MovieChat Forums > South Pacific (1958) Discussion > Those Filters, that were not needed

Those Filters, that were not needed


20th Century Fox laid out all that money for those filters in South Pacific and were not needed as Rodgers and Hammerstein did not want Doris Day in there film,(or any of there films) as they went with the much younger, more beautiful, and talented Mitzi Gaynor.

reply

?

What does the use of photographic filters have to do with the casting of the lead actress?

reply

As she grew older in the 60s, Doris Day liked (required) to be photographed through a gauzy filter that removed her wrinkles.

However, I understand that the color filters in South Pacific were chosen by director Josh Logan to give different emotions to different scenes. Logan claimed the lab overdid the colors and he could not fix that.

reply

However, I understand that the color filters in South Pacific were chosen by director Josh Logan to give different emotions to different scenes. Logan claimed the lab overdid the colors and he could not fix that.


That's the first I heard of that. I was always under the impression that the filters were strongly defended by the director.

The first time I saw South Pacific was on TV back in the 70s, and I assumed the TV station that was broadcasting it (pre cable TV) had a couple of bad reels in their copy. I was stunned to find out later that the color filters were intentional.

Regarding the lab overdoing it, my understanding was the filters were subtractive and placed in front of the lens during shooting and not done in the lab processing. In any case, surely the effect would have been seen by the director during the dailies?



reply

I just watched South Pacific the other night and headed over to IMdb and read that...I thought. I may have misremembered. Im not where I can reference that now.

They had other trivia in there where someone complained about the filters years later and Logan said something like "well, I made 3 million off that movie so I cant complain now."

reply


I'm also going on memory, some ten years back.

I think the cinematographer also had a hand in it, but it's too bad they filtered the camera and not attempted the filtering in post which would have been just as easy if I understand the process involved.

I think as big a sin of the color selection is that it not only ruined the glorious color of South Pacific, those filtered scenes were also darker, less detailed, and had poor contrast as well.

I've also read that on a huge (actual theater) screen, the effect is better, but I don't see how it could be too much less distracting.

Ah well, what's done is done, but I think it's telling that few (any?) other films tried that affect after South Pacific which was a blockbuster.

reply