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Author Topic: South Pacific - What's with the colors?? Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-06-2010 10:37 PM                    What a weird artistic decision. Between the yellows and reds and oranges and blues and what not, and the foggy lens that pops up sometimes... I dunno. Just weird. I haven't finished watching it yet. Maybe tomorrow.  |  IP: Logged Paul Linfesty Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1383 From: Bakersfield, CA, USA Registered: Nov 1999 posted 02-06-2010 11:44 PM                     And the tragedy is that this was all done on set, not in the labs. Joshua Logan wanted to experiment with shots with the filters and then without. The studio said no, they could always remove it in the lab if it didnt work out. Well, of course they couldn't. The look was meant to capture the look of colored lights on stage, which was very bizarre, since they shot on location to NOT have it look like a play (although its still quite stagey. The film was knocked quite a bit by critics of the day for its lackluster pacing and acting, and yet it was was one of the biggest box office hits of the 50's.  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 02-07-2010 12:30 AM                        And it was the second film my parents worked on together - she, a dancer; he, a music editor. I still have the commemorative cast and crew book boxed up around here somewhere. This is one I'll buy on Blu-ray someday.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 02-07-2010 02:38 AM                     I did run a Mag/Optical of this movie in the early 70's - sounded excellent in classic 4channel stereo in a big house. -Monte  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-07-2010 04:47 AM                     I never could figure out the color thing either... always had a hard time getting through that movie cause of it. Just like watching a movie photographed by William A. Fraker... He used diffusion all the time to the point it gets annoying!  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-07-2010 05:14 PM                     Those color changes ruin the movie for me. Todd-AO is best with clean, clear images, and those color sections look terrible.  |  IP: Logged Bruce McGee Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1776 From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular. Registered: Aug 1999 posted 02-07-2010 08:49 PM                     Remember, Nellie sings about the sky being a "bright canary yellow..." The pan and scan version that used to play on local TV really stank when the colors started bouncing around like they did. It doesent look as bad in widescreen. One local engineer at a PBS station in Tennessee actually requested a replacement print when the color shifts started happening... When he got the replacement, he actually tried to color balance the funky colors... What an idiot.  |  IP: Logged Joe Tommassello Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 547 From: Coatesville, PA, USA Registered: Jan 2008 posted 02-08-2010 03:48 PM                  quote: Paul Mayer the second film my parents worked on together - she, a dancer; he, a music editor Paul - which one is your mom? You should let us know so we can all make you uncomfortable saying "Dude - your mom is hot!"  |  IP: Logged Bruce McGee Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1776 From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular. Registered: Aug 1999 posted 02-08-2010 04:45 PM                     Quote Mark Lensenmayer: Those color changes ruin the movie for me. I sure wouldn't let a dopey effect ruin this experience. It's still good entertainment, and that soundtrack is great!  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 02-08-2010 05:29 PM                        quote: Joe Tommassello Paul - which one is your mom? You should let us know so we can all make you uncomfortable saying "Dude - your mom is hot!" It's funny, South Pacific is the one film she did where I have absolutely no clue as to what shots she's in. She was just one of the "line" in that film, so I know she's in the dance scenes somewhere. One of these days I'll have to go through those shots frame by frame to see if I can spot her. And yes, at the time she was hot!  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 02-08-2010 06:07 PM                        I am with Bruce on this -- it's a great musical with a very strong socal statement which, btw, the producers of the Broadway show tried to tone down by trying to get R&H to remove the "You've Got To Be Taught" song from the show. They said that would totally wimp out the whole theme and refused. The show was a huge success and made them wheel barrels full of money. All of a sudden the producers thought it was a great song. Sure the unnatural color overlays were an idea that just didn't work for most people, but the film is still highly entertaining and the music is certainly worth the minor distraction that the color creates. In fact, I think perhaps Joshua Logan was saying, you know, if we are asking the audience to accept people breaking out in song in the middle of the drama, maybe it would be interesting to do the same thing visually, breaking with reality and emphasizing that the musical numbers are indeed an artistic device which don't happen in real life. Indtead of asking the audience to ignore the fact that the characters start singing as normal, instead acknowledege it as an artistic device and mirror that acknowledgement in the picture as well. For me it didn't work and it's comes off pretentious, but you have to give him credit for the effort. Anyone ever notice that they do this same kind of thing on the CSI-Miami series. Every so often they put a graduated color filter in front of the lens - it's very dark orange on the top of the picture with the color gradually lightening so that by the middle of the picture it is natural, ie., normal clear. I can't figure the reason for this -- it just looks pretentious and with out purpose.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-10-2010 01:27 PM                        I am still feeling pretty bad after Mama left us the other day but if I do not try to concentrate on other things I have enjoyed doing before she died, I might wind up as a basket case so here is my two cents worth regarding SOUTH PACIFIC and the dreadful filtered scenes. I first saw the movie at the Kuhio Theatre in Honolulu during it original Road Show engagement in 70mm Todd AO. Everything was wonderful and I was enjoying the movie until the color filtered scenes flashed on the screen and I hated them! There were two very lengthy filtered scenes and it was two too many. The Blu-Ray of SOUTH PACIFIC is wonderful and the technicians at Fox did a very excellent job with the 4K digital transfer but I still dislike the filtered scenes. I forgot who the film's cinematographer was but I am sure he was not nominated for an Academy Award that year for SOUTH PACIFIC. If what Paul said about shooting the scenes with and without the filters is true, it was a very tragic mistake for the studio to refuse to have the scenes photographed twice. I have all of the Rodgers & Hammerstein's film versions of their musical in my DVD and Blu-Ray collection from Fox and SOUTH PACIFIC is my least favorite because of the filtered scenes. I can hardly wait for the Blu-Ray of THE KING & I, OKLAHOMA,, CAROUSEL and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. I also do not mind having the original and remake of STATE FAIR on Blu-Ray too. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 02-10-2010 02:26 PM                     Leon Shamroy was the Cinematographer for "South Pacific". And yes his work was one of the nominated films for Best Cinematography, Color for that year. Nominated Color films: "Gigi" (Winner) "Auntie Mame" "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" "South Pacific" "The Old Man and the Sea" Some of his other wide gauge and special format film works. "The Robe" (CinemaScope) "The King and I" (CinemaScope 55) "South Pacific" (Todd-AO) "Porgy and Bess" (Todd-AO) "Cleopatra" (Todd-AO) "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (Todd-AO) He was one of Fox's Best Cinematographer during that time of wide gauge film making.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-10-2010 04:24 PM                        Bill, Some of Leon Shamroy films are favorites of mine including THE ROBE, THE KING & I., THE AGONY & THE ECTASY" and PORGY & BESS. SOUTH PACIFIC is but the filters ruined it for me and I was surprised to learn it was nominated. It is very unfortunate the George Gershwin estate will not permit PORGY & BESS to be publicly seen again either in a theatre or on home video. The film was released by Columbia Pictures and I saw at the Princess Theatre and it was in wonderful four track mag stereo sound . As many of you know, I love music very much and I am very familiar with the Gershwin opera and did not think the film was bad at all. Whoever sung for Sydney Poitier and Dorothy Daindridge did a wonderful job. -Claude  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-10-2010 06:13 PM                    I'm just glad to know that my TV was NOT going on the fritz - which is what I thought initially.  |  IP: Logged

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