All language subtitles for Restoring The Civil War

KEN BURNS: THANKS TO
BANK OF AMERICA,

OUR CORPORATE UNDERWRITER,

AND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC
BROADCASTING AND PBS,

WE ARE DOING A 4K RESTORATION
OF THE "CIVIL WAR" SERIES.

TO ALLOW A NEW GENERATION TO SEE
IT AS BEAUTIFUL AS POSSIBLE,

UM, AND TO INTRODUCE THE WAR
AND THOSE CHARACTERS

AND LET THEM FEEL IT,

UH, THE WAY WE MEANT
PEOPLE TO FEEL IT

WHEN WE--WHEN WE FIRST MADE IT--

I MEAN, IT STILL WORKS THAT WAY.

WHEN WE SHOT "THE CIVIL WAR,"

STANDARD TELEVISION
HAD A RESOLUTION

OF 480 LINES VERTICALLY,

AND HIGH-DEFINITION TELEVISION
IS 1,920 LINES.

WE ARE NOW TRANSFERRING
THAT MATERIAL

SHOT 30 YEARS AGO INTO
ULTRA HIGH DEFINITION 4K,

WHICH HAS 3,840 LINES
OF RESOLUTION.

SO THE ABILITY TO TAKE THAT
MATERIAL, THAT'S 30 YEARS OLD,

THAT WOULD HAVE INITIALLY BEEN
TRANSFERRED AT 480 LINES

AND BRING IT TO VIEWERS AT HOME
AT 3,840 LINES

IS AN INCREDIBLE TESTAMENT TO
THE ARCHIVAL POWER OF THAT FILM.

NOW, WITH A CHANCE TO DO 4K
RESTORATION OF THE ORIGINAL,

IT'S GONNA BE AMAZING TO LOOK AT
ON THE BIG SCREEN

AND ON YOUR HOME TELEVISIONS.

THE FIRST STEP IN
THE PRESERVATION PROCESS

IS CALLED CONSERVATION,

AND THAT'S WHERE MOTION PICTURE
FILM IS SO EXTRAORDINARY.

IT IS A CARRIER OF MOVING IMAGES

THAT CAN LAST FOR A VERY LONG
TIME IF IT IS PROTECTED

IN APPROPRIATE
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS.

AT GEORGE EASTMAN HOUSE,
WE STORE A SAFETY FILM

IN VAULTS WITH 40 DEGREES
FAHRENHEIT TEMPERATURE

AND 30% RELATIVE HUMIDITY.

OUR VAULTS HAVE CONSTANT
AIR FILTERING AND CIRCULATION.

"THE CIVIL WAR" WAS SHOT
IN THE LATE EIGHTIES

ON KODAK STOCK.

UM, IN THE LATE NINETIES,
IT WAS THEN STORED

AT THE GEORGE EASTMAN
HOUSE VAULTS.

SO WHEN WE GOT THE FILM
OUT OF THE VAULTS,

UH, WE FOUND OUT THAT THE FILM
WAS BEAUTIFULLY CONSERVED.

THE FIRST STEP
IN THE WHOLE PROCESS

WAS INSPECTING EACH REEL OF FILM
AND CHECKING THAT THE SPLICES

WERE STRONG ENOUGH TO GO THROUGH
THE PRESERVATION PROCESS.

THIS WAS AN EDITED NEGATIVE,

SO IT HAD A VERY HIGH NUMBER
OF SPLICES THAT ARE THE JOINTS

THAT PUT TOGETHER
TWO PIECES OF FILM.

OVER THE YEARS, SPLICES
CAN BECOME BRITTLE AND OPEN UP,

SO WE NEEDED TO CHECK THAT
THE SPLICES WOULD NOT POP OPEN

DURING THE PROCESS.

AGAIN THE FILM WAS
IN GREAT CONDITION,

AND ONLY A COUPLE OF REELS
NEEDED SPECIAL ATTENTION,

AND WE FIXED SPLICES
USING, AGAIN, CEMENT

OR A SPECIAL TAPE FOR FILM.

"A" AND "B" CUTTING IS A VERY
SMART WAY TO HIDE SPLICES

FROM, UH, THE FINAL PRINT.

BACK IN THE OLD DAYS,
WHEN WE CUT THE NEGATIVE,

IN 16 MILLIMETER YOU HAD TO
CREATE WHAT ARE CALLED

"A" AND "B" ROLLS.

CURRO: BASICALLY
IN "A" AND "B" ROLLS,

A FILM, ORIGINAL CAMERA
NEGATIVE, IS EDITED TOGETHER

WITH BLACK LEADER
IN A CHECKERBOARD FASHION.

BARNES: AND SO THAT YOU WOULD
CHECKERBOARD THE EDITS

ACROSS THE "A" AND "B" ROLLS,

SO SHOT 1 1S ON "A" ROLL,
SHOT 2 ON "B" ROLL,

SHOT 3 ON "A" ROLL.

UH, SO WHILE SPLICES ARE PRESENT
IN THE NEGATIVE,

ONCE THE TWO ROLLS ARE PRINTED
ONE AFTER THE OTHER,

SPLICES WILL NOT BE
VISIBLE IN A PRINT.

THE NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS
WAS CLEANING FILM.

ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVES ARE
USUALLY HANDLED VERY LITTLE,

AND SO THE FILM WAS VERY CLEAN.

SO THE PASS IN OUR ULTRASONIC
FILM CLEANER

WAS NEEDED ONLY
IN ORDER TO REMOVE

VERY FINE PARTICLES OF DUST.

THE THIRD STEP WAS SCANNING.

WE SCANNED THE FILM
ON OUR ARRAY SCANNER AT 4K,

AND WE ALSO CREATED
AN INFRARED MATTE

IN ORDER TO HELP THE FURTHER
STEPS IN THE PROCESS.

THEY WERE ABLE TO SCAN
ALL OF THAT NEGATIVE,

OVER 50,000 FEET OF
16-MILLIMETER NEGATIVE,

AND FROM THERE,

I CUT EVERY SINGLE SHOT
BACK TOGETHER DIGITALLY,

UH, AND FROM THAT REMOVED
ALL THE BLACK

AND THEN CUT THEM TOGETHER
INTO ONE SEAMLESS LINE,

AND THIS WAS ALL BASED
ON THE ORIGINAL GUIDE,

THE BROADCAST GUIDE.

CUT IT TOGETHER FRAME BY FRAME
ALL THE WAY THROUGH

OVER 11 HOURS
OF DOCUMENTARY FILM.

AND FROM THAT POINT, WE GO
INTO WHAT'S CALLED GRADING,

WHICH IS THE COLOR CORRECTION
OF THE ENTIRE SERIES.

THE NEGATIVE, WHEN IT FIRST
COMES UP, IT ALMOST HAS

A BLACK-AND-WHITE MONOTONE
QUALITY TO IT.

IT COMES UP VERY FLAT,
AND BY "FLAT," I MEAN

JUST LIFTED BLACKS, HIGHLIGHTS
ARE KIND OF SUPPRESSED,

SO IT LOOKS VERY KIND OF FLAT.

IT HAS NO CONTRAST.

WE WOULD SIMPLY
START BY ADDING CONTRAST

AND SEE WHERE THE IMAGE
IS NATURALLY TAKING US.

WITHIN THAT, THEN WE CAN
PULL OUT THE BLACKS

AND PULL OUT THE WHITES AND SEE
MORE INFORMATION WITHIN THAT

AND ALSO HAVE MORE
WITHIN ALL THE COLOR.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE CANNON SHOT,

ALL THE DETAILS THAT
WERE ON THE CANNON--

THERE WAS LITTLE HIGHLIGHTS
ON TOP OF THE CANNON--

THAT'S BEEN RESTORED.

IT WAS IN THE ORIGINAL NEGATIVE.

IT'LL BE IN THIS NEW--NEW REDO,
THE NEW, RESTORED VERSION.

BEFORE, YOU HAD PRETTY MUCH
YELLOW AND A LITTLE BIT OF BLUE.

NOW YOU CAN SEE LITTLE WISPS
OF PURPLE, OF PINK,

ALL THESE DIFFERENT COLORS
AND SO MUCH MORE DETAIL

WITHIN EVEN THE GRASS,
THE DETAILS IN THE GRASS

AND THE CANNON.

BARNES: THE INCREASED DETAIL
IN THE IMAGERY

IS- IS GOING TO ACTUALLY DRAW
THE AUDIENCE IN MORE.

YOU CAN SEE
PEOPLE'S EYES CLEARER.

UH, YOU CAN SEE DETAILS
OF THE BATTLEFIELDS MORE.

YOU CAN SEE DETAILS OF GUNS
AND CLOTHING.

THE LOCATIONS ARE CLEARER.

I MEAN, YOUR EYE IS JUST
TOTALLY CAPTIVATED

BY THE RICHNESS OF THE DETAIL
IN THESE PHOTOGRAPHS.

BUT I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT
THING IS SEEING PEOPLE'S EYES.

I MEAN, YOU CAN REALLY SEE
INTO GRANT'S FACE

OR LINCOLN'S FACE,

AND THERE'S SOMETHING MUCH
MORE EMOTIONALLY TELLING

THAT'S COMING THROUGH
IN PEOPLE'S EXPRESSIONS

BECAUSE OF THE DETAIL,
UH, IN THE FACES,

AND I THINK THAT'S THE BIGGEST
CHANGE THAT--THAT--

THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SEE.

16 1S IN SOME WAYS A DIFFICULT
MEDIUM TO DEAL WITH

IN CONTEMPORARY USAGE, BOTH FOR
BROADCAST AND FOR THE CINEMA,

AND SO THE FACT THAT THE PROJECT
WAS DONE IN 16.

EVEN THOUGH IT WAS
EXQUISITELY MADE AT THE TIME,

IT WAS--IT'S SUBJECT
TO ALL THE LIMITATIONS

OF 16 MILLIMETER PHOTOGRAPHY.

AND PARTICULARLY, IMAGE
STABILITY WE FOUND TO BE

SOMETHING WHERE WE--BOTH
THERE WERE CHALLENGES,

AND THERE WAS ALSO
THE OPPORTUNITY

TO MAKE THE PROGRAM, UH, TO
REVEAL QUALITIES IN THE PROGRAM

THAT HAD NEVER BEEN
VISIBLE BEFORE,

BECAUSE DYNAMIC
RESOLUTION IS AFFECTED

BY IMAGE STABILITY, AND SO
WE WERE ABLE TO TEASE OUT

OF BUDDY'S, YOU KNOW,
BEAUTIFUL PHOTOGRAPHY

MORE DETAIL AND MORE
CONTENT, ACTUALLY,

BECAUSE WE HAD A ROCK-SOLID,
STABLE IMAGE

AND WE WERE ALSO ABLE TO DO
FURTHER STABILIZATION.

AND THAT'S--IT HAS BOTH BEEN
TRICKY AND ALSO VERY REVEALING,

AND, UM, I'VE BEEN VERY PLEASED

WITH THE WAY
THAT IT'S TURNED OUT.

WE ARE BASICALLY TRANSFORMING,
AND WE'RE STABILIZING AN IMAGE

THAT ONCE, BECAUSE OF
THE NATURE OF 16 MILLIMETER,

TENDED TO BOUNCE,
AND YOU DON'T NOTICE IT

IF YOU'RE LOOKING
AT ACTION IN A FILM,

BUT IF YOU'RE SHOOTING
AN ARCHIVE--

OH, BY THE WAY,
THAT'S 90% OF OUR FILM--

THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF BOUNCE,
UM, AND NOW IT'S ALL STABILIZED,

AND THE IMAGES ARE
WOVEN TOGETHER

WITH A KIND OF PRECISENESS.

THEY'RE MUCH CLEARER
AND SHARPER.

THEY'RE--THEY'RE
BETWEEN WHAT I SHOT

AND WHAT I HELD IN MY HAND NOW,
AND THAT'S MIND-BLOWING.

THE ARCHIVES JUST
JUMP OUT AT YOU.

THE DETAILS ARE BETTER.
THE WHITES ARE WHITER.

THE BLACKS ARE RICHER
AND DEEPER AND MORE INVITING.

THE GRAIN IS--IS
DIMINISHED A LITTLE BIT,

AND IT IS A REVOLUTION.

I MEAN, IT'S SO MOVING
THAT I'VE CRIED SEVERAL TIMES

JUST LOOKING AT THINGS--

THE FAMOUS ICONIC
CANNON SHOT AT SUNSET

THAT ALLEN MOORE TOOK

IS NOW THE WAY
WE SAW IT, YOU KNOW?

IT'S THE WAY WE
EXPERIENCED THOSE THINGS.

LEWARS: AND SO THERE'S
THIS ONE SHOT IN PARTICULAR--

IT'S THE BRIDGE AT ANTIETAM,
AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT IT,

AND YOU'RE JUST, LIKE, YOU KNOW,
IS THIS REAL?

AND THEN SUDDENLY
YOU SEE WATER MOVE,

AND YOU SEE LEAVES
BLOWING IN THE WIND,

AND YOU SEE A BIRD FLY BY,

AND WE'LL SWITCH BACK--
WE HAVE THE OLD REFERENCE,

THE--THE ORIGINAL PASS,

AND NOW--JUST TO COMPARE IT
TO WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THE 4K,

UPDATED PASS,
AND IT IS JUST STUNNING.

IT'S LIKE ALL THE DETAIL,
YOU GET BACK.

THE THINGS YOU CAN SEE
IN THE TREE

AND THE LEAVES AND THE WATER,
AND YOU JUST SIT THERE,

AND SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, I'M
WORKING WITH DAN IN THE ROOM,

AND WE'LL JUST HAVE TO TAKE
A BEAT, TAKE A BREATH,

AND WE'LL JUST SIT THERE AND
ENJOY THE IMAGE FOR A MINUTE.

YOU KNOW, WE'LL TAKE
A PAUSE FROM WORK,

AND WE'LL LOOK AT IT
AND TAKE IT IN

AND JUST REALIZE, YOU KNOW,
WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE

IS REALLY ADDING
TO OUR HISTORY

FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

WE'LL BE LONG GONE AND DEAD,
AND PEOPLE WILL STILL

BE WATCHING THIS
REMASTERED VERSION,

WHICH I'M VERY EXCITED ABOUT.

UH, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT
FILM THAT'S SO MAGICAL,

SO WE STILL ARE OUT.

UH, WE'RE WORKING ON A SERIES
ON THE VIETNAM WAR

TO COMPLETE A TRILOGY
OF THE CIVIL WAR,

THE WAR ABOUT--THE SECOND WORLD
WAR, AND NOW THE VIETNAM WAR,

AND--AND ALLEN MOORE
IS STILL WORKING ON IT,

BUDDY SQUIRES--WE'RE STILL
SHOOTING FILM, MOST OF THE TIME

TO GET THE KIND OF
QUALITY THAT WE WANT,

AND WHILE GEORGE LUCAS HIMSELF
ONCE SAT ME DOWN

AND TRIED TO PROVE TO ME
THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE

AND IN FACT I COULDN'T
TELL THE DIFFERENCE,

I--1 STILL FEEL
THE DIFFERENCE ABOUT IT,

AND SO THAT'S WHAT MATTERS.

WE'VE CONVERTED MOSTLY TO
DIGITAL EVERYTHING,

INCLUDING SHOOTING, BUT WE HOLD
ON TO A LITTLE BIT OF-

OF THE OLD FORM, JUST AS,
YOU KNOW, YOU WANT TO JUST

NOT DO EVERYTHING ON A--
ON A--SOME COMPUTER PROGRAM.

YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO TAKE
YOUR BRUSH AND DIP IT IN PAINT.

KEN HAS JUST CREATED
THIS AMAZING BODY OF WORK

ABOUT WHO WE ARE AS AMERICANS

AND--AND WHAT AMERICA IS
AS A COUNTRY.

IF YOU LOOK AT HIS BODY
OF WORK AS A WHOLE,

IT'S AN AMAZING PORTRAIT OF WHO
WE ARE AS A PEOPLE

AND AS A NATION,

UM, AND I THINK EACH ONE
OF THOSE FILMS

IS A KIND OF PART OF A LARGE
MOSAIC THAT HE'S BEEN CREATING

OVER HIS CAREER IN TERMS OF

WHAT THIS AMERICAN
DEMOCRACY IS ALL ABOUT

AND WHO WE ARE AS A PEOPLE
AND AS A NATION.

KEN BURNS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR

DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKERS
OF OUR TIME.

THIS IS THE REASON WHY GEORGE
EASTMAN HOUSE IS SO PROUD

TO BE PRESERVING HIS WORK.

"THE CIVIL WAR" IS ONE OF
HIS GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS.

IT IS THE ULTIMATE VISUAL
HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR,

SO IT IS ONLY NATURAL FOR US TO
CONSIDER THE PRESERVATION

OF THIS FILM AS A CONTRIBUTION
TO THE CULTURAL HERITAGE

OF OUR TIME.

PRESERVING "THE CIVIL WAR"

IS, IN A WAY, PRESERVING
A BIT OF HISTORY.

IT IS A MODERN INTERPRETATION,
A MODERN ANALYSIS

OF ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT MOMENTS

IN THE HISTORY
OF THE UNITED STATES.

MAN: FORGIVE MY MANY FAULTS

AND THE MANY PAINS
I HAVE CAUSED YOU.

HOW THOUGHTLESS, HOW FOOLISH
I HAVE SOMETIMES BEEN.

BUT, OH, SARAH, IF THE DEAD CAN
COME BACK TO THIS EARTH

AND FLIT UNSEEN AROUND
THOSE THEY LOVE,

I SHALL ALWAYS BE WITH YOU,
ON THE BRIGHTEST DAY

AND THE DARKEST NIGHT--

ALWAYS, ALWAYS.

AND WHEN THE SOFT BREEZE
FANS YOUR CHEEK,

IT SHALL BE MY BREATH,;

OR THE COOL AIR,
YOUR THROBBING TEMPLE--

IT SHALL BE MY SPIRIT
PASSING BY.

SARAH, DO NOT MOURN ME DEAD.

THINK I AM GONE
AND WAIT FOR ME,

FOR WE SHALL MEET AGAIN.