MovieChat Forums > Samson and Delilah (1950) Discussion > Oh the colors!!

Oh the colors!!

posted 16 years ago by purplerustling
15 replies | jump to latest

What a beautiful film!! Sure it was made in 1949 and the special effects were cutting edge for the time period but those colors!!

Another thread was discussing Victor Mature as being out of shape for the movie. Although Sampson was supposed to be strong I don't think having Steve Reeves who was a body builder would have been a good choice. Also, Reeves was a small guy. Somehow I think a strong man from that time period wouldn't look like a body builder of today.

While Victor Mature by todays standards might be considered out of shape I thought he was great in this.

Sure you can also laugh at all the white people, blondes, red heads playing Phillistines but it was 1949 you know.

And you had to look real close to see that it wasn't Mature fighting the lion. Unlike other "doubles" who are much taller, too short, too bulky, too thin to represent the actor.

My young son who isn't into "religious" movies got real excited about the lion scene. He kept saying, "That's a real lion!!!"

[–] ARIES560 16 years ago

That was when TECHNICOLOR was TECHNICOLOR! And the F/X were not bad for the day either.

[–] raphael65 16 years ago

I agree: the Technicolor is gorgeous, and the climactic destruction of the temple of Dagon is still very impressive. But I must quibble with regard to your comment about "all the white people." The ethnic composition of the Middle East is (and always was) varied. Most Ancient Jews did probably have dark hair, brown eyes, and olive complexions, but we find in Genesis Esau, who was a redhead, and King David is described in I Samuel 16 as being "ruddy," implying that he was relatively fair-skinned. As for the Philistines, they are thought to have come from Caphtor, or Crete, which was conquered by the Greeks. In Homer's Iliad, the hair of Menelaus, the King of Sparta, is described as being "xanthos," which describes a reddish-blonde colour. So, in Historical Gaza, you might well have seen dark-haired and olive-skinned Mediterranean "types" milling around with blondes and redheads (but by "blonde," I am hardly referring to a "Scandinavian" look). Just some thoughts based on my studies and degree in Languages & Ancient Near Eastern History.

[–] mrplankton 16 years ago

"What a beautiful film!! Sure it was made in 1949 and the special effects were cutting edge for the time period but those colors!!

quite so purplerustling. the colours were absolutely vibrant!

cheers.

[–] TheConsensusOpinion 14 years ago

You should see it on the big screen.

One of the first films we were shown in film school to illustrate just what's been lost with the demise of the dye-transfer process (three-strip technicolor) was this one.

I'm not ashamed to say it honestly brought tears to my eyes when I saw all this stunningly beautiful color, up there bigger than life in the school's main theater during my first year.

I'll never forget it. And I'll never forget what my instructor said (specifically) about the incredible, saturated color (paraphrased):

'One can hardly believe the screen remains white when the projector is shut off after displaying such vivid hues...'

Indeed!

[–] Molly-31 14 years ago

That's exactly how I feel about this and The Ten Commandments.

Just.... wow.

Let's just say that God doesn't believe in me.

[–] ducdebrabant 16 years ago

We may never see anything like Technicolor ever again. As I understand it, the processing of the prints is labor-intensive, and movie economics no longer embrace it. Years ago, the last place you could still get it done was China. I don't think even that is feasible anymore. Have you seen any color film -- even a blockbuster -- in the last few decades where the colors were as vibrant as a good Technicolor movie?

GOP Spammers: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/06/AR2008 080603589.html

[–] teadm 14 years ago

It's playing on TCM right now as we speak. Colors are somewhat faded and weak, not much left of the old Technicolor splendor. A thorough restoration would have to take place for a Blu-Ray or DVD release.

[–] tbennett20 14 years ago

I agree. I saw it as a kid and loved it. I just watched it on TCM. It was shown in pan and scan. I guess it is not available in widescreen. I would love to see it restored and to widescreen if possible. A classic for sure.

[–] Pipeman_Toronto 14 years ago

It cannot be "restored to widescreen" because it wasn't filmed in widescreen. It was shot in 1.37:1. So what you watched on TCM wasn't pan and scan, just the original version.

[–] donlola44 14 years ago

That's right that is the original screen ratio.

[–] pyrrhus819 14 years ago

"Have you seen any color film -- even a blockbuster -- in the last few decades where the colors were as vibrant as a good Technicolor movie? "

A couple of movies I can think of that have the same vibrant color style are "The Fifth Element" and "Flash Gordon". "Lost In Translation" and "Casino" also have good color, but it is not quite the same thing.

I think these days Hollywood prefers to make movies as realistic looking as possible. Movies with exaggerated colors and non-realistic stage-like sets almost belong in their own category, though I don't know of a word that would describe it.

[–] super-sapien 12 years ago

holly wood prefers to make movies as realistic looking as possible these days? ahahaahahahahaahahahahaahahaahahahahaahahaahahaahhah!

what a clown!

[–] daybeausweeper 9 years ago

The exterior shots of the opening ferry sequence in Deja Vu (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453467/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1) had me droolingly impressed by their crisp and vivid colors when I saw the film on the big screen in its theatrical release.

[–] korevette 8 years ago

Also, Hedy Lamarr was always known for her beauty and yet it took over 10 years of her career, to cast her in a Technicolor movie. Her beauty really took over the romantic scene in the tent. I read somewhere, that they tried to tone her beauty in the early part of the movie cause she would look more like a teenager, sister of Semadar, Angela Lansbury. Angela was awe struck, when she met Hedy on the set.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Reeves was a small guy?? He was 6'1" tall and competed in bodybuilding at a lean weight of over 200 lbs!

DeMille actually requested that Reeves lose about twenty pounds or so of muscle, because he would look too BIG on the movie screen. Of course, that wouldn't have been good for Reeves' bodybuilding career, so he decided not to do that.