of NBC Universal at the Lumière film festival 
 

PostED ON 19.10.2024

Vice President of Mastering and Archives at NBC Universal, Cassandra Moore, redefines the concept of restoration, notably with her presentation of Mitchell Leisen's To Each His Own, restored by Universal Pictures USA.

© Jean-Luc Mège

What does film restoration involve? 

We carry out high-resolution scans and capture original film images and audio elements so that experienced artists can clean and restore the digital images and sound. The challenges we face are often due to the age of the components and their deterioration. At times, the images are damaged or the sound is missing. Certain repairs were not possible to undertake until the last ten years. To date, NBC Universal has restored over 150 films.

How do you select films to be restored?

We work closely with the archival community and festivals around the world, as well as with our in-house team of experts, to select works that are of interest to the public. We take into consideration the history of our collection and choose films that will be celebrating an anniversary or works that feature acclaimed talent or exceptional narrative intrigue. 

Can you tell us about the restoration of To Each His Own ?

It was a difficult restoration, carried out in 2022. We borrowed a print of the film negative from the archives of the Film and Television Department of UCLA. The original elements contained damage that required extensive cleaning of dirt, and multiple scratches that were sometimes hard  to remove. We work with some incredible artists at our facility, StudioPost, who are very experienced in removing this damage while maintaining the quality of the image and audio. Mitchel Leisen is an important director and Olivia De Havilland won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1947 for this film.

What is your next restoration project/challenge?

We digitally preserve about 125 films a year and we want to ensure that all our films can be available for future generations. Universal Pictures is committed to restoring and preserving its historic library.

Interviewed by Laura Lépine