Universal Appeal: Studio Celebrates Centenary

As Universal Pictures celebrates its 100 year anniversary it is re-releasing old classics for a new generation to enjoy.

As the oldest studios in America it has an extensive archive but some of the films have been damaged, discoloured or are just in need of updating for a 21st-century audience.

Thirteen titles have been chosen including Jaws, ET, To Kill A Mockingbird, Schindler's List and Out Of Africa to be remastered.

Technicians have spent many hours manipulating individual frames to repair the footage, sometimes using the original camera negative used to shoot the movies.

Universal, based in Los Angeles, is the home of many iconic films, like War Of The Worlds and Psycho.

However it is also still a working studios with as many as 20 productions being shot there at any one time, including TV series Desperate Housewives.

Over the years it has had to adapt as technology and audiences have evolved, as its co-chairman Donna Langley explained to Sky News.

"The studio in the old days contracted their players to work exclusively with them. The other big change is the way films are made," she said.

"Today technology is king, it's taken over everything and back in the early days it was a screenplay and a director and an actor and that package got put together.

"Today it's a little bit more complicated."

To celebrate its centenary there will also be a special gala on the lot featuring many of the artists and filmmakers who shaped the studio's history, as well as many other events.