remember things.
For some old enough it's like having only a black & white TV for years and knowing them only like that & then watching the same things in color later when color TV's became the norm.....for example as kids we watched the Wizard of OZ on TV ALL in B&W (not knowing that there was a switch to color when she got to OZ) and many other color movies and knew no different but then later seeing it on a color TV not only improved the experience but made it new & amazing again.
👏 Hear! Hear!
The world was never in B&W. It is not natural.
Its not because I grew up watching it in black and white and wanting to stick with what I'm used to. Its the fact that black and white uses light and shadow to produce a dramatic effect. You colorize it, and a lot of that effect is gone. Yes, you CAN take a black and white photo and successfully color it, but it requires painstaking attention to detail to make it look truly good. The process used for colorizing movies seems like a "quick and dirty" (relatively speaking) process. If actual people were to go frame by frame and alter every single pixel, it might be a different story.
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What would be a great idea would be to colorize most of it but keep the George was never born part as black and white. This would be better to show the darkness of life during that segment. Sort of like The Wizard of Oz in reverse. If that can't be done then just leave the whole thing as black and white.
shareColorizing B&W films is the eighth cardinal sin. It's in the bible.
Proponents of colorizing often will say that at the time the director would have chosen color if it were available. May be true for some, but there have been a great many B&W films made after color film was invented. Directors who think B&W will better convey the message. I haven't watched the colorized version of IAWL, and I don't want to either. It works perfectly in B&W.
(BTW, I'm an amateur photographer, and my best photos are all in B&W.)
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I bought the Blu-Ray with the colorized version and I was surprised with how great it looks. That being said, the black & white version will always win for me. It's the classic way to see the film.
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I personally like the colourized version. But the B&W is the one I always watch. I like people having an option.
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Colorized is always best
shareBlack & White for me. I've never seen the colorized version and don't care to.
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