Colorized Version - Jailhouse Rock (1957) Discussion

[–] eperez-7 17 years ago

I have not seen a colorized copy on DVD but FYE had one in color on VHS. That's where I got mine, looks good for an old movie.

reply

[–] rwsmith29456 17 years ago

color = Jailhouse Rock = travesty

reply

[–] Luckyboots 17 years ago

i agree. travesty. youtube has a colorized version of "you're so sqaure" and it just looks horrible. i prefer the black and white.

reply

[–] JohnnyWeissmuller 16 years ago

The colourized version does look abysmal, but I'm surprised that Warners didn't include it on the new DVD releases.

NOW TARZAN MAKE WAR!

reply

[–] historylover820 11 years ago

You know, I first saw this movie in color. I was a kid, so anytime I see it now in its original black and white, I get a jolt, as in "Huh, I thought this was in color." Then, I remember that even as a kid, I was asking my parents what was wrong with the color, because it looked so artificial.

Kat

Demons I get. People are crazy.

reply

[–] bpmct 16 years ago

Google franks elvis items he sells bootlegs of rare elvis stuff. he has Jailhouse in color.

Check out my Myspace: www.myspace.com/brianmctamaney

reply

[–] plwblj 15 years ago

It is fun to see this in colour;

-the quality ain't half bad !

reply

[–] yourauntgussie 14 years ago

One of the things about colorization I find annoying is the way it handles (or rather, doesn't handle) skin-tone gradations. Take The Maltese Falcon, for example. I found it distasteful, if not flat-out disgusting, that Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Humphrey Bogart, and Mary Astor were all the same flat, Band-Aid-Beige shade.

I haven't seen a colorized version of Jailhouse Rock, so I can't speak to the success of the process in that case. I'm not an academic or a filmmaker myself, but it strikes me that, since the director, cinematographer, et. al. planned each shot in terms of light/shadow contrast, introducing color into the mix detracts from the visual impact.

dolceri ac dolcere

reply

[–] Dejael 13 years ago

I can't speak to the colorized version, not having seen it, but I'll just throw in my 2 cents worth and say that MGM should have filmed this movie in Technicolor just like Paramount did with LOVING YOU that same year. It's only interesting to us today in black & white because we have gotten used to the iconic images such as the "Jailhouse Rock" musical number, in monochrome shades. It would have looked a whole lot different in polychrome.
I prefer Technicolor over black & white anytime, except in classic 1930s to 1950s film noir crime dramas, which were perfectly suited to black vs. white contrasts as an artistic statement for the subject matter. For example, I couldn't imagine seeing THE MALTESE FALCON (WB,1941) or TOUCH OF EVIL (Universal,1958) in Technicolor. Or CITIZEN KANE, for that matter. They were perfectly suited for the black & white film medium then in vogue. But after the 1950s, anything in black & white just looks cheap, and not stylish. My opinion, don't take it personal.

Dejael

reply

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]