Saving Our Movies for Future Generations to Enjoy
The Film Foundation
“Movies” have entertained us for hundreds of years. Before movies could be watched on the big screen, we could enjoy “the movies” live at play houses – the theatre. As the world evolved so too did technology and we created the means by which we could record plays and call them movies. The early days of movies were black and white with no talking. A musical overlay and written narration screens helped tell the stories
Some years later we were able to develop the technology a bit more and actors were now able to use their voices as well and act in movies in the way that we all know today. But the films were still shot in black and white. It was only in 1922 – almost a 100 years ago – that the first color film was produced in the world. A film by Technicolor and Metro Pictures, filmed in Hollywood, was none other than “The Toll of The Sea.”
The End of 35mm Prints
Many of the 35mm prints – what they used almost a 100 years ago – have since fallen through the cracks. Films have ended in locker rooms and basements and those are the lucky ones. With the films being so old and with so many of them not being stored in ideal conditions, they have started to show signs of irreversible damage. This is of course a great loss too not only the industry, but also future generations of movie lovers.
The Film Foundation was created for exactly this reason. Many actors, producers, and even general people on the street, are all donating monies to the foundation. The main purpose of the foundation is to track down and find these old films and put them over onto digital disc – DVD. It is a way to preserve that which was gone before us and in the process save a heritage that deserves to be saved.
The Importance of Movies
Movies and the saving of our old movies, is more important than what we realize. Movies are not just made for the purposes of entertainment. Movies have been at the heart of all things that makes the world go round. Movies tell the stories of those that have gone before. The lives of the pioneers, like Gandhi, Einstein and Liberace. But it is not just a way of documenting the lives of those influential people around us.
Movies have been at the heart of all of the social political issues that the world has ever faced. You name the issue that our world has faced and there is bound to be a movie of it. Everything from race to sex, to equal pay and even Chernobyl. That is why movies are so important to us, just like the entertainment you’ll find when you register right now. It records time as it was at that time. It addresses very real issues and it would be irresponsible of us to let these documentations get lost or destroyed. You can find out how you can get involved on the Film Foundation website.
