Harryhausen and 'Colorization'

[Andrew F]

I think the point he's making is that Legend are using people like Harryhausen - his name is also emblazened over their 'colorization' of She - and Jane Russell (she's 'approved' a crayoned in version of The Outlaw) as battering rams to make their process acceptable. They may like the cheques, but I don't think it's going too far to say they are using them.

Oh absolutely, I wouldn't dispute that they're getting these names on board to make the process more palatable. It's an official stamp of approval for a fairly cynical commercial venture, in exactly the same way as those new Harryhausen-approved comic books are. I don't personally see anything wrong with that, but then again, I don't personally see anything wrong with colourised versions of films as alternatives to the originals. In fact, it's exactly the kind of thing that would entice me to buy a DVD of, say, an old b/w Harryhausen film, because I find the process interesting.

I don't have any strong feelings on the issue one way or the other to be completely honest - I'm only a supporter of the idea in the sense that I'm not a purist, and dead against it.

[John Hodson]

You'll go blind; it's a proven scientific fact that a by-product of the colorization algorithm actually coats the retina in a light slightly outside of the known spectrum that causes the optic nerve to first painfully harden, then wither.

*Sigh*

If only...

[Andrew F]

Nice try, though.

[nebiroth]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I think of the number of films that lie mouldering in the archives, destined never to be seen again, whilst they prick about doing this sort of stuff.

[Dragonsfield]

Legend are responsible for the crayoning in of The Mark of Zorro and it is indeed ghastly...

ooh! if it's them wot done MOZ they should be boiled in oil then.

[John Hodson]

Cheap; an upcoming 6-DVD box set with the SEs of 20 Million Miles To Earth, Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers and It Came From Beneath The Sea is coming up at £10.99 at HMV. No peeking at the crayoned in versions, mind...

[Alan]

Picked up the US Blu-ray of 20 Million Miles to Earth recently and took a look at both the B/W and the 'colorized' versions the other day. When the original is offered alongside the colourisation, I have no qualms about the work having been done. However, when I watch a documentary which blethers on about how damned good the colour work is, and people like Harryhausen profess to being very happy with it, I don't expect to see results that are frankly unconvincing to even the least trained eye. Where's Jonathan Wood when you need him? Even the bloody skin tones are completely wrong, unless the whole cast was suffering with jaundice at the time of filming. It's so bad it's laughable.

No prizes for guessing which of the two versions Alys and I are going to be watching when we sit down to watch the movie properly...

[Julian K]

Officially Sony are releasing a THREE disc set and a TEN disc set.

Not too much info available:

In the days before CGI, Ray Harryhausen was the undisputed master of special effects. Now some of his most memorable creations come to DVD in two unmissable box sets.The Ray Harryhausen Collection will be available to buy and rent on DVD from 31 st March 2008, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

A pioneer of stop motion animation, Harryhausen breathed life into some of the most breathtaking and fondly remembered monsters in movie history for such classic adventures as The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans. In 1992 he was awarded an honorary Academy Award TM for his incredible contribution to motion pictures.

A 3 Disc Box Set brings new colourised versions of three of his finest films to DVD for the first time - It Came From Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth and Earth vs. Flying Saucers - together with brand new special features.
These films are also included in the epic 10 Disc Monster Box Set, the ultimate collection of Harryhausen's work for the true fan, along with timeless adventures Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, First Men in the Moon and his magical adaptations of popular fairy tales in The Early Years Collection .



PRODUCT INFORMATION
TITLE
The Ray Harryhausen Collection
Release Date 31st March 2008
Format 3 Disc Retail DVD Box Set
10 Disc Retails DVD Box Set
RRP

3 Disc: £15.99
10 Disc: £34.99
Certificate TBC
Genre Fantasy Adventure / Sci-Fi
Running Time TBC

Looks like the exclusive HMV set might be a real bargain!

[John Hodson]

Hmmm...

HMV makes no mention of it being an 'exclusive' Julian, have you heard different? The rrp of their supposed 6-discer is the same as the rrp of Sony's three disc set. Sony's UK website mentions only 'Mar 3, 2008: 20 Million Miles To Earth / Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers / It Came From Beneath The Sea (b&w / Colorized) - Dvd Box' (as opposed to March 31), but gives no other detail other than that.

I'd be wary...

[Julian K]

Hmmm...

HMV makes no mention of it being an 'exclusive' Julian, have you heard different?
.
I'd be wary...

Yikes, yes, you're probably right. Still, if you order it from HMV and it turns out to be three discs instead of six, you'd be entitled to a refund.

On the other hand, Sony's skimpy press release might mean "films" when they say "discs".

Either that or they're ONLY going to release the colorized versions of the three movies?

[Squizz]

I recently had rather the reverse to all this 'colorization' banner-waving: I bought the Universal DVD of Hitchcock's Suspicion from Amazon, seeing as it was under £6.

Got it, stuck it in the player, and was absolutely staggered to find a choice between b/w and colour versions. Inspecting the box the sole reference to the colouring was in the tiny running time info. It wasn't even mentioned in the Amazon product details.

Which seems an odd way to promote things, doesn't it?

[John Hodson]

An R1 giftset of the crayoned in Harryhausen titles from Sony is on the way (details here), 20 Million Miles to Earth, It Came From Beneath the Sea and Earth vs. The Flying Saucers. The $80 set also features an 'exclusive collectible Ymir figurine'.

While I'm at it, there are also SD and BD editions of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (50th Anniversary Edition) (details on the BD set here, SD set here).

[rickcurz]

I heard that Harryhausen needs the money; wether this has any connection to the sudden appearance of there colourised versions. They colour is not good on these, and I am flabergasted that an artist like Harryhausen would endorse such poppycock. Same with the effects artists who appear on the commentaries; if I were on there I would loudly exclaim how crap I thought they look. If it was made in B&W, then it should stay that way. I can see the value in restoring colour to programmes that were made in colour, but exist only in B&W - The B&W Jon Pertwee Doctor Who stories.

[James Lee]

Out of curiosity, do the UK 2-disc sets contain the original mono tracks as options?

[nebiroth]

I had the misfortune to see the crayoned edition of It Came From Beneath the Sea not so long ago, and it was awful. All the people in it were exactly the same colour, a sort of pale-fake-tan-with-a-hint-of-jaundice colour, with no variation in skin tone in face, resulting in a sort of monochrome-face effect.

It was fine for the monster, of course, because having never actually seen one a suspension-of-belief effect came into force.