By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The Korean Film Archive (KOFA) celebrated its reopening in Sangam-dong, northern Seoul, with a film festival, which came to a close Sunday. As much as this state-run center is devoted to the preservation and restoration of movies, it invited Los Angeles-based filmmaker and film preservationist Ross Lipman for a special lecture Friday.
First, one must demystify some common misconceptions about restoration, said Lipman, who works with the UCLA Film & Television Archive's preservation program. It's not aimed at recreating a given film's "original" viewing experience ― "which is not only impossible but not truly the goal", he explained. For example, a silent film from the early 20th century was recorded with hand-cranked cameras and then screened with a hand-cranked projector. Each screening was therefore unique like a live performance.
"Restoration is a mix of science, scholarship and artistry", said Lipman, and these three enter into what he calls "the gray zone" ― how there is no definitive guide by the filmmaker and film so it's ultimately up to the restorer to make subjective decisions.
One must ask what it is one is trying to preserve. First of all, there's no guarantee that there be a "genuine" version. For instance, Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" has five versions all claiming authenticity, he said. There are also "`reconstructions" or a new rendition of a film made without the involvement of the filmmaker, such as the 1998 re-release of Orson Welles' "Touch of Evil" based on his 58-page memo outlining what was wrong with the 1958 studio edition. This is where scholarship comes into play and one must make smart judgments.
An endless number of questions concerning the authorship of a film comes into play. "Film is a collaborative medium ― studio, filmmakers and crew all enter into consideration as composite authors, but authorship doesn't stop with editing", said Lipman. For instance, colorization, or adding color to a black and white film, isn't considered a "legitimate" archival procedure. "Chopping" off wide screen film for a TV version also forever alters a motion picture. "If a museum chops off the sides of a rectangular canvas, it would be a crime, but we accept cropped movies", he said.
"Killer of Sheep" (1976), directed by renowned African-American director Charles Burnett and restored by Lipman, premiered in Korea last Friday as part of KOFA's film festival. Shot over three years with nonprofessional actors, it is a perceptive observation of inner city life in L.A. during the 1970s. Burnett's thesis piece at UCLA, the movie won much critical acclaim. However, it never met the public outside of film festivals due to copyright issues concerning the soundtrack.
Lipman fully restored the severely damaged film and blew it up to 35 millimeters. But there were problems inherent to the film itself. While Burnett achieves great storytelling, there were glitches with the picture tonality. Independent filmmakers often face such problems, and even famed experimental director Stan Brakhage had to compromise lab work due to financial restraints.
The preservationist thus readjusted the black and white renditions of the film, and a juxtaposition of the original print with the new one showed that the latter revealed objects that were previously obscured by dark shadows.
"So we (preservationists) must make decisions, and they take place in the gray zone. For a photographer, shades from the deepest black to the lightest light are divided into 21 steps. But my interests are between the gradations", he said.
Moviegoers can also look forward to a retrospective of Lipman's own films at Indiespace, the screen devoted to indie flicks in Joongang Cinema, Myeong-dong.
"Lipman's films and cinematic performances combine a technical mastery of diverse media with a rigorous sparsity of content to create cinematic spaces that are at once ethereal and riveting", according to a statement by the Los Angeles Film Forum.
Five shorts will be screened 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, after which the director will join the audience. Tickets cost 5,000 won.
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