SHORT FILMS

Short Documentary Looks at Criterion Collection's Restoration Process

by Ethan Anderton
February 14, 2014
Source: Gizmodo

Plenty of cinephiles love what the folks at The Criterion Collection do with films that deserve meticulously crafted special edition releases on Blu-Ray and DVD. But they may not know the hard work that goes into restoring films from decades past with negatives that may not be in the best condition for a high-definition transfer. Well, a nerdy little documentary short from Gizmodo (via The Playlist) takes the time to discuss the painstaking technical process with technical director Lee Kline. It's definitely very technical, which makes it perfect for any fans of real film, and it's an eye-opening look behind the scenes.

Here's Gizmodo's short film on The Criterion Collection restoration of Foreign Correspondent:

The doc uses the Criterion Collection's work on Alfred Hitchcock's classic Foreign Correspondent as the example to explain their techniques of perfecting their spectacular restoration. The work that must be done to restore these old film reels should be evidence enough of the necessity for film preservation, something Martin Scorsese is absolutely passionate about. After all, it's thoroughly depressing that out of 10,919 silent feature films released in America, 70% of them are gone forever. Thankfully, people at Criterion are doing the best they can to make sure we can experience them in as pristine a form as possible.

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