Colorization: The Ultimate Sin
There is an idea in the world today, I feel, that black and white films are outdated and not worth watching. This is a sad thing, because the world of black and white film is filled with classic after classic. As an example, can any real film-lover imagine a world without Casablanca, The Big Sleep, Psycho? The losses would be devastating and endless.
In order to combat these feelings, a practice has begun, primarily by Turner Classic Movies, to colorize these classic films. This, my friends, is the ultimate sin. This is to take a director's original creative vision and distort it, make it someone else's in some way. Who has the real right to decide what color our favorite screen legends will wear, to make them into images which they were never intended to be? For example, can one even imagine Carol Reed's The Third Man in color? It is beautifully shot by Robert Krasker, and the use of light and shadow, and tonal contrast is at times breathtaking. To color this film would be to rob the viewer of some of it's finest moments!
There is beauty in black and white. The way light looks shining behind a character, the shadow of a villianous character on the wall, the smoke floating up beautifully from the cigarette of Cary Grant or Humphrey Bogart. It is simply criminal to rob a film-lover of these cherished moments. For those who don't like black and white, I have to say you're missing out, but please, don't tamper with a masterpiece. You wouldn't paint a bigger smile on the Mona Lisa, don't paint a blue dress on Ingrid Bergman.
