Dracula Colorized

[Earth 2 Chris]

^I'm not too far behind you on Trek. The effects already look dated just a few years in, so now the show looks like it's part 60s/part early 2000s. Sure, there are some episodes where the effects really let the story down ("The Doomsday Machine" itself, and especially the pipe-cleaner puppets in "Catspaw"), but overall, I'd just rather watch the original. I don't HATE the new effects, but while I have just come to accept them as part of any Trek that's broadcast, the enhancements are looking far less enhanced.

A Gogos-Universal project would be colorizing worth doing. I'd go for that.

Chris

[palitoy]

^I'm not too far behind you on Trek. The effects already look dated just a few years in, so now the show looks like it's part 60s/part early 2000s. Sure, there are some episodes where the effects really let the story down ("The Doomsday Machine" itself, and especially the pipe-cleaner puppets in "Catspaw"), but overall, I'd just rather watch the original. I don't HATE the new effects, but while I have just come to accept them as part of any Trek that's broadcast, the enhancements are looking far less enhanced.

I just found it jarring and discordant, I know it has it's defenders but to me they look like bad screen savers and they geeked out and added too many things not present in the original. I also hated that you can't find the originals anymore. If you're going to tweek things, do it well and with subtlely, don't go "full blown Lucas" on a tenth of the budget.

[PNGwynne]

PS I'm also the guy who thinks they ruined Star Trek with those CGI effects.

Because they kind of did. I like the remastering, but not so much the added affects. The Gorn is a prime example of overseasoning the soup. I have the early dual-episode dvds, which folks here recommended as fairly authentic.

[hedrap]

My main point on the need to re-visualize the classics is it's the only way they're going to find a new audience. It would be better to rework these then attempt another Dark Universe. I'm kinda surprised Del Toro hasn't made the attempt.

[enyawd72]

My main point on the need to re-visualize the classics is it's the only way they're going to find a new audience. It would be better to rework these then attempt another Dark Universe. I'm kinda surprised Del Toro hasn't made the attempt.

I agree with this...the Universal Monsters need a shot in the arm of some kind to find a new audience, otherwise in another 20 years I'm afraid they'll be completely forgotten by a new generation who could care less about 80 year old black and white films, classics or not. For the life of me I don't know why Universal doesn't do a limited theatrical release of the original films every year at Halloween. With today's digital projection it would cost them literally nothing, and they have EVERYTHING to gain by it. Instead they dump hundreds of millions of dollars into these awful remakes which continue to flop.

[warlock664]

Honestly, I'm really not concerned with them finding a "new audience". I already have what I love to watch. And they ain't making any more like them today.
Taking crayons to these classic b&w films *might* bring a few new viewers into the fold, but then what? You're talking about monkeying around with (in some cases) 87-year-old films; today's younger audiences have no interest in the techniques used to produce these archaic (in their minds) movies, so any new additions to the Universal canon will be made using today's technology and storytelling techniques, and that already failed. So what's the point?
Last year, I loaned my Universal Monsters bluray set to a coworker to watch around Halloween. While she claimed to enjoy at least a couple of the movies, her husband (in his late 20's) couldn't get through even one entire film, citing the b&w as the reason. But I also suspect the slower pace and lack of non-stop CGI effects would prevent him from enjoying them even had they been colorized.
If some of you would enjoy seeing these films colorized, more power to you, but we're never going to see any significant additions to the Universal Monster catalog in this day and age.

[Hedji]

I just found it jarring and discordant, I know it has it's defenders but to me they look like bad screen savers and they geeked out and added too many things not present in the original. I also hated that you can't find the originals anymore. If you're going to tweek things, do it well and with subtlely, don't go "full blown Lucas" on a tenth of the budget.

Yeah, that was an experiment that I just didn't care for. Luckily, the Blu Rays offer both options.

It was a novelty, and I don't mind that they did it. But I'm happy with the choice to watch either.

[palitoy]

Yeah, that was an experiment that I just didn't care for. Luckily, the Blu Rays offer both options.

It was a novelty, and I don't mind that they did it. But I'm happy with the choice to watch either.

The two options on the Blurays bring me joy, i got burned by the DVDs.

[Hedji]

Oh really? No choice on those? That really does stink.

[Hedji]

I really like the idea of not just colorizing, but going total Famous Monsters/James Bama on them. Colorizing is usually frowned upon anyway, so might as well go for broke and make it as vivid and garish as a 1960s television show, bordering on psychedelic pop art. I'd love to see what they could do with some of the sound stages and cloudy skies. Eschew realism for fever dream saturation. A blood red sky for the Frankenstein windmill scene, like the Bama Creature from the Black Lagoon box art would be breathtaking.

[enyawd72]

I really like the idea of not just colorizing, but going total Famous Monsters/James Bama on them. Colorizing is usually frowned upon anyway, so might as well go for broke and make it as vivid and garish as a 1960s television show, bordering on psychedelic pop art. I'd love to see what they could do with some of the sound stages and cloudy skies. Eschew realism for fever dream saturation. A blood red sky for the Frankenstein windmill scene, like the Bama Creature from the Black Lagoon box art would be breathtaking.

Yep. That's how I envision them. Trust me, If I was rich, you can't even imagine all the awesome movies and toys you'd be getting...LOL

[PNGwynne]

Oh really? No choice on those? That really does stink.

Yes, the TOS seasons releases were not dual-format, only the reworked versions. I got a set of the earlier, double-episode dvds on ebay.

[Hedji]

Yeah, I like how the Blade Runner Blu Ray is. Five cuts of the film depending on what kind of mood you're in. But every version is preserved.

[Werewolf]

I'd be happy if they'd just re-colorize the 1979 version.

[Hedji]

I'd be happy if they'd just re-colorize the 1979 version.

Hah! Preach it.

A fan with technical know how actually did, and well... you know...