On the topic of colorization, I've received…well, more messages than I have time to answer, either one-on-one or in some proper posting here. It's a complex subject because it gets us off on the topics of, for example, who has the creative moral authority to say that a proposed change in a movie or TV show is proper? Or if we agree that a certain alteration in a movie is "wrong," should that be a matter of law or merely of consumer avoidance?
I don't have set-in-stone opinions about much of this. I do think that an awful lot of what is done to old movies in their conversion for free TV or home video constitutes a revision of the original work. One example of many: The mania of film buffs to locate and restore excised footage — even scenes the filmmakers wanted out — makes for a change that I think is sometimes greater than colorization. But that's generally considered an act of preservation and respect, not of desecration.) The point I was trying to make was that the old dire prophecy that a colorized It's a Wonderful Life would obliterate the original has not occurred. To me, the only problem with those new Three Stooges DVDs that offer both colorized and original versions is the price tag.
I'll write more about this when I have a chance. Today, I'm spending way too much time arguing with a company that wants me to pay $338 more on a cellular air time contract for a phone that no longer works. They'll gladly replace the busted phone for $199 or I can get it for $49 if I sign with them through August of 2006. You can just imagine how happy this makes me.