America in Color
From the 1920s through the 1960s, America transformed from a young country on the rise into a global superpower. Using digital colorization technology, we present these formative decades as few have seen them, revisiting 50 vibrant years of good times and great despair, technological triumphs and natural disasters, and global villains and national heroes.
Details
First Aired: 7/2/2017
Languages: English
Type: Documentary
Production
Smithsonian ChannelCountries: United Kingdom, United States of America
Where to watch · US
Seasons
Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
In the early years of TV, from its invention in the 1920s until the mid-'60s, most shows were broadcast in black and white before color TV gained in popularity and become economically viable for broadcasters. That means many historic pieces of video -- including rare home movies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Nixon-Kennedy debate -- have all been relegated to being viewed in the colorless format. "America in Color" looks to change that by restoring and colorizing archival footage from the early 20th century through the '60s. Producers meticulously researched the original colors to make sure the tones are correct when they use revolutionary methods to add the proper hues to footage. Each episode of the hourlong series highlights newly restored footage from a specific decade in the history of the medium.
