Goldcrest Post Restores 33 Films by Award-Winning Filmmaker Frederick Wiseman

Goldcrest Post took part in a multi-year project to restore and produce 4K masters of 33 films by the pioneering documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman. Produced between 1968 and 2006, the films have previously been available only on standard definition DVDs and 16mm film. Colorist Jane Tolmachyov, a longtime collaborator of Wiseman, led Goldcrest’s restoration team. “I was very pleased with the color grading that Goldcrest did of my films and particularly impressed with the work of Jane Tolmachyov,” Wiseman said.

Wiseman’s distinctive films have had a profound impact on other filmmakers and film audiences worldwide. Ranging from the 1967 classic Titicut Follies and to the 2023 epic Menus-Plaisirs-Les Troisgros, his films often cast a uniquely probative eye on institutional environments, including a hospital for the criminally insane, a racetrack, an evangelical community and a department store.

A presentation and restoration by Zipporah Films with the participation of the Library of Congress, the 33 films were restored in 4K from the 16m image negative and sound elements. Digitizing and color grading work was performed by DuArt and Goldcrest.  Calibration and restoration was carried out by Jane Tolmachyov, under the supervision of Frederick Wiseman and produced by Karen Konicek.

“As all but one title involved original 16mm negatives, we had to deal with A and B reels,” notes Tolmachyov. “The first step was to conform the A and B's into a single strand as complete scanned negatives. Then, came color grading, which, because we were working from negative, had to be done from scratch. We used old prints as guides to stay as true to the original look as possible.”

Digital restoration was challenging, especially for Wiseman’s earliest black & white films. “There were various issues from scratches to density variations and chemical stains,” recalls Tolmachyov. “The biggest issue was the scope of the project, which amounted to nearly 90 hours of film.”

Sound restoration, conducted by Goldcrest’s sound department under the direction of re-recording mixer Alan Gus, was similarly daunting. Decades-old ¼-inch tape and MAG track recordings had to be digitized and restored to pristine condition while retaining their original character.

Goldcrest Post also faced the task of storing and managing an immense quantity of digital media. “It is difficult to have 90 hours of 16-bit DPX 4K media instantly available on a server at all times,” Tolmachyov explains. “Our management team were constantly rotating and archiving titles according to the work being done.”

Tolmachyov, who has been working with Wiseman since the 1980s, says that the restored films are a revelation and a worthy record of the director’s singular achievement. “They are amazing,” she says. “You can see incredible detail in people’s face, their expressions and their eyes. It makes a huge difference in watching these films.”

The films are part of a retrospective at the Centre Pompidou in Paris that began last fall, as well as at American Cinematheque in Los Angeles and, beginning January 31, Film at Lincoln Center in New York. Additional retrospectives have or will be held in Santa Fe, Austin, Cleveland, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Portland, Maine, Oklahoma City, St. Louis as well as several international venues.  LAW AND ORDER was selected to screen at the Cannes and Toronto Classics in 2024.  MODEL was selected to premiere at the Venice Classics in May 2024 and the New York Film Festival Revivals in September 2024.

The films are available for additional programming worldwide through Zipporah Films. 

Contact Zipporah Films for additional information on Frederick Wiseman and his films www.zipporah.com, karen@zipporah.com