WHY PRESERVE FILM?

America’s film heritage is rich with films that inspire, entertain, educate and illuminate. The movies contain our history and are one of our greatest cultural contributions. The work of our nation’s filmmakers represents the collective memories and dreams of the 20th Century. Yet of all art forms, film is highly unstable and the most vulnerable to deterioration and alteration.

NEED

Currently, the major American archives house more than 100 million feet of film in need of preservation and every day, new films are finding themselves at risk. The battle to save our film treasures is an on-going race against time.

LOST

50% of all of the motion pictures produced in the United States prior to 1950 have disintegrated and are lost, while only 10% of the movies produced before 1929 exist in any form. For shorts, documentaries, newsreels and other independently produced and “orphan” films, the fate is much worse and there is no real way of knowing how much is missing from our motion picture history.

ENDANGERED

Until the early 1950s, motion pictures were produced on nitrate cellulose film stock. This stock is both highly flammable and gradually deteriorates into dust. Even contemporary films, made on acetate safety stock may begin to fade and deteriorate in less than ten years if improperly stored.

FADING

During the 1950s the motion picture industry adopted color processes which were subject to irreversible fading over time. In addition, color films produced prior to 1950 using stable, Technicolor dyes, are often only available in aging prints produced with unstable stock.

PRESERVATION

Motion picture archivists use the term preservation to describe the work of transferring fragile materials such as nitrate or fading color film to a more permanent medium.

RESTORATION

Restoration refers to a more complex preservation process, one which involves the archivist’s efforts to restore a particular work to its creators’ original vision.

ACCESS

Access is the process through which film is shared with the public. Depending on the institution, access embraces a range of activities, from support of on-site research to exhibition.