Universal’s Cassandra Moore Talks Spielberg, Brando, Restoration 

Kicking off the 12^th edition of the International Classic Film Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, guest speaker Cassandra Moore, VP Mastering and Archive at NBC Universal, discussed her company’s vast catalogue and restoration techniques. 

The MIFC runs alongside the Lumière Film Festival, a nine-day event dedicated to heritage cinema, featuring an impressive screening program of over 150 films, mostly classics but also some contemporary titles. 

Among them is Steven Spielberg’s “The Sugarland Express,” which NBC Universal restored in time for its 50th anniversary. The film, which won Best Screenplay in 1974 at the Cannes Film Festival, had its newly restored version screened this year at Cannes Classics, the festival’s section dedicated to repertoire cinema. 

Moore guided the crowd in Lyon through the restoration process, which took six months. After retrieving the original from the vault, the team inspected the negative and audio elements and created a repair report before getting to work. First, they scanned the film in 4K high resolution. Then, the real work began. 

“Our artists – we have an incredible team – clean the dirt and scratches by hand. Those are the most interesting and fun parts, because you really let an artist figure out how to solve that problem,” she explained. “I always think of those almost as a VFX type of thing – can you grab the frame before? Can you grab the frame after to repair that tear? It’s pretty bad but it’s always fixable….” 

Once the repair work was done, it was time for color and sound restoration, which was supervised by Spielberg himself. The end result was very satisfying. “Mr Spielberg said, ‘It’s the best it’s ever looked.’ That was the best accolade ever,” Moore shared. “In Cannes, people were very excited to see it, the sound was great, it looked amazing. It was a very collaborative experience.” 

NBC Universal, which holds a catalog of more than 7,000 films, selects between 10 and 12 to restore each year, with another 120 to 150 films digitally preserved annually. 

While “The Sugarland Express” was an obvious choice ahead of its 50^th anniversary, Moore explained that the selection process for restoration takes several factors into consideration. This year at Lumière, NBCUniversal is screening the recently restored 1958 romantic drama “To Each His Own,” directed by Mitchell Leisen. 

“We try to look at films that are not necessarily blockbusters. It needs to be an important film – maybe it doesn’t have the views that other films have – but it’s significant to the legacy of cinema, the legacy of Universal, and what people need to be exposed to. 

Moore highlighted Leisen as an example of a director whose work deserves more recognition: “He may not be as familiar to audiences as Spielberg. But he’s still a very important director in the history of cinema. And, of course, [“To Each His Own” features] Olivia de Havilland who won the Academy Award [for best actress].”

In 2012, to mark its centenary, Universal launched its Restoration Project. A few years later, it partnered with Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation, which has helped to preserve and restore more than 1,000 films. 

One of their major collaborative efforts was the restoration of “One-Eyed Jacks” (1961), the sole directorial effort by Marlon Brando. The film had fallen into severe disrepair, with surviving prints in poor condition. The restored version premiered at Cannes Classics in 2016, marking a significant achievement in the preservation of classic cinema. 

When asked what she and her team are currently working on, Moore cited Sydney Lumet’s 1978 musical “The Wiz,” starring a young Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Nipsey Russell. 

“It’s a very important film, historically, because it’s where Quincy [Jones] met Michael Jackson and it’s one of the first all-black casts to star in a film,” she said. 

Ensuring the film remains faithful to the original filmmakers’ vision is a top priority, Moore emphasized. “We’re very cautious about creatively taking any license, unless we have someone from the original production to inform us. In this case we brought in [the film’s producer] Quincy Jones, who was there every day on set. He knew Lumet very well.” 

Moore also noted that restoring “The Wiz” was timely, as it coincides with the release of “Wicked” this fall. Both are rooted in L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and the hope is that audiences drawn to the 2024 movie may also be inspired to experience the 1978 version. 

The MIFC continues alongside the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon until Oct. 18.