By Laura Nolte
One has to wonder what was going through Edison’s mind when he introduced the movie camera in 1893. Perhaps “Now I can bore my dinner guests with my home movies!”, or “I’m going to make millions!”, or maybe even, “This will completely revolutionize entertainment as we know it.” Regardless of his thoughts, he and others involved in the invention of the film were unfortunately not thinking too far ahead – celluloid films are a flimsy plastic that can deteriorate rapidly over time.
Early Losses
The majority of early films are already gone: “The Library of Congress has documented that only 20% of U.S. feature films from the 1910 and 1920s survive in complete form in American archives; of the American features produced before 1950, about half still exist. For shorts, documentaries, and independently produced works, we have no way of knowing how much has been lost" (NFPF, n.d.). Thanks to organizations like the National Film Preservation Foundation, the American Film Institute, the UCLA National Film & Television Archive in the United States, and other groups around the world, films that would have been lost forever are being restored and properly stored to last many generations to come.
Destruction of Early Films
Celluloid films have a few enemies. Nitrate degradation causes the plastic of nitrate based film stock to disintegrate. Color dye fading makes images on film take on a yellowish or purplish cast. Cellulose acetate plastic film stock suffers from what is called Vinegar Syndrome, where the film begins to smell like vinegar- the film will shrink and buckle, and becomes very brittle. These problems may have been alleviated minutely if proper storage conditions had been observed earlier, but they would have still eventually deteriorated.
Restoration
The process to restore film is slow and costly: “The exacting work requires researching the best surviving materials among the world's archives and private collectors, painstakingly comparing and cutting together shots and scenes from diverse sources, repairing splices and perforations, rerecording soundtracks to remove auditory imperfections, tinting silent films in their original colors and restoring faded prints” (UCLA, 2011). Preservationists must make copies of old film onto newer types of film, usually a polyester based film stock, or digitally. These new copies must be stored with the originals under the right conditions, usually a cold vault that contains the exact amount of humidity. Lastly, the document is made accessible to the public, “through surrogate video, DVD, and film copies” (NFPF, n.d.).
An Example of Film Restoration
Film Preservation Schools
Film preservation has become a popular occupation. There are numerous schools to learn the trade around the world, including:
Saving for the Future
Since its inception, film has given us a glimpse into what the world was like over a hundred years ago. It is important to preserve these moving pictures of our past for our future, so that our children and their children will always have them.
One has to wonder what was going through Edison’s mind when he introduced the movie camera in 1893. Perhaps “Now I can bore my dinner guests with my home movies!”, or “I’m going to make millions!”, or maybe even, “This will completely revolutionize entertainment as we know it.” Regardless of his thoughts, he and others involved in the invention of the film were unfortunately not thinking too far ahead – celluloid films are a flimsy plastic that can deteriorate rapidly over time.
Early Losses
The majority of early films are already gone: “The Library of Congress has documented that only 20% of U.S. feature films from the 1910 and 1920s survive in complete form in American archives; of the American features produced before 1950, about half still exist. For shorts, documentaries, and independently produced works, we have no way of knowing how much has been lost" (NFPF, n.d.). Thanks to organizations like the National Film Preservation Foundation, the American Film Institute, the UCLA National Film & Television Archive in the United States, and other groups around the world, films that would have been lost forever are being restored and properly stored to last many generations to come.
Destruction of Early Films
Celluloid films have a few enemies. Nitrate degradation causes the plastic of nitrate based film stock to disintegrate. Color dye fading makes images on film take on a yellowish or purplish cast. Cellulose acetate plastic film stock suffers from what is called Vinegar Syndrome, where the film begins to smell like vinegar- the film will shrink and buckle, and becomes very brittle. These problems may have been alleviated minutely if proper storage conditions had been observed earlier, but they would have still eventually deteriorated.
Restoration
The process to restore film is slow and costly: “The exacting work requires researching the best surviving materials among the world's archives and private collectors, painstakingly comparing and cutting together shots and scenes from diverse sources, repairing splices and perforations, rerecording soundtracks to remove auditory imperfections, tinting silent films in their original colors and restoring faded prints” (UCLA, 2011). Preservationists must make copies of old film onto newer types of film, usually a polyester based film stock, or digitally. These new copies must be stored with the originals under the right conditions, usually a cold vault that contains the exact amount of humidity. Lastly, the document is made accessible to the public, “through surrogate video, DVD, and film copies” (NFPF, n.d.).
An Example of Film Restoration
Some film documents must be pieced together like jigsaw puzzles. In the case of the 1937 film Lost Horizon directed by Frank Capra, the original movie ran 132-minutes. During World War II, the movie was cut 22-minutes by the United States military to show troops overseas. This shortened version was sold to television in the 1950’s. It took several years to find only 15 minutes of the missing footage, but a soundtrack for the complete 132 minutes eventually turned up. For the missing seven minutes, still photographs are now shown while the original soundtrack is played. The end result: “The restored “Lost Horizon” is a substantially different film, much richer in feeling, detail and narrative development” (Chicago Tribune, 1986).
Film Preservation Schools
Film preservation has become a popular occupation. There are numerous schools to learn the trade around the world, including:
- UCLA, Film & Television Archive, Moving Image Archive Studies graduate degree program, Los Angeles, California
- Charles Sturt University, Graduate Certificate in Audiovisual Archiving, Australia
- East Anglia University, M.A. Film Archiving, United Kingdom
- Selznick School of Film Preservation, Rochester, New York
- HTW Berlin, Human-Machine Communication, Berlin, Germany
- Ryerson University, M.A. Film and Photography Preservation and Collection Management, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- University of Amsterdam, M.A. Preservation & Presentation of the Moving Image, Amsterdam, Holland
Saving for the Future
Since its inception, film has given us a glimpse into what the world was like over a hundred years ago. It is important to preserve these moving pictures of our past for our future, so that our children and their children will always have them.
References
Chicago Tribune (1986). Restoration revives lost ‘Lost Horizon”. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-08-21/features/8603020618_1_high-lama-lost-horizon-shangri-la
National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.filmpreservation.org
UCLA (2011). National Film & Television Archive. Retrieved from http://www.cinema.ucla.edu/
How sad to think that those first films are no longer available for us to view. I am always intrigued by history and wonder what it would have been like to see some of the first movie pictures on a large screen! While our experience watching something like that wouldn't have been the same (we are so used to moving pictures), it is interesting to see what that time period found interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Kerry
DeleteMy favorite TV station is TCM (Turner Classic Movies). They frequently show documentaries about film making with bits and pieces that are all that is left from some of the earliest films. When you consider the estimation of only 20% of the earliest films left, it makes you wonder what could have possibly been in the lost 80%! I need a time machine! :-)
This would be a fascinating field of study. I love old films. I am sure it is hard to decide which films are deemed worthy of preservation, when it can be so costly. TCM (Turner Classic Movies) is one of my favorite cable channels. They always comment on how they are involved in film restoration and preservation. I am sure TCM certainly has the money to restore their old films, but I assume they must make a choice of which ones would be worth the effort. A television station would be much more particular about the movie “sell -ability” than a historical society or a library would be.
ReplyDeleteI have seen the restored version of Lost Horizon with Ronald Colman. I love Frank Capra movies, so it is a "must see" on my list of classic films.
Hi Kim
DeleteI was introduced to Lost Horizon by my mother - years ago, the original MGM hotel in Las Vegas (which burned in 1980 and Bally's is now on that site) had a movie theater which showed old movies. I got to see Lost Horizon there, on the big screen, before it was restored. I instantly fell in love with it! It is movies like this that make it so important for films to be preserved. I believe this is something I would really like to get into.
I have to agree with Kimberly here, how can the possibly decide which films are worth saving first or at all? That would be really tough, because we ultimately would want to have all of them. It is really sad to think about everything that we have lost already. I have also read that a lot of television shows have not been preserved like they should be. Some have little differences from the actual live version that was played on TV to the episode that was put on DVD for people to buy. I think this is more for older TV shows, but it is still very shocking.
ReplyDeleteHi Ashley
DeleteI would love to see some of the original TV shows that were shot live, but not saved at the time. I have seen Betty White on talk shows and she was on a show that was live for 5 hours a day - and of course, now of it was saved on film. It is such a shame that there was no vision at the time that someday these classics would be appreciated by future audiences.
I have to admit that I am not very familiar with archive studies. This article was very eye opening to me as to some of the things archivists do. How very time consuming this all must be! What an important profession.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah
DeleteI was not aware of the extent when I first started researching it. I had no idea that many films were cut so badly to make them usable in certain situations, and that the cut parts were not saved. I suppose to be in film preservation, you would need to be a Sherlock Holmes type to put it all together!
There is a great documentary about film preservation entitled 'These Amazing Shadows'. This is an area of preservation that I find particularly fascinating. They have been able to find the original versions of movies such as 'Babyface', where preservationists discovered numerous scenes that had originally been filmed, cut, then re-shot. The scenes that were cut dealt with sensitive material related to subject matter like sex and Nietzsche. It is odd and a bit unnerving to see what commissioners from the established Hollywood code would deem as inappropriate for the public, ultimately diminishing the director's original vision.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah
DeleteI have to find this documentary - I would love to see it! It sounds very interesting - thanks for the information!
I just found it on Netflix - guess what I am watching tonight! :-)
DeleteThanks for the recommendation, Sarah. That documentary sounds fabulous!
DeleteWhat a well-researched post. Excellent job, Laura. Reading the potential thoughts of Thomas Edison was very entertaining too! It is interesting to compare versions of the same film, as different parts are recovered over time. This can be pursued with 'La passion de Jeanne d'Arc' (1928) directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer. Each new version provides insight as to the time in which it was modified, and to the interests of the members of contemporary society.
ReplyDeleteHi Wesleyann
DeleteI also find it interesting when I see exactly what parts of a film were cut out - it does show what was going through the censors' mind at the time and what they were trying to protect the public from. Thanks!
I really enjoyed reading this Laura. As a graduate of the MA in Photographic Preservation and Collections Management program at Ryerson University in Toronto, I can comment firsthand how important film preservation is. During my time in this program, the second year was held at George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. This museum holds a massive film archive as well as being the home to off-site storage for the Warner Brothers archive. Although I was in the photo preservation program, it was interesting to see what the "film" students were working on. I would see them restoring old films, which was very interesting. I also learned that nitrate film must be stored in a cool and well-ventilated room as it is combustable and prone to vinegar syndrome, which is hard on the nose. I really enjoyed reading this piece, as I have seen most of what is being discussed first hand.
ReplyDeleteHi Suman
DeleteWhat a great program that must have been! I would love to be able to attend a film preservation school someday. Thanks for your comment!
This would be a really interesting field to work in! The Detroit Institute of Arts had a great temporary exhibit on the history of animation from the beginning of it’s time to the current day. Here is the link to a little bit more about the exhibit from the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/06/detroit-institute-of-arts-watch-me-move-animation_n_4053170.html
ReplyDeleteAll of the early animation films were digitalized and conserved so they would be able to be viewed by future generations. It was really interesting to see how far the film industry has evolved and to be able to have access to first hand artifacts to use as references!
Hi Tim
ReplyDeleteI love animation! A few years ago, we had a couple of animation festivals here, well, it was many years ago, and I thought it was one interesting things I had ever attended. I wish Las Vegas were home to more things like this! Thanks for the link!
It's almost mindboggling to think that only 20% of American films from 1910-20s still exist. It's difficult to imagine how much of that history has been lost. I've seen the pieced-together version of "Lost Horizon," and while the still photographs and soundtrack are very well done, I can't help but wonder what the lost footage would have contributed and how it would have changed the film.
ReplyDelete-Molly Walker
Thank you all for this insight which I am passing along to the archives librarian with whom I work. Recently some old films from the collection were digitized at Costco!
ReplyDelete