8mm Forum: Those Red films and awfull cutdowns!

This is topic Those Red films and awfull cutdowns! in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 01, 2004, 11:23 AM:

This is a favourite subjects and i am interested
In seeing everyone’s views on it. When I mentioned
It in the FFTC mag over a year ago I didn’t get one
Response!
As I understand it from Paul Foster the 3 x 400 marketing
Films generally seem to hold colour very well whereas the full
Features are suffering badly It appears that the full features were printed
By a different company and on different stock, is this correct? Does Anyone have any 3 x 400 marketing films on the turn? On the subject Of editing, those Columbia 400fts! Blimy, there were times I could have Asked the editor to resign, and the narrator, laughable at times. I think it’s many of the poorly edited 400 footers from the likes of Columbia / ken that gave bootlegs cinema a bad name and the demand for Full length feature, Mountain films supplying some of the very worst, even When the editor was given 4 x 400 ft to play with they still got it so wrong. Its ironic that they began to pull their socks up as the VHS video Was becoming a threat. Oh BTW any films kept in lofts or humid heat in centrally heated,(this has a lot to answer for) bedroom cupboards ets will almost certainly turn.COOL or cold is the word,and dry.
Ps. Don’t forget to keep up the replies referring to the FFTC mag, I shall use some Of the comments and ideas to put a case forward to Derann and most impotantly,
To us the collectors, lets turn up the heat on everyone!

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on February 02, 2004, 02:23 PM:

I have a copy of the 3x400 Grease cutdown and the sharpness is not there. However, the colors look much richer than the Feature of Grease which is now starting to look a little pink and washed out.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 02, 2004, 02:28 PM:

Mmmmm! I am beginning to wonder about my copy of the logest yard feature i bought all those years ago, one of my most expensive films, £166 around the time it first came out, i always notice the uncut marketing features are often turning or are red.ie, the godfather. ive yet to see that on a list without the words,"turning" or "red". Lets hope the 3 x 400 do last.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on February 02, 2004, 03:08 PM:

Alan,
If you want a superb print of "Grease", get the full feature length scope version from Derann-it's an absolute knockout , beautiful colors and as sharp as a tack. Looks fantastic in scope. They have a 20% off sale going until Feb 14.

Posted by Andreas Eggeling (Member # 105) on February 02, 2004, 03:55 PM:

Alan,

all marketing films printed in letterbox version have problem with the sharpness.

Yes Paul, the Scope-Version of Grease is stunning.

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on February 02, 2004, 04:38 PM:

I remember sitting there with friends and they all said, "Hey! Lets watch Grease!" So I put it on and they all said, can you focus it a little. I had to tell them sadly, No, thats the way this print is! [Frown]

Posted by Andreas Eggeling (Member # 105) on February 02, 2004, 04:42 PM:

Alan,

on what filmstock was this version printed. How full were the 400ft reels? About 250ft?

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on February 02, 2004, 08:53 PM:

I don't know what filmstock it was on. I couldn't take it anymore and I sold it.
Speaking of some cutdowns being worse/better than others, I have the 400ft cutdown of Enter the Dragon. Very soft focus and the whites are not white, but a shade of light blue! I then purchased the 3x400 version and it is MUCH better.
Sharper and the colors are better.This was a Columbia Digest.

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on February 02, 2004, 10:52 PM:

Some 3x400 digests do very well.Ben Hur,Dr Zhivago,Mutiny on the Bounty,Quo Vadis,Viva Las Vegas,Meteor,StarTrek,Escape from Alcatraz-all seem to be holding their colour well.
I rather like the 400ft digests of Ducksoup,Horsefeathers and Monkey Business.Thoroughly Modern Millie is a neat wee 400fter.There will always be a place on my shelves for my favourite digests!Trev

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on February 03, 2004, 02:33 AM:

Let's face it, with very few exceptions all these older releases are crap compared to the print quality achieved over the last 10 to 15 years or so. Some of the problem is that we accepted them in the 70's and early 80's but looking at them now they just don't compare to modern prints.

I have had some of the older cut downs and features from new and to me they don't look any different to how they always did. To others it would be assumed the colours are turning or the print is going soft or fading. They were always poor to start with.

Posted by D'Arcy More (Member # 50) on February 03, 2004, 08:35 AM:

I have a 4 X 400 print from the German Marketing films of King Kong (1976) The film starts off with them in the small boat headed for Skull Island. I thought my print was chopped by the previous owner till I spoke with a fella I know and his starts off the same way. It's the letterbox version. I have to get it dubbed into English although there is really hardly any dialog. I bought it for two reasons. Jessica Lange topless and Rick Bakers wonderful monkey suit. [Big Grin]

Posted by Chris Quinn (Member # 129) on February 03, 2004, 09:22 AM:

Modern prints are excellent now and getting better, apart from the odd release, but the packaging is crap, no good for display,
My slightly pink copy of Empire Strikes back, Ken Films, is not perfect, [Frown]

but great packaging. [Smile]

Posted by Mike Newell (Member # 23) on February 03, 2004, 09:46 AM:

Talking of pink prints did anyone ever get one of the red polyester prints of Laurel & Hardy.

They were circulating around 1997 at different conventions.

They were printed on colour stock but were a ghastly shade of pink. [Razz]

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on February 03, 2004, 01:15 PM:

Mike,

No but I did have a nice olive green one.

BTW, wife most impressed by the side effects of Cresclean- you were spot on with that! Costs twice as much though in you know whats. [Eek!]

Has the Rose gone pink? [Big Grin]

,

Tony

Posted by Mike Newell (Member # 23) on February 03, 2004, 01:34 PM:

Hopefully all The Rose prints are made out of volatile nitrate!
How could they go pink 99% are still vacuum sealedin cellophane.

So Crestaclean works then maybe that what all those enlargement emails are about!! A quick drench of the old yellow nectar and you have a baseball bat.

It had the same effect on Janet Jackson apparently except she thought it was deodorant spray. (You have to be current on this forum)

Good old Phil is there nothing that man will not do for film collectors!! [Eek!]

Maybe, I was right it is piss and he has been taking a lot of Viagra.
[Eek!]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 03, 2004, 02:44 PM:

Chris, your right about some of the crabby quality stuff from the 70s, when i buy 2nd hand i'm amazed at some of the duff junk ive been sent, suffice to say it goes straight back again, to think that someone must have paid for it when new and accepted it [Eek!]

What gets my goat is when a dealer puts out on the list Pinkish/red otherwise ok, what is that meant to be,it means the film is now useless but give me your dosh anyway if your that gullable! When are we going to get a-e ratings on the lists that mean the condition of the film AND the quality, this is an argument i have had with more that one dealer, i ring up and say i got my film but the picture is a bit duff and you gave it an A, the reply is "the A is the condition of the print". [Mad]

Back it goes! am i alone on this? or am i just unlucky [Confused]

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on February 03, 2004, 03:28 PM:

Tom, you're not alone. After getting burned a few times by incomplete(poor)quality ratings; I shy away from buying any color films described as: pink, red, turning, starting to turn, warm, slightly faded, vintage(ebay), etc. [Wink]

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