Digital Film Preservation: The Search for the Original

Abstract

The transition from photochemical to digital has without doubt profoundly affected filmmaking and film distribution. But digitization also has consequences to the preservation and exhibition of films produced in the analogue era. The advantages of digitization of film are obvious: the audience gets easy access to a digital copy and, at the same time, the photochemical original (or what is left of it) can be stored in optimal temperature and humidity conditions for long-term preservation. Not only has digitization contributed to new possibilities for film scholars to study films, it has also made old films available to a broader public. Travelling to archives or film festivals is no longer a necessity when we can get hold of a film on DVD, Blu-ray, or even by online streaming. This of course is a process that already started with videotape in the 1970s. When it comes to films from the silent era, digitization most often not only means a simple transformation from analogue to digital for easier access or for preservation, but also often includes restoration and reconstruction, since photochemical material decays in different physical and chemical ways. Even if it is generally accepted today that film restoration always will be a kind of reconstruction and interpretation where choices have to be made, it is nevertheless considered a process that aims for a result as close as possible to its original.<p> <p> In the following, I will ignore current debates on the impact of digitization on the film medium – for instance if digitization means the end of film and cinema as we know it or not – or questions about the life time of digital film, digital restoration tools etc. My main concern will be on the consequences of digitization of silent films in our search for the original. To illustrate my argument, I will use Robert J. Flaherty’s first film, Nanook of the North, a classic, silent film that premiered at the Capitol Theatre in New York City in the summer of 1922. As shown elsewhere (Skare 2016) Nanook of the North, today considered a classic of the silent era, exists at least in 4 different versions from the English speaking world alone: besides the different screenings of 1922 with different musical scores and surrounding programs we can study a sound version from 1947, the restored version from the 1970s and later editions on VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray, all with different prefaces and different film music in addition to some extra material. My main concern in this paper will be on the consequences of digitization of silent films in our search for the original.