Nitrate Won't Wait: A History of Film Preservation in the United States

by Anthony Slide

Overview

This study looks at the preservation process: newsreel, television, and color preservation; the often controversial issue of colorization; and commercial film archives. It provides detailed histories of the major players in the preservation battle including the International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, the American Film Institute, the Museum of Modern Art, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the Library of Congress.

This first historical overview of film preservation in the United States is also highly controversial in its exposure and criticism of the politicization of film preservation in recent years, and the rising bureaucracy which has often lost sight of preservation and restoration as the ultimate purpose of film archives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476604572
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	05/03/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Film historian Anthony Slide of Studio City, California was hailed by Lillian Gish as “our preeminent historian of the silent film era.” He is the author of numerous works of film scholarship.
Film historian Anthony Slide of Studio City, California, was hailed by Lillian Gish as "our preeminent historian of the silent film era." He is the author of numerous works of film scholarship.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	ix
	Introduction	1
Chapter 1	Early Years and the Museum of Modern Art	9
Chapter 2	Newsreel Preservation and the National Archives	25
Chapter 3	The Library of Congress	36
Chapter 4	Thanks to the Film Collectors	45
Chapter 5	The Fifties and Sixties	61
Chapter 6	Things Are Seldom What They Seem	74
Chapter 7	Specialization in the Seventies	89
Chapter 8	New Areas of Preservation	102
Chapter 9	Colorization	122
Chapter 10	Stock Footage Libraries	134
Chapter 11	Into the Nineties	145
	Appendices
1	Members of FIAF	163
2	Major U.S. Noncommercial Film Archives	168
3	Major Non-U.S. Commercial Film and Video Libraries	172
4	Major U.S. Commercial and Stock Footage Libraries	175
5	Subject Guide to U.S. Films Preserved in U.S. Archives	179
6	Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images	181
7	Restoring Josef von Sternberg's The Saga of Anatahan	184
8	The Scandinavian Way	193
	Bibliographies
1	General Works	203
2	Technical Works	209
3	Colorization and the National Film Preservation Board	211
4	Specific Projects	213
	Index	219

Editorial Reviews

Traces the preservation of newsreels, television programs, and color movies, with anecdotes of important people and institutions. Also explores such controversial topics as colorization, commercial film archives, and the politicalization of preservation efforts. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

a wealth of information...will be a valuable addition”—Choice; “there cannot be a more timely or important book published this year”—Classic Images; “covers the entire spectrum of film preservation beautifully”—Big Reel; “a fascinating study...this is film history brought vividly to life. Superbly told and impeccably researched, this outstanding work is guaranteed to have you totally hooked”—Film Review; “Slide spares no one from the jabs of his rapier...good...a hot topic...a nationally important issue”—Film & History.

From the Publisher

there cannot be a more timely or important book published this year

Classic Images

a wealth of information...will be a valuable addition

Choice

"one of the most important film books of our time"

Big Reel