Agfacolor: Introduction

Veit Harlen's Opfergang (The Third Reich, 1944)

I don't know about you, but I'm easily tempted by unusual film color palettes. Color has lured me into watching beautiful unsubtitled things and horrid disappointing things that I wish had been unsubtitled.

Outside film school circles, people don't talk about color film stock and styles much. Pretty much everyone recognizes the label Technicolor, and some might even recognize Kodachrome (from the Simon and Garfunkel song, if nothing else). But back when Technicolor first started gaining ground in Hollywood around 1939, Germany came up with it's own (cheaper) alternative film stock and corresponding development process. This process became known as Agfacolor, and was perhaps most infamously used in the Third Reich release of Munchhausen (1943).

Carnival Night (USSR, 1956)

When the Soviet Union gained East Germany along with the rest of the Eastern Bloc, a prominent Agfacolor production house fell into their laps. Soon, the process was rebranded as Sovcolor . . . and was used throughout the Eastern Bloc and Russia in color cinema up through the 70's. It was also adapted in Western Europe for Belgium, German, and Italian films. But, Agfacolor's process wasn't as visually consistent as Technicolor or even its primary competitor, Kodak (of Kodachrome) Eastmancolor. And, so, it all but died out after the 50's in the U.S. I'm speculating, but it also may have smacked too much of enemy 'isms in the U.S. (fascism, communism) . . . and so the few films that were made in its (I think) strikingly homey and almost folk-illustration tones . . . remained just that, a few.

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (U.S., 1954)

The American list does include a few classics, notably, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Kiss Me Kate (1953). [A bit of info that finally clears up why I have always liked the visual quality of the latter more than the actual story.] But it is films like the more obscure The Man on the Eiffel Tower (U.S., 1949) and the wildly popular Empress Sissi trilogy (Germany, 1950's) that most closely resemble the look of the Russian films from the 50's and 60's I've been enjoying so much over the last year.

Razny Sudby (USSR, 1957)

For yes, it was the look of Sovcolor films that first struck my fancy and drove me to find more of the same. Unfortunately, the info out there in the Interwebs is woefully limited. I'd settle for a world cinema filmography or two, but I have yet to find anything that could be construed as comprehensive, much less exhaustive.

So, while I was about to publish a a longer version of this post months ago . . . I hit the breaks, hoping to find more leads on other films made in Agfacolor stock.

This week, I struck gold. Or at least another vein of ore to follow.

Equinox Flower (Japan, 1958)

I started watching Yasujiro Ozu's Equinox Flower (1958), mostly because I had been intrigued by stills I had seen floating around Tumblr. And then, what do I see in the opening credits? Agfacolor. The word is that Ozu CHOSE (rather than settled for) Agfacolor for his debut effort in color because he felt it showcased red tones better than anything else. Which is exactly what I had noticed in every film, exactly what I love about Agfacolor . . . but had yet to hear one other person mention! [I was starting to think I was the only one who could see it.] Beyond that, historical blurbs always seem to mention the economic or convenience factors, never the visual preference factor; and it was refreshing to hear someone acknowledge the obvious--that some artistes and theatregoers probably liked it for its own sake.

But in all fairness, Eastmancolor ain't so bad either. [And at times, indistinguishable from Agfacolor, if I'm being honest.]

Guys and Dolls (U.S., Eastmancolor, 1955)

I guess I'm not just a sucker for unusual color pallettes. I like 'em cheap and fast, too. As I dig around for more Agfacolor stock films, I will write separate posts on the films I've seen (here or at Filmi-Contrast), and start compiling a master list of films confirmed or suspected as Agfacolor stock, probably on a separate page.
To be continued.