In 1986, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert dedicated a full episode of their syndicated series “At the Movies” to sounding the alarm about the industry’s fascination with colorizing black-and-white films. “Hollywood’s New Vandalism,” they called it, placing the blame for this creative abomination on two of the main companies leading the charge — and one man, Ted Turner.
During the prior year, Turner had acquired the MGM studio’s library of more than 3,500 films for $1.25 billion, in a deal that made him the owner of cinematic gems like “Gone with the Wind,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Casablanca.” Two of those films were originally presented in color, including “Gone with the Wind,” which launched Turner Network Television in 1988. The third, “Casablanca,” was not.
