Starting 12the version of the Worldwide Traditional Movie Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, guest speaker Cassandra Moore, vice president of mastering and archiving at NBC Common, mentioned her company’s massive catalog and restoration strategies.
The MIFC takes place alongside the Lumière Movie Competition, a nine-day event dedicated to traditional cinema, which includes an impressive screening program of over 150 films, mainly classics but also some current titles.
Among them is Steven Spielberg’s “The Sugarland Categorical,” which NBC Common restored in time for its fiftieth anniversary. The film, which won Best Screenplay in 1974 at the Cannes Film Festival, had its newly restored version shown this year at Cannes Classics, a section of the competition dedicated to repertory cinema.
Moore guided the gang in Lyon through the six-month restoration process. After retrieving the original from the safe, the team inspected the damaged and audio components and created a repair report before beginning work. First, they digitized the film in high 4K resolution. Then the real work began.
“Our artists – we have an amazing team – clean the dirt and scratches by hand. Those are the most interesting and fun elements, as you really let an artist figure out how to solve this problem,” she explained. “I always think of it almost as a kind of visual effect – can you capture the frame beforehand? Can you grab the body after restoring that tear? It is quite harmful to health, but it can always be corrected…”
Once the restoration work was complete, it was time for shadow and sound restoration, which was overseen by Spielberg himself. The main consequence was very satisfactory. “Mr. Spielberg said, ‘It’s one of the best that ever came along.’ That was one of the best compliments ever,” Moore shared. “In Cannes, people were really excited to see it, the sound was great, it looked amazing. It was a very collaborative experience.”
NBC Universal, which has a catalog of more than 7,000 films, selects between 10 and 12 to be revived annually, with another 120 to 150 films digitally preserved annually.
Although “The Sugarland Express” was an obvious choice before its 50th birthdaythe Birthday, Moore explained that the process chosen for recovery takes several factors into consideration. This year at Lumière, NBCUniversal is showing the recently restored 1958 romantic drama “To Every His Personal,” directed by Mitchell Leisen.
“We try to take a look at films that are not essentially blockbusters. It should be an important film – maybe it doesn’t have the points of view that other films have – but it’s important to the legacy of cinema, the legacy of Universal and what people need to be exposed to.
Moore singled out Leisen as an example of a director whose work deserves extra recognition: “He’s probably not as well-known to the public as Spielberg. But he is still an important director in the history of cinema. And after all, (“To Each His Own” features) Olivia de Havilland, who received the Oscar (for best actress).”
In 2012, to mark its centenary, Common launched its Restoration Venture. A few years later, it partnered with Martin Scorsese’s Movie Foundation, which helped protect and restore more than 1,000 films.
One of their major collaborative efforts was the restoration of “One-Eyed Jacks” (1961), Marlon Brando’s only real directorial effort. The film was in extremely poor condition, with the surviving copies in poor condition. The restored version premiered at Cannes Classics in 2016, marking a major achievement in the preservation of classic cinema.
When asked what she and her team are currently doing, Moore cited Sydney Lumet’s 1978 musical “The Wiz,” which starred a young Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Nipsey Russell.
“It’s an important film, historically, because it’s where Quincy (Jones) met Michael Jackson and it’s one of the first all-black casts to star in a film,” she said.
Ensuring the film remains dedicated to the original filmmakers’ vision is a priority, Moore emphasized. “We are very cautious about taking any license creatively unless we have someone from the original production to tell us. In this case we introduced (the film’s producer) Quincy Jones, who was there on set every day. He knew Lumet very well.
Moore also noted that the restoration of “The Wiz” was timely as it coincides with the release of “Depraved” this fall. Both are rooted in L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” and the hope is that audiences drawn to the 2024 film will also be inspired by experiencing the 1978 version.
The MIFC continues alongside the Lumière Movie Competition in Lyon until October 18th.