HOUSE OF DS in even more vivid, shocking color!

[Darren Gross]

I'm delighted to report that I recently acquired a pristine (only one repaired frame) 35mm print from the British release of HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS, complete with the British 'X' Certificate before the MGM lion logo.

Best of all, is the print is an incredibly rare IB Technicolor print. While the US release were all Eastmancolor prints, UK theatres were blessed with these beautiful Technicolor prints.

The essential difference is that Eastmancolor prints are made photochemically, while IB Technicolor prints use a series of color dyes pressed into the print. It makes the colors far richer, more saturated and they 'pop' more when placed next to contrasting colors.

And IB Tech prints do not fade, so a print made 30, 50, 60 years ago has the exact same colors as it had on opening day, whereas Eastmancolor prints faded terribly. If you've bought 16mm Eastmancolor prints or frame clippings, unless they were cold stored from day 1, and vented regularly, the colors lose the yellow area of the spectrum and become more and more pinkish until they're almost entirely red and colors are completely unreadable.

Eastmancolor prints looked fine when new, but IB Technicolor ones look stunning.

I've had the opportunity to bench examine the print and the colors would astound you. There's such a rich array of pastel blues, yellows, oranges, reds etc., it's like seeing the film for the first time. (Think Liz's yellow/green dress was garish before? You ain't seen nothin' yet!)

While Technicolor prints do not telecine well (the density of the dyes block light and you end up with muddy blacks and poor contrasts), its helpful as it can be used as a reference in the film-to-tape transfer color timing session. I would like to use it to make the future DVD release as accurate and vivid as possible. All video releases are a bit shy of the intended color values and also have the day for night scenes a little too bright.

And the print is the standard US cut we all know and love. No extra scenes.

[Midnite]

You go, Darren!  Congratulations on the great find.

[ShadowsAtlanta]

Wow! How wonderful -- if we ever get to see a quality DVD release of HoDS with striking hues, we'll know who to thank!!

That is way beyond cool!!   Thanks for sharing.

[jimbo]

Hey Darren that is great news. Good for you. Finally something positive has happened.

[Fletcher]

I still want to see that scene where Barnabas knaws at Carolyn's neck like a slab of beef.  It was bloody, gory, and (I assume) realistic.  And the teeth marks he left behind -- gross.  They looked like a real human set of teeth had gotten at Carolyn's neck.  No discreet "two little puncture marks".

I feel sure someday, this longer scene will turn up.  It is the most vivid memory I have of seeing HODS back in 1970.   It's not on the video, unfortunately.

[Brian]

Great news, Darren.  Let's hope WB will let us have HODS soon while they decide how to handle NODS.

Brian

[PennyDreadful]

       Wow!  Congratualtions on this great find Darren!  It sounds amazingly cool!

[victoriawinters]

This is amazing news Darren.  I didn't know such a print existed.  Now if we can get a DVD soon that would be awesome.

[Gothick]

How thrilling and SHOCKING! (I love it that you used that in the header)

I just viewed the new Dracula A. D.1972 DVD (I'm not even going to attempt to identify who released it since I get so confused by just who is putting what out these days) and, as was the case with the Taste the Blood of Dracula disc release, was thrilled by the vividness of the color and the incredibly pristine image quality.  In the scene with the closeup of the stake thrusting out of the Count's back, the big splotch of gushing Kensington Gore blood looked a psychedelic version of scarlet!  I wonder whether the brilliance of the color has to do with the source materials being in the IB Technicolor process you mentioned.   I noticed on the Criterion DVDs of both Monterey Pop and Gimme Shelter that the colors were exceptionally brilliant (all those lovely flower power clothes practically blister the screen, and my TV set is far from being state of the art) so perhaps it has more to do with how the DVD itself is prepared in the lab.

Thinking of a print of hoDS that has the shimmering iridescence of these recent Hammer Dracula releases is very exciting!  I want to see Grayson Hall in hyper-technicolor!

Thanks again, and Congratulations!

Steve

[Darren Gross]

I should mention that its unknown whether any IB Technicolor prints of NIGHT OF DS were made. As the UK release appears to have been aborted after submission to the BBFC, and a possible press or industry screening or two, it's pretty doubtful. I'm keeping the feelers out though, just in case some of the European prints were made in Technicolor.

[Brian]

Darren, now that I've offered my congrats, may I ask what an IB technicolor print is?  I think I understand the three-strip technicolor process after watching the Warner Bros docs on the restoration of GONE WITH THE WIND and a few others (can't wait to see THE WIZARD OF OZ restoration docs and final film results!), but what is the difference in formats?

Thanks,

Brian

[Brian]

Darren, After thinking about it, I wanted to save you some time explaining, so I googled IB Tech and came up with this link.

http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/Technicolor.html

Brian

[Darren Gross]

That's a fun page Brian.

I should point out that in regard to this print, the IB (Imbibition)Technicolor process used is strictly for print manufacture only (which the page mentions). I don't want anyone to start thinking that HOUSE OF DS was shot in three-strip Technicolor. A miscommunication has resulted in the common, erroneous belief that SUSPIRIA was shot three-strip, which it wasn't.

When you hear about SUSPIRIA being in Technicolor all it means is that it was relased in these gorgeous, dye-transfer, non-fading prints made from the Eastmancolor negative, just like this HOUSE OF DS print was...

Sad to mention, but since this page went up the dye-transfer printing revival ended. It was short-lived and there's not a single facility in the world capable of IB Tech dye-transfer printing any more.

Technicolor mentioned on the poster or in the end credits of a film nowadays only means that the Technicolor lab ran off the theatrical prints and hasn't meant the IB Tech process in more than 3 decades...

[michael c]

that sounds way cool darren,

could you arrange to have it screened at next years fest?it would definitely be a highlight.

i own NODS on video but have actually never seen HODS.they screened it at midnight at the 2003 fest but i was too sleepy to stay up for it.

if they show it next year i'll make the effort.

[Midnite]

i own NODS on video but have actually never seen HODS.they screened it at midnight at the 2003 fest but i was too sleepy to stay up for it.

mscbryk, if you have access to Turner South, the network is showing HoDS on Nov. 1 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern.  (It's followed by Curtis' Burnt Offerings.)