A talk with Ned Price: Warner Brothers, Mastering Vice President

Reviewed by Charles Starr Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival.

Getting the chance to sit down with Ned Price, was a fantastic opportunity. The impressively humble Price, was there to answer our questions, and give us isight into the world of remeasuring. What comes across first, is his passion for his work and the dedication this man has to it. I learned so much in the all to brief Q and A we had with him. I could have spent the better part of the day asking questions about this art-form and why it is so important.

Part detective, part film scholar, part artist. Ned Price is taking on a huge job, one that is vital in keeping the history of film tangible, for the next generation of film buffs. A small staff of about fourteen people, headed by Price, are charged with the task of locating, cataloging, and finely remastering films. Over the decades these films have been strewn throughout the country and in some cases overseas. Dealing with miss-labeled, wrongly categorized  film canisters, and in some cases improperly stored and damaged film, makes this task all that more monumental. All this detective work and archeology has to be done, before they can get there hands on the film for remastering. Mr.price and his team were recently charged with the task of remastering some of Stanley Kubrick greatest works, Including A Clockwork Orange. (Ned had to fly to the Kubrick estate, outside London to retrieve the original film for remastering.)

For me this was one of the highlights of the festival. Getting to sit down with someone that has such a key roll in protecting and restoring historic films, was an incredible privilege. A true connoisseur and fan of film, Ned Price and his team are some of the film industries unsung heroes.

So on behalf of this generation and the next.

Thank you.