My Thoughts on the Colorization Debate

Have you ever watched a black-and-white film and wished to see what the colors looked like? Have you adored the story on the screen but wanted to see what the cameraman initially saw? With an abundance of classic cinema remaining in grayscale and our present ability to use film colorization, what stops us from seeing those motion pictures truly come to life?

From classic films to the historical first moving pictures to old documentaries, there is a plethora of scenes to be colorized and seen through a brand-new lens. 

Although it may seem like a call to action to eliminate black-and-white films, it is not. The goal is to broaden film lovers’ access to classic films shown in a new light. Both the original version and the new version would be kept, allowing audience members to have a choice in which film they view. As they say, “to each their own.”

Think of the first time you watched The Wizard of Oz (1939). You sat down and watched the screen before you, letting the black-and-white setting wash over you. You likely knew black-and-white films existed and figured this was an older film, so you accepted the grayscale of the movie. Then all of a sudden, Dorothy walks through her door into a beautiful world of color. That moment fed our want to see something spectacular on the screen. It was a sweet gift given to us that we did not even know we needed. 

Now, imagine if you could have that feeling with every grayscale film or television you grew up watching. The bright blues and luscious yellows reach out to you from the screen while the soft pinks and deep purples pull you further into the story. 

When we see an old black-and-white photo colorized, it makes us remember the people in the frame once truly existed. They become personified in a way they weren’t before. Imagine if we continued doing that for classic films. The characters we know and love would become more real and truer to us. 

Not only would colorizing grayscale films be aesthetically pleasing, but they would also broaden the landscape for film theory. Classic black and white films are often screened in film classes and discussed at length due to their directors, plots, and camera technique. If color was added to the mix, a new significance for each film would arise paired with more to theorize on. For instance, why a director decided to use specific colors so often this being something that is studied frequently in the film studies realm today. 

On the other hand, some may see film colorization as inaccurate. Considering the colorizing of film does not exactly depict the original colors, there are spaces filled with the present technology used. To transform a black and white film to be colorized, the software works to fill in color and spaces even if it is not the precise color that was originally shot. Although this may seem inaccurate, the film is still coming to life. 

Overall, with our ability to do so and the availability of technology to make it easier, black-and-white films should be colorized so that we can see the original filmmakers’ true visions and stories come to life.

Article Courtesy of Katie Mann