Newbie question on Colorization

[Quisp]

I only have one colorized film(Laurel & Hardy's Babes in Toyland).
I recently had a discussion with someone about this, and I let him know, that I wasnt a fan of the process.

He said "So, just turn the color on your TV down, so its black & white, if you dont like it.."

My question is this.
Does the process of colorizing a B&W film, remove the films shadows as it pertains to lighting?
Assume you were to colorize a film like Citizen Cane, where
they spent a lot of time setting up the lighting. The lighting & shadows created quite a good bit of drama in that film.

Therefore, if you were to "Turn down your TV's color" on a colorized version of Citizen Cane, would the original shadows still appear, or would they be lost in the process?

[Hendrik]

...why don't you just play your Babes In Toyland DVD, turn down the color on your TV, and see what happens?...

. . . . . .

[Wesly Moore]

I read something on this topic just recently that explained part of the process and addressed your question ... but of course I can't find it now. It may have been in a magazine rather than online, who knows? Anyway, the important point was that contrast levels are artificially adjusted during the colorization process, so turning down the color does NOT result in the original black-and-white image. (Or something like that.)

I am a big opponent of colorization, which does not seem to be all that popular these days anyway. If Babes in Toyland is only available colorized, turning down the color may be your only alternative to watching it in (artificial) color.

[wahlers]

While, on the other hand:

The 1925 Phantom of the Opera has the original color-tint specifications re-applied on the Image DVD.

This was not a colorization, per se, but simply color filters placed over different scenes, so one scene has a red tint, and another has a green tint, etc.

I've heard people complain about this, and aside from the fact that this is how it was supposed to have been shown in 1925, in this case, you _can_ turn off the color, and the contrast and lighting has not been affected.

Of course, you'd have to turn the color back on for the 2-Color Technicolor ballroom sequence (which is just stunning-- really), and then back to black-and-white afterwards.

[Chaplin]

But keep in mind there is a big difference between a true black and white image and a color image with color turned down on a television.

Schindler's List was a beautifully filmed black and white movie, but I read somewhere that it was originally filmed in color and the color was removed in processing. My assumption was that it was done to save money--if it was ever done at all. But put Schindler's List next to a true black and white film, and you will see some major difference--most specifically in the depths of blacks and grays, obviously.

I just decide to stay away from colorized movies--it's sacreligious!

[Quisp]

Hendrik,

I would, but, I dont believe Babes in Toyland was shot with much if any shadows, like Citizen Kane.

The mood was suppose to be fun unlike Kane

[Riedenschneider]

You can make A/B comparisons with Champion and Body and Soul (both flippers with the original b&w and colorized versions).