Edward Eisenberg and DuArt

Edward Eisenberg
Born: October 23, 1921, Jersey City, Hudson County, New Jersey
Died: October 17, 2010, Naples, Collier County, Florida
Relation to Author: Grandfather-in-Law
Paternal Grandfather of Rebecca Eisenberg

I met Edward Eisenberg one month before Becky's and my wedding in 2009 (and one of the biggest joys of our wedding was that Edward and his wife Gloria - Grandpa and Grandma - were able to attend the wedding). We visited Edward and Gloria at their home in Naples, Florida. As a new acquaintance, I was able to ask Edward about his life story. He told me about the many different jobs he had.

When asked what his favorite job was, he said quickly and emphatically that it was working at DuArt. Located in midtown Manhattan, New York, DuArt was / is a film processing lab for motion pictures - perhaps the premier film processing lab for motion pictures on the east coast.

When filming a movie, the film negatives from a day of shooting were sent to DuArt for processing (motion picture film, like still camera film, needs to be developed from the negatives). After processing, the developed film (I think they call this the "dailies") was sent back to the film crew (director, producers, etc) to review the day's shooting. This all had to happen quickly so that the film crew could watch the dallies and make decisions about the next day's shooting.

Edward talked about retrieving the negatives from the airport (the negatives having flown in from the picture shoot from somewhere on the East Coast), having them processed, then sending them back for review by the director and staff. He loved the job and I can see why. To know you are involved in movie-making, at a time when Hollywood was probably even more glamorous than it is now, must have been terribly exciting.

Unfortunately, there is still a lot I don't know. The conversation with Edward was pretty general. So I don't know exactly when he worked there, what specifically he did, and what movies the studio worked on while he was there. I will see if I can get that information.


DuArt is still in operation today, providing picture and sound support. From their website:

Picture: Since 1922, DuArt has been a leader in the field of moving image post. From black and white to color, from 16mm and 35mm to Red Camera workflows, from nitrate film to Blu-Ray and file-based delivery, we enjoy being present at the creation.

Sound: From our own sound printing process in 1929 to the 7.1 audio of today, the path to great sound has always led to DuArt. We provide sound design, mixing, scoring, dubbing for localization, and digital restoration services that are second to none; our highly skilled audio staff crafts the sound for your project to the highest standard.

So they have changed with the changing technology to continue to support the industry. But one thing has changed - Du Art has gone digital. Gone are the days of traditional film processing, as Edward knew it.