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Author
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Topic: The Terminator (Stereo)
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Lee Mannering
Film God
Posts: 3216
From: The Projection Box
Registered: Nov 2006
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posted January 31, 2007 05:37 AM
Right from the start Arnold Schwarzenegger has always been a box office draw. It’s no surprise then to see a number of his films on Super 8mm, along with a host of trailers. As Arnold nears his 60th birthday it is almost as though I have grown up with him as I have followed his career, seen all his films and collected the t shirts as they say. Fortunately Derann Films handled the Super 8 mastering and distribution of the now cult classic film The Terminator, so with Derann in mind we were assured a good quality print once parting with our money. As of last night I now have a print of The Terminator so am pleased to put this short review together.
Like many I have the DVD of the movie and the DLP video projector to go with it, but something is lacking to my mind with video projection. It could be the clinical way we now have to have our digital media. Many new releases are boasting remastering where dust is removed from master material prior to glass master for DVD release and distribution. The case for the Super 8 version is strong then, as I feel it has an organic look to it, real if you like, and certainly a joy to watch.
The film was released in 1984 and directed by James Cameron now well known for other popular movies, and the story is based around a machine which has to eliminate Sarah Conner whose unborn son will lead the human race to victory in a bitter future war with a race of machines. A computer called Skynet from the year 2029 is fighting against a human resistance and The Terminator is sent back in time to sort the job out but has to find Conner first to execute her and its mission.
The film is full of Ray Harryhousen style anima tic back projection sequences for the future sequences as computer techniques were very limited at this time. Stop motion animation was used for the skeletal Terminator for instance, and also matched with medium close ups in studio. The whole film is quite unique in that is catapulted Arnold to dizzy stardom heights, along with director Cameron.
The Terminator is a dark masterful movie, but does have a few wobbly bits. Some could say the stop motion could have been better, but the film only had what was at that time a small budget so more money would have helped. Today the role of Sarah Conner is regarded as one of the best female roles and I would agree. The Terminator is also listed as one of the top 10 Science Fiction films of all time.
So what about the print from Derann?
Well once again they have provided the collector with good material to buy. Sure the master material supplied to them has a few spool change joins, but surely that’s what film is all about. Its real, not clinical digital and it screens well. This super 8mm feature is supplied on 4X600ft reels in colour & magnetic sound and the print is great as is the sound which is very crisp indeed. We viewed here on the usual 6ft screen I use and the image from this print was very steady with limited vertical jitter and good colour balance. I have to take my hat off to Derann for this film and in truth; it was great to see the REAL FILM version of this 1984 classic after watching the DVD so many times on the DLP.
If I had to give a star rating for this film you would not have enough page to fit them on, so it 5 stars for print quality, 5 stars for sound, and 5 stars for Derann. Well done, and why didn’t I get a print of this years ago..
T4 is in pre production at present and Arnold did say he would not be in it. Later this was revised and he stated he might be if it was shot in California. At the end of the day I would expect some sort of cameo from him and the rest will be a prequel directed by Jonathan Mostow. We shall see..
View the trailer for The Terminator here
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/trailers-screenplay-E23625-14-2
A LITTLE UPDATE...
Have just completed re recording Terminator into Stereo. For the stereo master I used the UK DVD Special Edition which did a perfect job. The Stereo effect is superb and this new super 8mm stereo version gets a screening shortly as I am due to project it at a "T" meeting. I recorded the sound on the Elmo GS800 as I do find you can push plenty of level into it without distorting the recording, and this also keeps the hiss low. The DVD order number is 15917dvdZ1.
[ March 18, 2007, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: Lee Mannering ]
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted January 31, 2007 07:47 AM
I do not have the Terminator on S8, but I have to agree with Lee's sentiments about the quality of the best S8 prints compared with DVD. I recently screened part of my S8 'Show Boat' feature (Part3 which includes the Marge and Gower Champion number 'Life Upon the Wicked Stage'). The S8 print is stunning, with Marge's costume a wonderful rich purple and Gowers suit a deep resonant blue. In fact the S8 print looks typical gorgeous Technicolor for the most part. Anyway, after the reel ran out on the projector, I immediately played back the same sequence on the Panasonic 700 video projector on the same size screen.
Results:
DVD was brighter
DVD was sharper
S8 had much more saturated colors
S8 had much better contrast
Overall, I thought the S8 print was much more visually pleasing than the DVD, which looked flat and somehow unaturally sharp in comparison. I am not knocking DVD, just stating an impartial objective observation.
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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
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