TCM Classic Film Festival 2012: Red Carpet Interviews

Could you say a few words about the importance of film preservation?
Leonard Maltin: It’s crucially important because we’ve lost films already, there are films that are commonplace because they’re available on home video, but they haven’t been properly taken care of. Until you can screen it in a theater on a theater screen, it hasn’t really been preserved and that’s the essential part.

It doesn’t really matter whether we argue about 35MM or digital; it’s just that the job has to be done. It has to be done properly, then stored and cared for. It’s surprising how many films haven’t had that happen yet.