Chicago Tribune DVD restoration article

Films/DVD Asylum

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Classics restored by Warner Bros. worth the wait
By Joshua Klein
Special to the Tribune
Published November 9, 2004
At any given time, there are dozens of classic films from the vast Warner Bros. library undergoing restoration, from titles just at the early stages of the process to movies getting their final finishing touches.
Depending on the quality of the materials on hand, each restoration takes anywhere from several months to several years to complete, but the WB restoration team prides itself on one immutable factor: No matter how long and how much work it takes, no film will be released on DVD until it looks and sounds as good as it possibly can.
That explains why one of Warner Bros.' crown jewels, "Gone With the Wind" (Warner Bros., 1939, 238 minutes, G, $39.92), is only just arriving on DVD as a newly restored four-disc special edition, the fourth film (beginning with "Singin' in the Rain") to undergo Warner's Ultra-Resolution process. Its Technicolor image is more luminous and beautiful than ever, and for that fans should thank, among many, the continuing efforts of Ned Price, vice president of Warner Bros. technical operations, and George Feltenstein, senior vice president of the classic catalog.
"I've had to fight sometimes, because the balance of economics is such that when you've got something that can earn such strong revenue, you want to get it out there," Feltenstein acknowledges. "But you don't want to get it out there in a way that's ultimately not going to benefit the consumer. That's why we waited as long as we did for the special edition of `Gone With the Wind.' That's why we waited as long as we did on `That's Entertainment!' and with `Looney Tunes.' We say to Ned, `Take all the time you need, because we want to do it right. '"
Technology has made film restoration faster and more efficient in recent years, but as Price attests, much of the cleanup effort still involves hours of hands-on attention.
"The labor involved in these, a lot of it has to do with pre-prep, for printing, meaning repairing sprockets, repairing splices, meticulously going through frame by frame and picking off dirt," Price says. "You have to do that manually. We actually have a gentleman who goes through with a toothpick -- the best tool possible at the moment -- and cleans our negatives for us."
"It's really a process that requires 18 months to two years of advanced planning," Feltenstein says.
"I work very closely with Warner Home Video, and they're good enough to allow me the time I need to complete restoration," Price says. "We've had films that have been in restoration for up to six years, due to missing components."
One glaring example is the mighty "King Kong," which film fans have been demanding since the advent of DVD. Yet Feltenstein and Price felt that any DVD release would be substandard, given that the film's original camera negative was missing. "We knew `King Kong' had to be gorgeous, it had to look wonderful, and Ned said he wanted to keep scouring the globe until he found the best possible elements," Feltenstein says.
And lo and behold, the wait paid off. "We found -- can I talk about this? -- we found wonderful nitrate materials, which we didn't know about up to this point in time," says an elated Price. Already a year into the restoration process, the eventual "King Kong" DVD promises a picture quality not seen in decades.
"I think it's worth the wait when you can deliver an end product that consumers will love," Feltenstein says. "The hard part is, they want everything now! Some people think that we're just sitting on our hands, twiddling our thumbs."
"Of course, it's our paramount objective to maximize the ability of the public to share the glories of our library on DVD," he adds. "We're just doing it carefully, methodically, with proper restoration, proper mastering, proper marketing, proper packaging. It's very time-consuming, and very expensive, but the net result is a product of which we can be very proud and, thankfully, successful."
New and notable
"The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection" (Universal, 1929-1933, 403 minutes, NR, $59.98): One of the first DVD sets released, Image's Marx Brothers box was also one of the most conspicuous to fall out of print. Thankfully, Universal has brought the first five classic Marx Brothers features -- "Duck Soup," "Horse Feathers," "Monkey Business," "Animal Crackers" and "The Cocoanuts" -- back into circulation, and if the supplements are relatively slight, the inimitably hilarious anarchy of "Duck Soup" alone is worth the price.
"Shrek 2" (DreamWorks, 2004, PG, $29.99): "Shrek 2" showed that DreamWorks could match Pixar when it came to box office draw. Now if only the studio would take Pixar's cues on DVD. Too many of this disc's supplements are redundant promotional fluff, while the best feature -- an amusing, fully animated and voiced postscript that parodies an "American Idol" tournament -- is not only instantly dated but ultimately forgettable as well.
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Copyright Â© 2004, Chicago Tribune

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The Cable Cooker

Topic - Chicago Tribune DVD restoration article - rico 10:10:46 11/09/04 (5)

Cool article but why are the Criterion DVDs still so expensive... - ToshiroMeyers 10:31:57 11/09/04 (4)

local price - tunenut 12:31:18 11/09/04 (0)

Re: Cool article but why are the Criterion DVDs still so expensive... - rico 12:04:01 11/09/04 (2)

Emphasis on "generally" . . . - JefferyK 10:14:22 11/10/04 (0)

Re: Cool article but why are the Criterion DVDs still so expensive... - TA 12:24:49 11/09/04 (0)

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