Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation, And Gucci Premiere New Leopard Restoration Video For TED2011

This week is the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) Conference down in Long Beach, California. Some of the smartest, geekiest folks in the world gather together to talk about their passions, and how they are changing the world. While it is extremely expensive, and very hard to get into the actual event, the folks at TED do make most of the videos easily accessible online for free. You can watch clips on their website, on YouTube, and now on Hulu Plus.

Late last year I wrote about the new restored print of Visconti’s The Leopard, which Martin Scorsese and Gucci had teamed up for. Gucci is a sponsor of the TED Conference this year, and just released a short minute clip of Scorsese talking about why it is so important that classic films are restored for present and future generations. From what I’ve read, I don’t know if Scorsese is actually giving a full talk at the conference, or if this is just a video that Gucci wanted to share with the world.

There isn’t any news yet about the restored print making it to Blu-ray here in the states yet, but Criterion has made it clear that they are very satisfied with their own Blu-ray transfer. It’s pretty unlikely that they’d release a new one so soon after last year’s Blu-ray, but the new print does look formidable in it’s screenshots.

Here is Criterion’s quote, regarding the new print:

Our master is made from the original negative and from a Blu-ray perspective, we couldn’t ask for a more beautiful piece of film. The color correction was supervised by Giuseppe Rotunno, the cinematographer, and the result is spectacular. The Gucci-sponsored Film Foundation restoration shown at Cannes used our master as a color reference, but it had a different goal ‘” to create newly restored film elements that could yield new theatrical prints and so on.

Thanks to the folks at Open Culture for sharing the video.

Premiering at TED2011, Gucci and The Film Foundation are pleased to present the above video, narrated by Martin Scorsese, demonstrating the power of digital restoration to return Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo to its full glory. Through thousands of hours of modern digital cleaning, color correction and audio restoration, almost 50 years of dirt, scratches and decay have been removed from the original camera negative so that future generations are able to experience this powerful film as it was originally presented.

Inspired by its heritage as an iconic brand, Gucci celebrates the creativity of the past as inspiration for the future. It is the hallmark of the company’s “Forever Now” philosophy — and the foundation for Gucci’s commitment to preserving the work of artists and their legacies.

Celebrating a rich history influenced by film, Gucci has made a long-term commitment to support The Film Foundation’s efforts to save cinematic treasures. The Film Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 1990 by Martin Scorsese and several of his fellow filmmakers. The foundation is dedicated to protecting and preserving motion picture history. Many are not aware that these valuable artifacts of our cultural heritage are in danger of deterioration. Those who work to preserve the films of the first hundred years of cinema are in a race against time.

There is no more powerful way to make clear the preservation message than to provide audiences with the opportunity to experience restored cinematic masterpieces firsthand. Gucci is proud to partner with The Film Foundation to restore and present the works of visionary filmmakers like Luchino Visconti, who have made an enduring contribution to the history of motion pictures.

The restoration of Il Gattopardo has been made possible by Gucci as part of a multi-year partnership with The Film Foundation to add at least one film every year to a growing collection of restored titles that includes A Woman Under The Influence (1974, d. John Cassavetes), Le Amiche (1955, d. Michelangelo Antonioni), Wanda (1970, d. Barbara Loden), Senso (1954, d. Luchino Visconti), Il Gattopardo (1963, d. Luchino Visconti) and La Dolce Vita (1960, d. Federico Fellini).