8mm Forum: Assault On precinct 13 (Derann)

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Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 04, 2006, 04:08 AM:

I was offered "Assault On precinct 13" and "Never Ending Story" which were told from Derann.

If it so, what you would say regarding the print? are they printed on low fade stock?

Also if you could tell the story...any worth to have them in 8mm (considering the price, surely).

cheers,
winbert

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on October 04, 2006, 04:12 AM:

Winbert, being a great fan of John Carpenter, I would recommend buying Assault. It's a very fast paced cut-down, if you're into action and gunfights. A "reel" classic for a 600ft. Isn't Assault from PM Film? (not sure, though...)

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 04, 2006, 04:23 AM:

Thanks JM,

But what about the print? (this is due to the facts that not ALL Derann will keep the color)

cheers,

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on October 04, 2006, 05:51 AM:

Winbert, "Never Ending Story" was printed by Derann in the mid-1980's and I'm sure other forum members will back me up in saying that colours on releases from this era are not prone to the fade of earlier relases.

I used to have a copy and it was very nice indeed and well edited.

An interesting aside; during this time Derann offered this title as either mono or stereo (stereo being £10 more!) so both mono and stereo prints exist.

"Assault" was a PM release originally but was re-printed by Derann in about 1987. Again, if this is a Derann re-print, I don't think fade should be an issue.

I've never seen the "Assualt" print but I've owned copies of "Watership Down" from both PM and Derann (the re-print) and the Derann version was much sharper.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 04, 2006, 06:00 AM:

Thanks Rob,

This makes me clear regarding the print and who released them.

Can anyone tell me what is the exact duration of these two releases and what are the reel size used for them?

thanks,

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on October 04, 2006, 06:07 AM:

Both were released as 1 x 600ft edited versions.

You'd have to guess running time, but about 25 minutes or so I'd say.

Posted by Mal Brake (Member # 14) on October 04, 2006, 08:43 AM:

My 'scope print of 'Never Ending Story' has kept its colour and is a very sharp print. I have the mono version and the sound is very good.
The story is well edited
Mal

Posted by Dave Cragg (Member # 401) on October 04, 2006, 12:35 PM:

How can 'Never Ending Story' last for 25 minutes?
Surely that's a contradiction in terms? [Big Grin]

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on October 04, 2006, 01:58 PM:

My print of Assault has not faded. It's a bit dark but so is the film (mostly night scenes). I can't compare with the Derann print.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on October 05, 2006, 12:50 AM:

Thanks for all replies.

cheers,

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on October 05, 2006, 05:59 AM:

Assault on Precinct 13 overfills the reel so must run for at least 30 minutes. If anyone has seen 'The Men Behind the Movies' series then you'll know this was cut down by Howard Billingham (BBC) and ended up being a real favourite of his.

The feature is a masterpiece (I hope they don't ever attempt to remake that one... oh dear!) and this 600ft reel is just as good. When I first saw it when first released I was convinced it was even better than the feature.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on October 05, 2006, 06:20 AM:

John, catch up, will you? They remade it two years ago. It was not great but far from being a catastrophe.

Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on October 05, 2006, 04:06 PM:

When RALPH MCGILL left super8 to go to the half a picture format(video);DERANN got the rights...So DERANN are still going strong,and thank god they are,while PMFILMS are no longer trading.
So who had the last laugh eh?.Andy.

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on October 05, 2006, 04:43 PM:

John, I stand corrected on the running time of "Assault".

Darn it, now I want a copy too... [Smile]

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on October 06, 2006, 03:26 AM:

I'd like a copy too Rob!!! My best mate bought a copy when we were growing up and he still has it to this day. Whenever he tried to thread it up loads of it would fall onto the floor as it overfilled the reel so much.

Jean-Marc, I was joking about hoping it doesn't get remade. I deliberately avoided it as remakes in general just sour my opinion of the original. Something I forget about in time but John Carpenter's film is one of my favourites - as are many of his films. I met the chap in 1994 and got him to sign my UK theatrical release 'Halloween' poster.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on October 06, 2006, 05:12 AM:

I agree this is a very good 600ft and a very full one, i watched it last night and it does run for a full 30 minuites, only gripe is its not scope and slight softness in the some pats of the picture show this as does a wee bit of pan and scan however, the editing and fast paced action makes this one of the best cut downs on 8mm. It does crop up from time to time on the lists and is usually a very reasonably priced reel.

My next investment is the two DVDs men behind the movies, to my discrace i have yet to see either [Embarrassed]

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on October 07, 2006, 03:31 AM:

And it takes multiple viewings of this reel to finally realize one of the main characters is killed and you don't even notice.

So when are you coming over Tom?

Posted by Eberhard Nuffer (Member # 410) on October 08, 2006, 10:30 AM:

Derann's scope digest of NEVER ENDING STORY is great indeed, very sharp and with nice colours. This reel is also very full - according to the counter of my Elmo, the print is 185 meters long, which means it runs for 30 and a half minutes.
A full length scope version of NEVER ENDING STORY was released by the German company Harnischmacher by the end of the 1980's, but collectors were very disappointed due to poor focus of the prints.

Posted by John Higgins (Member # 2110) on July 13, 2010, 05:35 AM:

Hi,

Just did as search (thanks Rob Young). Great to see some of the other comments about it. Of course, these were posted before the very inferior Ethan Hawke remake, which broke the key rule of the original - nobody is allowed to leave the Precinct alive.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on July 14, 2010, 02:41 AM:

Interestingly John, I did see the first half an hour or so of the remake but couldn't take any more and had to turn it off.

It's been interesting re-reading this thread from 2006 as I'd forgotten a lot of the information I typed in myself. Wonderful to get these memories back. I think I'll be purchasing the 600ft reel next time I see it on a list.

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