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"The blurb on the back of this book claims that 'Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow is the first scholarly history of Technicolor aesthetics and technology, as well as a thoroughgoing analysis of how color works in film. Scott Higgins draws on extensive primary research and close analysis of well-known movies ... to show how the Technicolor films of the 1930s forged enduring conventions for handling color in popular cinema.' It also claims that Higgins 'formulates a new vocabulary and method of analysis for capturing the often elusive functions and effects of color that, in turn, open up new avenues for the study of film form and lay a foundation for new work on color in cinema'. These claims are well founded. Indeed, if anything, they understate rather than overstate Higgins's achievements...Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow does indeed formulate 'a new vocabulary and a method of analysis' for capturing the effects and the functions of colour. It also provides a convincing account of the ways in which three-colour Technicolor was deployed in three distinct and successive 'modes' in the 1930s... he has produced an exemplary book." Steve Neale, Screen 2008, issue 49
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Like Dorothy waking up over the rainbow in the Land of Oz, Hollywood discovered a vivid new world of colour in the 1930s. The introduction of three-colour Technicolor technology in 1932 gave filmmakers a powerful tool with which to guide viewers' attention, punctuate turning points, and express emotional subtext. Although many producers and filmmakers initially resisted the use of colour, Technicolor designers, led by the legendary Natalie Kalmus, developed an aesthetic that complemented the classical Hollywood filmmaking style while still offering innovative novelty. By the end of the 1930s, colour in film was thoroughly harnessed to narrative, and it became elegantly expressive without threatening the coherence of the film's imaginary world. "Harnessing the Technicolor Rainbow" is the first scholarly history of Technicolor aesthetics and technology, as well as a thoroughgoing analysis of how colour works in film. Scott Higgins draws on extensive primary research and close analysis of well-known movies, including "Becky Sharp", "A Star Is Born", "Adventures of Robin Hood", and "Gone with the Wind", to show how the Technicolor films of the 1930s forged enduring conventions for handling colour in popular cinema. He argues that filmmakers and designers rapidly worked through a series of stylistic modes based on the demonstration, restraint, and integration of colour - and shows how the colour conventions developed in the 1930s have continued to influence filmmaking to the present day. Higgins also formulates a new vocabulary and a method of analysis for capturing the often-elusive functions and effects of colour that, in turn, open new avenues for the study of film form and lay a foundation for new work on colour in cinema.
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Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am very interested in the development of colour cinematography and films in the 1930s which is why i found this film to be at times a bore.When the author deals with the technical side of things and the historical and critical analysis of the period it is very interesting.However the author feels that he must set out in detail the plot of a number of the films and the colour of the actors costumes and the sets.Done once this might be of interest but to do this a number of times is boring and counterproductive.He does this to show the way that colour was used as a dramatic feature in the initial films.Whilst the book does contain a section of colour photos the author is constantly referring to the black and white photos printed throughout the text.A rather pointless exercise.Whilst the author seems to have done a lot of research he has made one glaring error.He states that "The Dancing Pirate" is lost.Well it is not.I bought a VHS copy in the States long before this book was published.Generally speaking a very disappointing book.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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2 reviews
EXCELLENT BOOK
29 Jan 2012
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book has been a huge help with a school project. We were unable to find in anywhere in a library. Price was right for us to purchase it for further use too.
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating, but a bit exclusionary
27 July 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Terrific book and while I do like that it limits the number of films to discuss, for clairty, It's a shame it is biased towards live action, and omits the advances to approach to color Walt Disney and his animation artists established well before any similar theories came about in live action. Beginning in 1932, Natalie Kalmus began to formulate her "theories" with the help of Disney art directors. Disney had exclusive use of 3 Strip Technicolor for a few years, and many live action producers, Louis B. Mayer, David O. Selznick and Samuel Goldwyn in particular, looked to Walt's experiments as they approached producing films in color. Likewise, towards the end of the book, the author doesn't mention the impact of Pixar in Technicolor's development of digital cinema. Beginning with Toy Story, in 1995, Pixar helped further advancement of color scoring narrative in the "classical" sense, and helped establish many of the film exposure and development techniques, as well as digital output to film, that are now the industry norm.
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