As I write this, the coordination continues on a project that has been ongoing. I’ve never given up on this project through these years, as other things that had their challenges make it to the finish line, I’ve been working hard to get the Lou Bunin Alice in Wonderland project there as well.
As the project has continued, the hardest thing has been actually moving the scanning of the best material through the various hurdles. When I did get to scan some of the material, it wasn’t to the quality I wanted at all, and obtaining the best has been less than easy. Happy, at this point in the project, the access is improving, and I’m happy to report that the current three element being scanned will likely get us to a pint where we have good versions of all the shots and the soundtrack.
Bunin’s ambitious project ran into all sorts of hurdles in getting it to the finish line. The biggest and most significant was Disney’s production, resulting in both a limited release of the film and the inability to use the Technicolor process to make the production. This blow led to a much lower budget being committed to the film as well as an inferior color process being used, well after production had already started.
We’re at a place in the project where I’m enjoying the challenges as they come. Over this past week, I borrowed a great print of the majority of the film from my friend Mark Kausler, hoping to improve on some of the material I have already scanned. The word improvement is inadequate.
The film, a co-production between British, US and French financiers, even had challenges in release. The French version was released upon completion in 1949, but Disney’s lawsuit prevented it from being released in England and the US until 1951. Ansco color, the American division of Agfa/Ansco, a German company, was in receivership by the US government since seizing the company from Nazi-controlled Germany. The company would eventually be released from government ownership and reformed as “GAF” in the early 60s.
The color process, similar but inferior to Kodachrome, was greatly flawed in many ways. As a single negative reversal stock, there was no negative, and in order to get the best results, the original camera material needed to be used for each print made. As Lou Bunin explained in a letter describing his career, he was never given the original camera materials all back for the feature from the French producer, resulting in an inability to release the best version of the film after the initial release. For re-releases, Bunin used several nitrate prints as his best masters. I’ve scanned material that used some of that material as the master, with only fair results.
The 35mm Ansco print that Mark lent for the project is a safety print from 1951, printed from the camera original.This material, along with the ability to now scan one of the few remaining nitrate prints, finally makes it possible to get the rest of the project finished to the kind of quality I was hoping for.
There are quite a few hurdles to overcome technically. The early Ansco color stock faded and muted pretty early on, including the prints I’m working with.In addition, the stock didn’t fade evenly on any of the material, resulting in a mottling that looks like water damage throughout all existing prints. While the later Ansco stock held on to colors better, it was much, much grainier. Add to that the material being another generation from the camera material makes a big difference in overall end qualities. Now that we’re able to have material only one generation down I’m more than happy with how the results are looking.
There are several other things we’re hoping to still get to improve what we have, but I thought I’d share some stills from the current work-in-progress. From here it’s still a road uphill, but we have good tires now to make the climb up the hill at least!
Here’s some stills from the current work-in-progress. While far from final, I think these give a pretty good idea of how the material will start to look like as we work on it. More soon as we get closer to finishing.
Have a good week everyone!
Steve Stanchfield is an animator, educator and film archivist. He runs Thunderbean Animation, an animation studio in Ann Arbor, Michigan and has compiled over a dozen archival animation DVD collections devoted to such subjects at Private Snafu, The Little King and the infamous Cubby Bear. Steve is also a professor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Saw this many years ago at a comics convention….the print didn’t look like this! Can’t wait!
Lewis Carroll’s work seems to defy translation to the screen. While each film adaptation has its merits, capturing the essence of Carroll’s original wit and charm has always proven elusive. The Disney version is a classic in its own right, but Disney’s take on Alice remains a far cry from Carroll’s. Each film version has brought something of interest to the table, though most Alice films, both animated and live action, are generally considered as flawed. For my money, the film “Dreamchild” does the best job to date of capturing the whimsy, wonder, and dark mystery inherent in the Alice books, although the film itself is not a direct adaptation but rather a series of reminiscences on the part of the real-life model for Alice, Mrs. Hargreaves as portrayed by Coral Browne in the film.
I have read and heard much of the Bunin film but I have never seen it. The stills posted above offer tantalizing tidbits that look very promising. I second the “can’t wait!” Kudos to Thunderbean for taking on this project. It is a true labor of love! I’m so glad you guys are working so hard to preserve these animated treasures from the past! It is a real service to humanity! Cheers!
FANTASTIC! Hope to see the day when I can watch Bunin’s ALICE and the wonderfully odd 1933 version produced by Paramount Pictures and directed by Norman Z. McLeod – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_in_Wonderland_(1933_film) – back-to-back.
I’ve seen Bunin’s “Alice”. The grainy, faded Ansco Color gave me the impression that it was a low-budget picture, which of course it wasn’t; in fact, it must have cost a fortune. It also takes forever to get started, with a lengthy introduction involving Dodgson’s conflicts with the university administration. We don’t even see the white rabbit until about fifteen minutes into the movie. But then, King Kong doesn’t make his first appearance until halfway through his film debut, does he?
If the still photos shown here are any indication, Thunderbean’s restoration — over ten years in the making! — will go a long way in restoring the status of Bunin’s “Alice” as a landmark classic of animated film. Bravo!
Hard to believe I was one of the folks that preordered this like ten years ago? I just hope you have good records of people who already paid.
The stills look absolutely amazing. This is one of those projects that given the state of the film elements it’s a testament to your dedication that it’s come as far as it has.
Same for me. I think it was about 4 years ago when I preordered it. I have worried myself that my purchase may get lost, but I will stay optomistic.
I remember seeing it at the Thalia. Getting it restored will be great! Of course, modern 2d animation tech can really do a great transition from page to screen now, It could animate Tenniel’s imagery or someone could do a great job making more animatable forms, like Skottie Young did with the Oz characters.
Thank you. I find these posts about the restoration process fascinating. I especially appreciated the concise untangling of the Agfa/Ansco/GAF situation and why the reversal Ansco Color process was used. I didn’t know that for best results, each print had to be made from the original. I guess intermediates were inferior or nonexistent! It’s amazing that this film, or indeed others that were made in Ansco Color, can be retrieved with patience and care.
SO GLAD of an Update at last!
I put in a pre-order for the set with the extra disc YEARS ago and I’m glad to know it’s still coming along, even nicely now and continuing to improve!
Of course, in the time since I put in my pre-order, I have changed addresses so I hope that can be an easy thing to fix and remedy upon completion.
Thanks for the much-needed progress report so very much!