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Posted by Matt Villagomez (Member # 2919) on October 01, 2012, 08:08 PM:
 
I bought a Kiss concert film on Ebay last week. It finally came in the mail. I never even knew this existed. Being the huge Kiss fan I am I had to have it. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone else knew this existed. It is from their 1977 Love Gun tour. The audio and video are out of sync. They just took audio from Alive and Alive II and put it over the video. I'm wondering if I have a rare piece of not just Kisstory but a rare Super 8 film. Just wondering how many of these were made.
 
Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on October 01, 2012, 09:32 PM:
 
Hello Matt!

I am a fan of KISS. I really like the band up to their solo albums. I grew up with them so I have a soft spot for old stuff. Anyway, I have never known of any commercially released super 8 KISS films so maybe this is something that a fan filmed and then added the soundtrack themselves. If so, it seems to me it would be a one of a kind item.

Maybe someone else can chime in if they are aware of Kiss on super 8. What a cool find!

Bill [Smile]
 
Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on October 01, 2012, 09:38 PM:
 
Matt-

I had two KISS Super 8 200ft Color/Silent Films I bought in the early eighties from an add in Circus Magazine!

One was the Love Gun Tour (Ace had on his gold choker) And I believe the other was Alive (75) I used to play my Alive & Alive II records along with em!

I sold them to a KISS Collector in the early nineties when I was touring in an all original band and making about two bucks a week!

Wish I still had 'em!
 
Posted by Matt Villagomez (Member # 2919) on October 01, 2012, 09:39 PM:
 
All I know is that the seller said they bought it from a mail order catalog in the 70's. I'm pretty sure it's not a fan-made film. There are too many different angles.
 
Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on October 02, 2012, 05:39 AM:
 
Thanks Tim for the info.

Is this a sound film Matt? Maybe the sound was added by a fan if it was only available in silent versions?

Bill [Smile]
 
Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on October 02, 2012, 09:06 AM:
 
Sounds like the same films I had. Yeah, it definitely wasn't home movie quality. Like Matt said, I remember many up close shots and plenty of angles.

And I bet you're right Bill, I'll bet they added sound. Mine we're indeed silent/color.

Saw this on ebay myself and almost bought it.

STILL a big KISS fan! \m/ [Mad] \m/

We need to have a Super 8mm, KISS, Godzilla Con!

SUPERZILLAKISSCON 2012
 
Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 02, 2012, 01:40 PM:
 
They sold concert film in SILENT....!!! what is this?

It doesn't make any sense to me.

Did they think we could enjoy music without hearing the music ? [Confused]
 
Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on October 02, 2012, 02:09 PM:
 
I'm presuming that visually it's so outlandish that fans could still gain some enjoyment from it - and anyone playing recirds at the same time wouldn't have had to worry about sync.

This is really interesting as another example of rock music releases that are incredibly hard to find. I wish someone could find a catalogue or list that mentions more. I metioned once in another thread having a rare sound release that lasts about 6 mins and features Alice Copper both off and on stage.
 
Posted by Hugh Thompson Scott (Member # 2922) on October 05, 2012, 03:37 PM:
 
Back in the 70's,not only buying films,but also rock LPs etc,
lists from various corners always turned up and there was one
that had the usual trashy novelties of pop star memorabilia but
also a cornucopia of 8mm film of Elvis concerts, Kiss,Led Zeppelin,
The Rolling Stones and if I remember correctly,they were lengths of between 50' to 100' all silent.The list was a xeroxed affair with
little cartoons etc and ran to about three pages, and it could
have originated from a little company in Wallesey Liverpool.I wish I'd bought a few with hindsight.
 
Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on October 06, 2012, 02:07 PM:
 
WINBERT- I'm SO glad you said something, because I was going crazy thinking, "Am I the only one who thinks its INSANE to release a concert film, in SILENT???

I don't fault the customer. If I was a huge KISS fan, and there is ONLY the option of buying this silent, then I guess its better than nothing. But my question is- WHY would someone even release a concert film.....in silent!... [Roll Eyes]

That seems nuts to me. I would compare it to, maybe, a silent version of "Grease", or a silent version of a famous speech (with no subtitles).

Ok- sorry, I'm done now [Wink] .

James.
 
Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on October 07, 2012, 12:28 AM:
 
I am a Kiss fan and Super 8 buyer since the 70's never knew these existed. Sounds crazy in silent, but there was so much Kiss merchandice I can understand why they were produced.
 
Posted by Timothy Price (Member # 1832) on October 18, 2012, 10:22 AM:
 
Hmmm....I'm wondering if these are some of the same films. They're noted as being color/silent.

The ones that indeed stick out the most for me are the Love Gun and Alive II Silent/Color Super 8 50ft/100ft Films

http://users.erols.com/squabit/KIZZFAN.html
 
Posted by Kenneth DePriest Jr (Member # 3212) on October 18, 2012, 01:07 PM:
 
there was also a film related toy clled Double-Vue that was like a pocket flix or that fisher price thing with the yellow cartridges that was actually on super 8. They had a kiss cart I had it as a kid and wish I still had it. it was only two minutes of silent film though.
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 06, 2013, 05:55 PM:
 
I am very familiar with this film. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Chris, I work on a Kiss 8mm Film Archive Project (kiss8mmfilms on youtube). The film you have (which is different than the ones listed above on the erols website) is called Kiss Gun. It was released in 3 parts. The footage is culminated from raw footage shot in Vancouver, Seattle, and Los Angeles on the Love Gun tour. This film series was sold in magazines. I am actually trying to find out who the filmers were. It was DEFINITELY filmed in the audience by fans. Not professionally done by any means. The post editing was probably done by the person who released it. The concert films were all cut up and pieced together in different orders than they were originally filmed. We've reconstructed the original films back to their individual concerts from these hackup releases, and I'm under the assumption we have most of the footage. Im not sure if it's the same person/people who filmed these 3 shows who did the editing.

I'm acutally trying to track down who might have the master reels that these films came from. Can anyone throw out some names of the US distributors of 1970s concert super 8 films? I can do research, but I am coming up with zero leads with my current searches.

If anyone has any other questions on kiss films in the 1970s, feel free to ask. I have extensive knowledge of the subject.

And of course I'm always on the lookout for master transfers or reels I don't have. Currently I have about 50 kiss 8mm films in my collection ranging from 1974-1985.

Oh and the double vue thing was just silent film of the official "i was made for loving you" and "1979 tour promo" videos.

All the best
 
Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on February 06, 2013, 06:19 PM:
 
Hi Chris-

Do you know if any SOUND super 8mm films of KISS were released?

I'm still baffled by the fact that a concert was recorded with no sound [Confused] .

James.
 
Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on February 06, 2013, 06:21 PM:
 
Wow thanks Chris for the great info and welcome to the forum. As I mentioned before I grew up with KISS in the 1970's heyday and still a fan of that era. I am amazed that you have 50 super 8 films of KISS in your collection. Everyone that has these must keep them. I would LOVE to find some myself.

Any chance of posting a list of your KISS film collection. This would be a great asset to helping in tracking down these films for us film collectors. I'm sorry but I can't answer your question about the distributors. Have you been able to get any info off of the film leaders? If they are original sometimes you can get lab or distributor info from them.

Bill [Smile]
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 06, 2013, 06:23 PM:
 
The only sound film that was released was a copy of the Hotter Than Hell TV Commercial from 1974. The "no sound" thing makes sense from a legal standpoint. The owners of the films could sell them without paying any royalties. And with the advent of home video machines, video version with early (bad) sync jobs were made. I believe the intent on at least a few of these films was to also record the same concert on an audio cassette and "sync" the film later.
 
Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on February 06, 2013, 06:30 PM:
 
Well that's sort of a bummer about them all being silent but the reasoning makes sense. It would still be really nice to own a few.

Bill [Smile]
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 06, 2013, 06:44 PM:
 
A recent list of films that I have copies of are listed below (many are HD transfers of the original reels). I do not have any of these reels myself so sadly I can't find info on leaders. Many of these have been posted on the youtube kiss8mmfilms page. I've since received some more films, but this is pretty current.

Again, if anyone who knows who filmed the "Kiss Gun" series and could help me track down the filmers it would be appreciated. The 1976 New Orleans and Jackson MS films were filmed by the same person and I'm on the hunt for the original reels of those as well. I need better transfers of those. And any other films that might exist that are not on this list, that would be great to know as well.

1974 - 01 - 26 - New York NY
1974 - 02 - 17 - Long Beach CA
1974 - 12 - 22 - London, Ontario Backstage
1975 - 05 - 06 - Milwaukee WI
1975 - 05 - 26 - Portland OR (16mm film)
1975 - 12 - 18 - Waterbury CT
1976 - 01 - 25 - Detroit, MI
1976 - 02 - 04 - Milwaukee WI
1976 - 02 - 13 or 14 - Seattle WA
1976 - 03 - 28 - Springfield MA
1976 - 04 - 22 - Ottawa Ontario
1976 - 05 - 01 - New York - Aces Wedding
1976 - 05 - 28 - Stockholm - from Kiss loves you DVD
1976 - 05 - 28 - Stockholm Sweden v1
1976 - 05 - 28 - Stockholm Sweden v2 (alternate filmer)
1976 - 05 - 30 - Lund Sweden
1976 - 08 - 14 - Atlanta - Peaches Records Instore Appearance
1976 - 09 - 06 - Toronto Ontario
1976 - 11 - 28 - Greenville SC
1976 - 12 - 03 - Jackson, MS
1976 - 12 - 04 - New Orleans LA
1977 - 01 - 22 - Chicago, IL
1977 - 02 - 06 - Minneapolis MN
1977 - 03 - 07 - Hampton, VA
1977 - 07 - 24 - Vancouver BC
1977 - 09- 01 - Houston TX
1977 - 11 - 17 - Denver Colorado
1977 - 12 - 02 - St Paul MN
1977 - 12 - 02 - St Paul MN (2nd version - different filmer)
1977 - "Gun" Tapes (Seattle, Vancouver, Los Angeles)
1978 - 01 - 11 - Huntington WV
1978 - 01 - 15 - Chicago IL
1978 - 01 - 16 - Chicago IL
1978 - 01 - 25 - Buffalo NY
1978 - 05 - 19 - Valencia, CA
1979 - 09- 10 - Huntington WV
1979 - 09 - 22 - Chicago, IL
1979 - 09 - 28 - Minneapolis MN
1980 - 09 - 02 - Milano Italy
1980 - 09 - 05 - Stafford England
1980 - 10 - 10 - Gothenburg Sweden
1980 - 10 - 11 - Copenhagen Denmark
1980 - 10 - 13 - Drammen Norway
1982 - 10 -28 - Creatures Press Conference
1983 - 01 - 04 - Charleston WV - v1
1983 - 01 - 04 - Charleston WV - v2
1985 - 12 - x - Asylum Unknown
 
Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on February 06, 2013, 06:48 PM:
 
Thanks for the response Chris.

That does make more since now and I can see why they would make these in silent format (legal issues).

I guess it would have been fun enough for a kid to make his own soundtrack from his KISS record collection back then.

James.
 
Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on February 06, 2013, 06:57 PM:
 
Thanks for posting the list! If I can find any info I'll be sure to let you know. I just checked out a couple of the films on youtube....AWESOME!

Now did you obtain all these films from the actual people that filmed them? I am assuming if you did and this being original footage that the originals are still owned by the filmmakers themselves?

What films from this list was available to the general public? Any?

Bill [Smile]
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 07, 2013, 05:01 PM:
 
About half the films are freely available at this time.
 
Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on February 07, 2013, 05:55 PM:
 
From where? Are you referring to VHS or DVD copies of these films or just viewing them on youtube?

Bill [Smile]
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 07, 2013, 08:33 PM:
 
Mostly youtube and trading circles right now that I know of. We can't do anything with the films except for youtube with our project because we don't own any of the films, other than having permission from the owners or they don't care and havent come forward to tell us who they are in some cases. If we went any further by pressing DVDs and the like Gene Simmons would be after us. So there ya go.
 
Posted by Matt Villagomez (Member # 2919) on February 07, 2013, 10:10 PM:
 
Doc McGhee would come knocking on your door demanding you give him the DVDs.
I was watching a lot of those videos on You Tube. That's the kind of stuff I wish I had on film. It's really awesome to see audience shot film from the early years. Still a huge Kiss fan.
 
Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on February 08, 2013, 06:24 PM:
 
Thanks for the info.

So was the Kiss Gun 3-parter the only commercially available film issued in 8mm for public sale? My question was referring to what was mass produced and available back in the 70's. I am on the lookout for something I can add to my collection.

Bill [Smile]
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 14, 2013, 02:08 PM:
 
There was the 3 part "Gun" series, Then there was another called "Kiss Canada 1976" which is from Ottawa Ontario in April 1976, during the early part of the Destroyer Tour (while the band was still in the Alive costumes and staging). There was also a 3 part paul lynde halloween special (taped off of tv) with sound and the hotter than hell tv commercial, taped off of tv with sound. I actually have the Hotter Than Hell commercial film. I'd be willing to sell it.
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 15, 2013, 10:17 AM:
 
Ahh good news I guess. I found the name of the person who originally made these films I listed in the previous post available. His name was Paul Giles. Anyone familiar with him? He was in Burbank California back then. Here's the ad as it appeared in a magazine in 1977. (This po box probably does not work anymore!)

 -

[ February 15, 2013, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: Chris Davis ]
 
Posted by Adam McCreath (Member # 3500) on February 20, 2013, 06:35 AM:
 
quote:
Ahh good news I guess. I found the name of the person who originally made these films I listed in the previous post available. His name was Paul Giles. Anyone familiar with him? He was in Burbank California back then. Here's the ad as it appeared in a magazine in 1977. (This po box probably does not work anymore!)

[ February 15, 2013, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: Chris Davis ]

Chris;

This may be a stupid suggestion but did you ever try contacting Gene Simmons directly? As difficult as that may be I beleive he kept one of just about everything that ever had the KISS name on it (except for unauthorized merchandice I suppose)? If there is master films still in exsistance he probably has them in his vaults. Make a busienss proposal and you never know; maybe you might hear back from his "people" if he can make a dime of your project. I'd buy them and so would millions of other people.

KISS ROCKS!!
 
Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on February 20, 2013, 08:52 AM:
 
Fascinating to see the other major names that appear in the ad above. There must be plenty 'out there' and yet they almost never ever come up for sale. Maybe a lot were wrecked via heavy use on the cheapest silent projectors.
 
Posted by Matt Villagomez (Member # 2919) on February 20, 2013, 01:26 PM:
 
Chris, how much would you want for the Hotter Than Hell commercial?
 
Posted by Chris Davis (Member # 3531) on February 20, 2013, 02:48 PM:
 
Contacting Gene directly is the worst idea in the world. Gene only takes, does not give. I know what is in the Kiss vaults. It's not much. Most of what appears on Kissology came from fans or TV Studios and various video archive houses. The fans have all the good stuff.
 


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