In 1990, director Martin Scorsese received a stark warning from a studio archivist: over half of all American films made before 1950 had already been lost forever, and the rate of decay was accelerating. Shocked into action, Scorsese gathered a group of fellow directors—including Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg—to form a non-profit organization with a simple, monumental mission: to preserve and present moving images.
: Using original references, restorers balance color and reconstruct audio from multiple sources to match the film's first release. Key Educational Impact
Scorsese formed The Film Foundation with a board of directors including Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Francis Ford Coppola, Clint Eastwood, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, Sydney Pollack, Robert Redford, and Steven Spielberg. Their mission: to ensure that future generations could see the films that changed their lives exactly as they were meant to be seen.
The Film Foundation has restored numerous iconic films, including: