Discovered on YouTube, three Irish films by Sidney Olcott in
color. They are " The Lad From Old Ireland "
(1910 - Kalem), " His Mother " (1911 - Kalem) and
" For
Ireland's Sake " (1914 - Gene Gauntier Feature
Players).
All three films are from the Irish Film Institute copies.
They have been colorized by the Electrical and Electronic
Engineering of NUI Galway, the University of the West of
Ireland. They were released online in June 2022.
On its Twitter account, the school also posted an
excerpt (56 sec) from " You
Remember Ellen" (1912 - Kalem).
When the colorization of classic black-and-white films
was first introduced in the 1980s, there was a lot of
debate about it. I remember John Huston taking a very
strong stand against the release of "The Maltese
Falcon" (1941 - Warner Bros.) in color. The
promoters of the process affirmed that it made it possible
to rediscover the "old" films and to attract a young
public.
I defended John Huston's position. Can you imagine Charlot
in Technicolor? But here, seeing Olcott and Gauntier in
color but especially the Irish landscapes that largely
share the spotlight with the actors, it blew me away.
These tapes can be watched with a new eye.
Especially since they are presented in high definition
(1080p). And then the colorization does not erase the
original version. It is therefore possible to watch as one
wishes.