I consider colorization an aesthetic abomination. Black and white hold no horrors for me — my earliest TV-viewing days were during the very end of the B&W era (“IN COLOR!” was the mantra immediately thereafter), and I had a B&W TV set in my room as a kid for years. The idea that B&W films and features are unmarketable is a mystery to me.
However …
I am willing to accept Sony’s decision to colorize some Three Stooges shorts, but only because they are offering the same in B&W on the same DVD set. Those who want to see them as-is can, those who would never deign to watch them because they’re B&W can now do so in colorized comfort.
It’s a mixed compromise, but it’s better than nothing. Which, apparently, is the alternative.
Note that I don’t actually like the Three Stooges, but I think the the principle applies to any B&W production. I hate what they’ll do, but as long as they’re doing the preservation/restoration work and making the B&W as available, I really can’t complain that much.
Right with you on that one. If it was supposed to be black and white, let it stay in black and white. If you have to change it, at least offer it in the original format.
It’s the same kind of argument that us Subtitles-vs-Dubs folks have been having for years. Can’t stand dubbed stuff from non-English sources. I’d much rather hear it in the original voices and read the dialogue.
Now, if only the “legitimate” copies of foreign films (i.e.: hacked up and re-edited by Disney or what have you) also offered the original versions without forcing us to buy bootlegs or region-free stuff from other countries…
Looking forward to the theatrical release of Hero (2002, Jet Li) on August 20, but hoping they touch it as little as possible.
I’m definitely a sub-over-dub kinda guy.