Satyajit Ray’s masterpieces ( Pather Panchali , Aparajito , Apur Sansar ) were in catastrophic condition. The original camera negatives had been damaged in a fire, and surviving prints were scratched, spliced, and warped. Working with the and Criterion , TFF funded a four-year, $250,000 restoration. Restorers sourced elements from the British Film Institute, the Library of Congress, and even a positive print from Ray’s own collection. The 2015 restoration allowed modern audiences to experience Ray’s humanist masterpiece as it was always meant to be seen.
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.
Since its inception in 1990, The Film Foundation (TFF) has helped restore and preserve more than , safeguarding cinematic history for future generations. Founded by Martin Scorsese and a board of legendary directors—including Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and Christopher Nolan—the foundation works with archives and studios to rescue deteriorating masterpieces from the "ravages of time". The Mission: Why Restoration Matters films restored by the film foundation
The most beautiful aspect of The Film Foundation’s work is accessibility. While many of these restorations premiere at the Cannes or Telluride film festivals, they eventually reach the public.
A recent 4K digital restoration premiered at the TCM Classic Film Festival . George A. Romero Satyajit Ray’s masterpieces ( Pather Panchali , Aparajito
is the primary home for these restorations. Over 300 films restored by The Film Foundation are available on physical disc and their streaming channel, The Criterion Channel. Notable box sets include Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project (Volumes 1, 2, and 3), which collect exactly these rarities.
: Technicians at labs like Cineteca di Bologna manually clean and repair fragile film reels. Restorers sourced elements from the British Film Institute,
The next time you queue up a classic movie, check the credits. If you see the logo of The Film Foundation—a clapperboard wrapped in a strip of film—know that you are not watching a relic. You are watching a resurrection. And thanks to them, your grandchildren will be able to watch it too.
Satyajit Ray’s masterpieces ( Pather Panchali , Aparajito , Apur Sansar ) were in catastrophic condition. The original camera negatives had been damaged in a fire, and surviving prints were scratched, spliced, and warped. Working with the and Criterion , TFF funded a four-year, $250,000 restoration. Restorers sourced elements from the British Film Institute, the Library of Congress, and even a positive print from Ray’s own collection. The 2015 restoration allowed modern audiences to experience Ray’s humanist masterpiece as it was always meant to be seen.
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.
Since its inception in 1990, The Film Foundation (TFF) has helped restore and preserve more than , safeguarding cinematic history for future generations. Founded by Martin Scorsese and a board of legendary directors—including Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola, and Christopher Nolan—the foundation works with archives and studios to rescue deteriorating masterpieces from the "ravages of time". The Mission: Why Restoration Matters
The most beautiful aspect of The Film Foundation’s work is accessibility. While many of these restorations premiere at the Cannes or Telluride film festivals, they eventually reach the public.
A recent 4K digital restoration premiered at the TCM Classic Film Festival . George A. Romero
is the primary home for these restorations. Over 300 films restored by The Film Foundation are available on physical disc and their streaming channel, The Criterion Channel. Notable box sets include Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project (Volumes 1, 2, and 3), which collect exactly these rarities.
: Technicians at labs like Cineteca di Bologna manually clean and repair fragile film reels.
The next time you queue up a classic movie, check the credits. If you see the logo of The Film Foundation—a clapperboard wrapped in a strip of film—know that you are not watching a relic. You are watching a resurrection. And thanks to them, your grandchildren will be able to watch it too.