American Cinematographer - September 2008 - (Page 68) A Long-Awaited Redemption Above: Ludwig reads to Lola on one of their many quiet evenings together. Below: Their idyll is soon interrupted by the sounds of revolution outside. the team contacted the Thomson Foundation. Established in 2006 by Thomson, the parent company of Technicolor and other brands, the Thomson Foundation provides support for the preservation of the world’s cinema and audiovisual heritage, focusing primarily on Third World countries. Its first project was to work with Cambodian director Rithy Panh to create the Bophana Audiovisual Resources Center, an attempt to rescue and preserve Cambodia’s films, television materials and photographs, all of which were nearly obliterated during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. The foundation had never undertaken a film restoration, and when it was approached about Lola Montès, the decision to get involved was not simple, according to Séverine Wemaere, the foundation’s managing director. “The movie is not a blockbuster, but we decided to do it [because of that],” she notes wryly. “We knew it would be difficult, and we don’t like to make things easy.” Although the original idea was to restore Lola Montès using photochemical techniques, it quickly became apparent that the restoration would have to be accomplished digitally. There was extensive damage to the various elements, including deep scratches and gouges, chemical stains, splice-glue contamination, printed-in dirt, and torn and missing frames. Moreover, restoring the movie to its original condition meant elements would have to be combined and matched from three principal sources, sometimes even within a single shot. The original negative was in good condition but incomplete; it had been cut into the 1957 version, 68 September 2008
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