Should "A Hard Day's Night" be colorized?

I like the black & white cinematography of this movie.

WOW! What a discussion I sparked which was my only point. Could we say this is an emotional thing? Like screwing with your memories and changing your parents wedding pictures to color (if they were B&W). Because older fans saw it first in B&W they are a defintie NO. Younger folks may be more open to color. Again I am not meaning to be on one side or the other just enjoyed reading all the responses and discussion.
My opinion- does it matter? Well- there ARE color PHOTOS from that time and I believe colorizing technology has probably improved since Ted Turner went on the warpath of colorizing films like "Mircle on 34th Street" and "It's a Wonderful Life". I think they are horrid. However if they could make the color as good as the photos from that time (check out the book "Beatles at the Movies" pages- 32,38, 39,40, 42, and 45). Perhaps a test market would garner conclusive results for "A Hard Day's Night" and I bet it might measure out that the older fans prefer the original not that younger fans wouldn't. I suppose I'm in the middle at 40-something so, yes my opinion (LOL). I ADORE the B&W and I totally agree with the sentiments expressed on the "No" side of the issue. It IS an artistic film. But ya know, for me, curiosity begs a peek at what color would add. I recognize I am in the minority but I'm okay with that. After all they have done modern versions of "Hamlet" in film since Laurence Olivier's B&W interpretation and like Shakespeare, I think Alun Owen's screenplay will hold up to the curiousity of color. How about just one scene and those of you who didn't want to see it just tune out when it airs???- LOL Remember it's all in the spirit of fun that I put forth these thoughts. Just look at my by line below (I live by it and happily so). I said this for those of you who may get yer knickers in a twist... Love, Love, Love

Well, I remember on the Anthology, seeing the first part of the performance of All You Need Is Love in B&W and thining, "Eww." Then I saw it change to color and it was great.

Personally, I don't see what the brouhaha is all about. A DVD where you select from B&W and Color would be fine. I don't get WHY it would look fake, and if it changed to color, I really doubt it would change how great it is -- the storyline and characters aren't going to change.

I think color would be nice also

I think color would alter the mood of the movie.
B & W sets a certain tone, and in my opinion, I don't think that A Hard Day's Night can be improved on.

no there is something to the film as it is and i think it would lose its charm if that was done and many colorized ones look so bad and it somehow makes it different it has an innocence that way and i like it it is perfect and one should never mess with perfection.

I agree with Maniac. Please do not, repeat, do NOT color this film! It's a statement of the times, 1964 in its natural black and white state.

I think it would be cruel to color it.

Don't worry Beatlebangs- Like I said in the starting entry, there are no current plans to do this. It was just my morbid curiosity to see how everybody would discuss it. I'm not surprised at the passion on the "No" side of the fence. It IS perfect as it is but I can't help thinking (even if it is blasphemous to do so- lol) how they'd look in that film moving about in color.*sigh*
But just so you know I AM an advocate of B&W- one of my most favorite quotes that I heard about the Beatles was "The last great band in Black & White" - How true! And AHDN is a definite tribute to that statement.

No Way! I couldn't even imagine this film in color. It's a classic that looks like a classic because of it's lack of color and it needs to stay just the way it is.

If it turned out like some of the colorized films I've seen I wouldn't care for it. Unfortunately, in some of them everybody has simular skin tones & it just doesn't seem subtle that the color has been added! Also I love the film as a sort of "souvenier" of the time. But I guess a B&W / color dvd choice would be ok for those who wanted it...

Sparrow

Originally Posted by jz2001

No Way! I couldn't even imagine this film in color. It's a classic that looks like a classic because of it's lack of color and it needs to stay just the way it is.

NO! DON'T COLOR THIS MOVIE! :SCREAM2: LEAVE IT
AS IT IS - IT IS A CLASSIC! :SCREAM2:

no no no no no.... i would cry if i had to sit and watch a colored version of hard days night... oh no!

Originally Posted by BeatlesBeat

no no no no no.... i would cry if i had to sit and watch a colored version of hard days night... oh no!

Chill, Beat! Ain't nobody gonna make you watch it in color! Even if it DOES get retouched with color (and I dearly hope it does NOT), would you really be sad to watch the Fabs in color? It ain't like you have to watch - you can always keep your orginal video and dvd.

I've said why I hope the movie is not converted to color - it would be tampering with history IMHO and it would, I believe add an unnatural element to a genuine classic. I would still love the movie, but I would much rather it remain in its original B&W glory.

A Hard Days Night in color would not be right. It was filmed in the black and white era. To colorize the Ed Sullivan apperances or even the movie by the Maysles brothers would be a shock to the system of several people as well. Our first moving images of the Beatles were in black and white and meant to be that way. It's like making a bad fake stereo mix of something that sounded fine in mono.

Well... it would be INTERESTING to see it colourized.... but only if it used modern colour and not 60's colour..... however as Paul (i believe) said that A Hard Days Night was this "artsy" black and white movie they did.... so I guess they did it black and white for a reason.... and the black and white is nice... but it would be interesting to see it if the colour was GOOD colour.

I'd certainly have a look at it in colour!!! But I wouldn't expect to enjoy it as much!!! Black & White puts it in a certain time. I f you colour it, it'll seem like it could've been made in any decade. Which it couldn't because the Beatles ARE the 60's!!!

I don't see why having the option of seeing it in B&W or in color is worse than having no option at all. What's wrong with a choice between the two? It's like discovering a recording of say, Imagine, from 1964 sung by Paul, George, or Ringo. It wouldn't be better than what John did in '71 but that doesn't mean I wouldn't love to hear it.

About Help! being in black and white, there is the sequence at the start of the film which is done without color. Just as Help! wouldn't look right in black and white, it's still cool to get a glimpse of what might have been.

Originally Posted by Loony_leo

.. so I guess they did it black and white for a reason....

Yup, the reason was it was cheap and quick and easy. That stuff about it being B&W because that made it "artsy" came way after the fact. Everyone thought the Beatles were just a flash in the pan and would be gone in six months, so when they made AHDN, they did it quickly and on the cheap, and so it was black and white. And that's the only reason, simple economics, not art, not pretentions, nothing but $$$.

The fact that it holds up so well is because of the talent involved (e.g., the Fabs themselves, Richard Lester, etc.), not because it was intended to be a "great film."

NEVER!!

I think it would be really cool to see it in color in all, but for some reason I have a thing for black and white. I think either way it would be fine.

--Kayla