I just love the way it makes the red so red and the greens so green. It really makes a movie look special. This film, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp all look fantastic, and I am planning to see The Red Shoes Very soon.
shareHi,
I agree I like the 3-strip Technicolor, too.
Peace,
Amanda
I too love 3-strip T'color and can recommend some earlier gems (not all available on DVD, but I have them all on VHS or BETA). BECKY SHARP (1934) was the first full-color feature, but be careful and seek out the restored version. The same is true of some of the other early T'color features, e.g. A STAR IS BORN (1937) and NOTHING SACRED (1938). Sadly, many DVD releases of such titles feature the washed-out color of so many long-circulating public-domain titles.
I believe TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE (1936) was the earliest outside location film shot in the great 3-strip process, and it's simply gorgeous. Then there's DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK (1939) and NORTHWEST PASSAGE (1942), both available in excellent transfers. CRASH DIVE (1943) was, I think, the first 3-color war movie, also the first color film I saw on the big screen, shortly post-war.
Two of my favorites are Korda productions, THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940) and THE JUNGLE BOOK (1942), both glorious entertainments for young and old. If you like COLONEL BLIMP and THE RED SHOES, by all means seek out another wonderful Powell-Pressburger film, BLACK NARCISSUS (1948), perhaps the best of them. With all of these, be careful not to get stuck with an inferior transfer.
Lest I forget, don't overlook GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ, which are often thought of as the earliest color features. We do often take them for granted. If anyone has any additions or corrections (this is all from memory), I welcome them.
In addition to my earlier recommendations, I suggest THE SHEPHERD OF THE HILLS (1941), another Henry Hathaway film somewhat akin to his earlier TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE (1936), mentioned in my earlier post. Both stories were set in the Ozarks and both films were shot in the same California locations. The spectacular 3-strip Technicolor may the best thing about both films. Prior to CRASH DIVE (see above), there was an earlier color war film, TEST PILOT (1941), but I don't recall the color being as stunning as in CRASH DIVE. Lest anyone think we're overdoing the praise of 3-strip Technicolor, just watch any of them and see if you don't agree they're of a higher order than virtually all color films since about 1950.
shareI love how it makes everything so "pastel-like" like thick, wet smears by chalk pastels. it's sumptuous. especially the purples created by accident in Black Narcissuss. Like very unripened grapes.
"As wrong as two people who think they are right but are in fact wrong...."
Oops, I meant DIVE BOMBER (1941), not TEST PILOT, in my previous post. Other early 3-color gems are GARDEN OF ALLAH (1936), RAMONA (1936), KENTUCKY (1938), JESSE JAMES (1939), ROBIN HOOD (1939), FOUR FEATHERS (1939) and VIRGINIA (1941).
For a great source of information on early color film production, please check out www.widescreenmuseum.com.
FOUR FEATHERS is amazing...the location shooting doesn't look dated at all.
shareHere it is nine years later and I just read the whole thread. I copied down all your (jjelgar)suggestions and will look for them on TCM or my library. The art and set designs in this film were fabulous also and seemed designed to use the full effect of the color medium.
shareThe Adventures of Robin Hood dvd has the original TCM production "Glorious Technicolor" as a bonus feature. Jack Cardiff's camerawork (e.g. the previously mentioned "Black Narcisuss" and "The Red Shoes"; additionally, "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman", "The Barefoot Contessa") is especially noteworthy in this area. Betty Grable's 20th Century Fox musicals, as well as Esther Williams' and Lucille ("Technicolor Tessie") Ball's MGM work (particularly the latter's "DuBarry Was a Lady") are wonderful too.
share
Hitchcock's Rope and Under Capricorn are great examples of 3 strip Technicolor.
The Band Wagon with Fred Astaire !!!
shareOr A Matter of Life and Death with David Niven
shareOk if you want to see color - Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
shareThe color fashion show sequence in the otherwise B&W "The Women" (1939) stands out, especially in contrast to the B&W.
shareAnd speaking of "color fashion shows," Gene Tierney was made to look even more gorgeous by the beautiful outfits in blue/purple filmed in Technicolor. I'm surprised this particular film didn't win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
share"Meet Me in St Louis" is a great Technicolor film and the opening number in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" is breathtaking.
shareIt really is a superior quality to what we're still using now.
Expensive, yes. But as we can all attest, these films stand the test of time, whereas the technology that replaced them are fading, rotting and being lost.
We sold the equipment to China.
I love Robin Hood.
You'll love The Red Shoes.
It looked so fresh! When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...
There are whole generations growing up that have no idea what technicolor was like. They are used to seeing today's film in washed out color or gray and sepia tones. Watching Heaven Can Wait now and the color in HD is fantastic.
shareI think they look horrible, invariably because of poor registration (apart from the few that have been remastered). Every edge has a different colour alongside it, and it's just distracting. They can be run a little out of focus to cover up the registration problems, but then just look soft.
I'm curious if you ever saw The Red Shoes. Such a wonderful and beautiful movie.
share