[earlyfilm]

Originally Posted by colorfixer

James,
What source did they use in the early 80's to transfer the film to home video (before they cared about quality) or before for broadcast? Did they simply recycle an old working negative from the 50's?

In the 1940's to the mid-1980's most local TV stations aired from a 16mm print. Most network aired from a 35mm print. Video mastering was mostly the same as soon as it came along.

Originally Posted by colorfixer

Did they simply recycle an old working negative from the 50's? I thought that they didn't touch the 3 strip negative until they did the restoration and subsequent modern re-release?

I'm speaking in general and of no specific title, but starting in the 1990's they started mastering from copy negatives and interpositives which are the things they normally use to make copy negatives.

Usually, unless they were planning a theatrical reissue, the originals were never touched. Doing that is simply too risky.

Originally Posted by colorfixer

My uncle was a projectionist from the 50's to the early 80's used to curse the day they stopped using IB prints. He claimed that there wasn't an Eastmancolor print he liked and he hated the prints even more the older they got. Heck, he resisted Xenon lighting until forced to stop carbon arc.

I humbly agree with you uncle! There are still a few theaters still running carbon arc, today. At least he got out of the business prior to the switch to polyester prints, which really caused many a projectionist to lose his cool.

Originally Posted by colorfixer

Are there any surviving '39 IB prints still around in any condition?

Probably not on "The Wizard of Oz" as this was just a routine picture that failed to make a profit until it hit TV in Color. but on other titles, yes some still survive. I've seen clips from a first run "Gone with the Wind" print in a private collection. On the earlier two color Technicolor, prints from about 1924 survive.

Originally Posted by colorfixer

It's really a shame that a kid today going to a cinema will likely never see real film grain on the screen.

Unfortunate, but true. Photochemical photography is almost dead. In most cities in the US today, there is no way to see a motion picture being projected, as they have all gone to digital.

James