MovieChat Forums > The Sand Pebbles (1966) Discussion > Awful color needs to be restored.

Awful color needs to be restored.

posted 16 years ago by mrvolvo
6 replies | jump to latest

I remember seeing this movie in a big wide screen theater when it first came out back in the 60's and rate it among my favorites. I've seen it a couple times since but that was a long time ago. Tonight, watching it broadcast on FMC, I was appalled at the terrible condition of the color - one of the worst cases of "Kodachrome fade" I've ever seen. From beginning to end, every scene was tinted a reddish brown and it was so bad in some scenes I felt I was watching it in Black & White. If there was ever a film that needed digital color restoration, this is the one. I can't believe it was broadcast in this condition.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] deepblue742 15 years ago

bummer I envision so many older films looking so much better than they do now. I'm watching it on FMC as well, looks like it was colorized its so washed out.

[–] haristas 15 years ago

For some reason FMC is showing a transfer of a faded 1966 70mm print they discovered in their vault of the longer "Roadshow" version of the film. This is the same transfer they included as an extra on their two-disc special edition DVD in 2007. The restored print of the slighty shorter "Theatrical" version is beautiful, especially now on Blu-ray. Since TSP was shot in 35mm Panavision (the 70mm Roadshow was a blow-up) I don't understand why Fox can't fully restore the film, as I don't understand what the FMC is doing showing this very faded and red print. It's horrible to look at.

[–] pizzmoe 15 years ago

Glad to see other people noticed this. They should start this movie with a disclaimer it looks so bad.

[–] Etherdave 14 years ago

Well, it looks the way it looked for twenty years on TV till they invented digital transfer. I just watched the Roadshow version in my collector's edition of the film, and I think the reason they didn't remaster the Roadshow is because it doesn't really add anything to the film. The definitive version seems to be the edited cinematic release.

Roadshow versions aren't supposed to have credits, as credits are supplied to the audience in the form of a program (which is supplied in the collector's edition). I understood that the Overture to the Roadshow of 'Sand Pebbles' included an alternate theme to the absolutely god-awful 'And We Were Lovers'. Yet no such alternate is heard.

Is this really the authentic Roadshow version? Perhaps if it isn't, this explains the reluctance to remaster it properly.

[–] vpilutis 14 years ago

The copy on HBO tonight was fine

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