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Topic: Most Expensive Film Purchase?

Douglas Meltzer
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From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted April 22, 2006 12:58 PM

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We've all been in this situation: Finally, that title you've been wanting for years is on one of the monthly lists or appears on eBay. Or there's that brand new release. An early print run from a pristine negative. How much?.....damn.....but this is my heart's desire....I know I shouldn't....I know I can't really afford to.....I know....I know that I must have it! So you go ahead and buy it or place a huge winning bid.
Which film was it? Was it worth it? I'm not asking the price for two reasons.
1-Value is subjective. If this is something you've wanted for a long time you'd pay way more than I would.
2-Our significant others might check out this post someday.

My most expensive print is the rare scope "Close Encounters". It is a beautiful print, it is one of my favorites, I'm glad I have it but I know I was influenced by the fact that if I bought it I could say "Hey! I have that rare scope print of "Close Encounters"!

Doug

[ April 22, 2006, 03:14 PM: Message edited by: Douglas Meltzer ]

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I think there's room for just one more film.....

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Jan Bister
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From: Ohio, USA
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posted April 22, 2006 01:39 PM

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For me, that would have to be Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. But not really - the price, although somewhat high, was fairly reasonable for this print. If there had been a film I'd have overpaid for, it would've been Goldfinger... alas, I let that one go TWICE (good reasoning having the upper hand in the end) and regret it now! [Mad]

[Mad]

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Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*

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Kevin Faulkner
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From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted April 22, 2006 04:13 PM

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Ditto Doug. Mine is also that scope print of Close Encounters. So now we know where 2 of the 18 copies are. Yes I too can say I have a rare super 8 print. Great picture and stereo sound.

Kev.

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GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.

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Ricky Daniels
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From: London & Kent UK
Registered: Jul 2003

posted April 22, 2006 05:47 PM

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Mine was a Scope boxed print of 2001 and I love it despite the price!

Kevin, don't forget I too own a print of CE3K SE !

...and 2 prints of ALIEN (Lol) [Wink]

[Wink]

All the best, Rick.

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Kevin Faulkner
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From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted April 22, 2006 06:12 PM

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Yes but mines got English titles [Wink]

[Wink]

Ahh yes Alien.....Still got it. Maybe we can do a deal [Wink]

[Wink]

Kev.

--------------------
GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.

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Tom Photiou
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From: Plymouth U.K
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posted April 23, 2006 12:58 PM

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Our most expensive is Gone with the wind. A nice Kodak print from Paul Foster some years back and what a print.

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Mark Todd
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posted April 23, 2006 01:23 PM

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Super 8 print wise Pale Rider optical £120 when things went a bit higher, cheaper now I expect.
16mm 240 LPP dances with wolves from Paul F absolutely superb as well, tip top.
Best Mark.

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Ricky Daniels
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From: London & Kent UK
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posted April 23, 2006 02:51 PM

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Kevin,

You know I'm not sure about the titles on my CE3K SE, I must check the print sometime!

So many prints so little time I hear you say [Wink]

[Wink]

Speak soon,
Ricky

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David Kilderry
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From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Registered: Feb 2006

posted April 23, 2006 11:46 PM

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Whilst not big in dollar terms today; those 400ft digests I bought back in the 1970's almost killed me. As a percentage of my income at the time (pocket money) The Seven Year Itch was a fortune at $59. The US and Australian dollar were about the same value at that time. I think it took almost 6 months of every cent I could grab to aford it. I still have it and it is still one of my favourites.

At around the same time I was buying boxing films, mostly 200ft B & W sound Reel Classics titles. I was particularly buying Ali, Marciano and Joe Louis titles. It was slow going, all on pocket money. About 10 years later I came across an ad in our local trader magazine for over 50 of these very boxing films. I grabbed the lot for less than $250!

Until recently I owned some 70mm features, the purchase of those was still nothing compared to saving up for the Seven Year Itch 50 cents at a time.

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John Clancy
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posted April 24, 2006 03:14 AM

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That's a very good point David. My brother and I spent many months saving up for the 400ft Ken release of 'Alien' and we didn't even have a sound projector. We'd previously hired the extract and a sound projector from the nearest film library and had recorded the sound to cassette. When we finally got our mits on our own copy of the print we had to run it in sync' to the tape. Wilton would have been proud! Though perhaps not if he'd seen most of the botched up screenings where hardly any dialogue matched the lip movements. But what great fun.

Like Ricky, I now have two full length 'Scope prints of 'Alien' (and a copy on 35mm, an extract on 16mm, two copies on laser disc, one on VHS and another on DVD). We must both be nuts. But me more so as I also have two copies of 'Aliens'.

'Spider-Man' is probably the most expensive Super 8 purchase I've ever made but having grown up with the comics and still love them it was worth every penny.

With regards to 'Close Encounters' is it true that the majority of owners of the Super 8 prints (i.e. the Special Edition) have cut them to match the original version as closely as possible? [Wink]

[Wink]

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British Film Collectors Convention home page www.bfcc.biz. The site is for the whole of the film collecting hobby and not just the BFCC.

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Adrian Winchester
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posted April 24, 2006 05:52 AM

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My Super 8 feature has to be a new copy of 'Aliens' bought within about a year of it being released. Not sure excatly what I paid as I reduced the expenditure a bit by part exchanging one or two items. It certainly was worth it in view of the quality and the fact that every reel was fine in every respect - which I can't say I'd always be 100% confident about when buying a stereo 137 minute film! I recall the impact it made at a show, when one or two people remarked that it was like watching the film at a cinema (as opposed so seeing a Super 8 'version' of it).

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Adrian Winchester

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Andrew Wilson
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From: dundonald,belfast,co.antrim,northern ireland.
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posted April 24, 2006 11:15 AM

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my most expensive film to date is THE MUMMY with chris lee and peter cushing.i bought it from derann on the interst free credit terms.its still a good film.andy.

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Andrew Wilson
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posted April 24, 2006 11:16 AM

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my most expensive film to date is THE MUMMY with chris lee and peter cushing.i bought it from derann on the interst free credit terms.its still a good film.andy.p.s. worth every penny.

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Osi Osgood
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posted April 24, 2006 11:20 AM

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My most expensive one was a first day print of STAR WARS, mono, (as they didn't have stereo copies yet) and it's signed by David Prowse (Darth Vader) himself! It's the only film that I'd be willing to pay that much for, ever.

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Osi Osgood
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posted April 24, 2006 11:21 AM

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My most expensive one was a first day print of STAR WARS, mono, (as they didn't have stereo copies yet) and it's signed by David Prowse (Darth Vader) himself! It's the only film that I'd be willing to pay that much for, ever, which was 400 dollars, american, but the sharpness and color are truly outstanding!

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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "

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Andrew Wilson
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posted April 24, 2006 11:32 AM

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yove got a real winner there osi.andy.

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Scott G. Bruce
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Registered: May 2005

posted April 24, 2006 04:09 PM

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I'm having a hard time remembering what I actually paid for some of the films that I've bought, so this is a tough question (especially since I have yet to purchase a brand new film and always try to get a cheap deal). That being said, I am embarressed to say that I did pay a fair amount for my used copy of SON OF KONG . As you guys know, I'm a big fan of old monster movies and particularly love the work of Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen. SON OF KONG is for the most part a dog of a film, but I just couldn't resist.

I suspect that I'll pay much more for KING KONG itself, when I'm lucky enough to get my hands on it.

SGB

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"Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"

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Oemer Yalinkilic
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posted April 24, 2006 04:17 PM

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My most expensive Super8 Film was a brand new print of Return of the Jedi. It was a great print, I sold it many years ago as I bought a mint 16mm Print.
I wanted to buy a new print of Spiderman but I´m not shure if it is worth so much money.
Oemer

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Jim Schrader
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posted April 24, 2006 07:29 PM

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for me it was 2 trantula and it came from outerspace 3-D the outerspace one was bad the frames were out of sync with the sprockets

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jim schrader
"Let's see “do I have that title already?"

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Jean-Marc Toussaint
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posted April 25, 2006 05:55 AM

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Apart from a really big and quite pricey job lot bought at an auction several years ago, the most I spent on a super 8 print was for the original Star Wars. And my most expensive 16mm film is a low fade scope print of Return of the Jedi.

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The Grindcave Cinema Website

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Gary Crawford
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posted April 25, 2006 08:51 AM

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The most expensive 16mm were two mint out of the lab original scope prints of The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only...at 500 dollars each....but this was almost 30 years ago.
The most expensive Super 8 films were bought this past year...250 dollars for a used Derann copy of Cinderella and the same , I believe, for The Little Mermaid. I never regretted buying those two Bond films..which have delivered so much entertainment over the years..and still are. They are holding their color pretty well, too.

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Mike Peckham
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posted April 26, 2006 07:22 PM

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My most expensive purchase was almost certainly 'The World is Not Enough' from Classic Home Cinema, the price of this was higher than average due to its being a mute print that needed to have a sound track recorded on to it. These days I would feel more confident about doing it myself but I was a real 'newby' then so entrusted it to Dave Alligan.

More recently I think my biggest purchase would have been 'Master and Commander'.

However, I guess that as has been said before, it is you guys who have been collecting from the seventies and before who have paid the real big bucks as in real terms cine films are so much cheaper now than they were then [Smile]

[Smile]

.

Mike [Cool]

[Cool]

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Auntie Em must have stopped wondering where I am by now...

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Kevin Faulkner
Film God

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From: Essex UK
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posted April 28, 2006 09:10 AM

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John, My copy of CE3K SE has had the chop job to make it match the original. Great print and stereo sound. Got the extras on a 600ft spool. Wonder of there would be any takers on eBay [Wink]

[Wink]

Kev.

--------------------
GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.

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Jan Bister
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posted April 29, 2006 07:50 AM

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Man, I can't keep up with you people. When L&H's "Way Out West" counts among my major purchases, does that tell you anything? [Big Grin]

[Big Grin]

But it's OK... I've only been at it for a year, I have to remind myself that some of you have been collecting since before I was born. [Smile]

[Smile]

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Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*

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James N. Savage 3
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posted May 03, 2006 06:28 AM

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I think my most expensive purchase was the full length scope/stereo feature of James Cameron's "The Abyss", from Derann. It comes on 5 very full 600 foot reels. I bought it brand new in the late 90's through Dave Thomas Films (a U.S. distributor for Derann products). I think it cost around $600 U.S. dollars at that time. Beautiful print!

Nick.

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