America In Color (Smithsonian 2017)

From Prohibition and the Jazz Age to the moon landing and the birth of rock and roll, many of the greatest, most significant events of the 20th century have only been experienced in the black and white footage available at the time.

America In Color a new five-part series from Smithsonian Channel, presents many of these iconic moments in U.S. history as never before seen – using artistry and cutting-edge technology to transform black-and-white films and photographs from the 1920s to the 1960s. Decade by decade, the story of America, its people and its culture are given new life and shown in vibrant color for the first time.

The expansive series takes viewers on a visually stunning journey through American history – including fascinating footage of illegal drinking in speakeasies during the 1920s, rare home movies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression, scenes of the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Elvis Presley’s television debut on the Ed Sullivan Show, and the Nixon-Kennedy debate. Using revolutionary methods in footage restoration and colorization, AMERICA IN COLOR accurately restores and colorizes archival black-and-white visuals from the early part of the 20th century up through the ’60’s.

Filmmakers meticulously researched original colors to confirm the correct tones from each era and used source materials from obscure archives and forgotten family vaults.

cast
Liev Schreiber as Narrator

key behind the scenes crew
Charles Poe as Executive Producer (Smithsonian)
David Royle as Executive Producer (Smithsonian)
John Cavanagh as Executive Producer (Smithsonian)
Lucie Ridout as Producer
Nick Metcalfe as Executive Producer

show type
documentary

broadcast from
Sunday, July 2 2017
1 season with 5 episodes in total.

network and production companies
Smithsonian Channel – Arrow Media