8mm Forum: Where can I hire s8 films?

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Topic: Where can I hire s8 films?

Ron Seagold
Junior
Posts: 5
From: GB
Registered: Dec 2006

posted February 19, 2007 07:59 AM

I seem to have been bitten by the 8mm bug,trouble is the films seem so exspensive to buy,and once seen are put away,never to watch again.Does anybody know where I can hire films,like with DVDs?

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Osi Osgood
Film God

Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005

posted February 19, 2007 08:19 AM

Sorry to have bad news for you Ron, but, unless they have some libraries over there in the U.K. , I wouldn't think anyplace still rents out Super 8 films.

Way back in the day, (Long long time ago in a galaxy far far away), almost any library here in the states would rent out super 8 movies, and they had quite a number of titles, but those days are gone.

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

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Kevin Faulkner
Film God

Posts: 4071
From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 19, 2007 08:37 AM

Same here in the UK. There are no libraries around any more. I don't think there were too many of them even in Super 8's heyday.

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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Mike Peckham
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1461
From: West Sussex, UK.
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 19, 2007 09:01 AM

I think Hingston Films was the last to go, I was still renting from them up until about 2000 I think...

Mike

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

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Tim Murphy
Junior
Posts: 2
From: UK
Registered: Oct 2006

posted February 19, 2007 09:08 AM

It's a real shame there are no Super 8 libraries now, back when I was growing up in the 70s and 80s there were quite a few in the UK. I used to hire features from Derann, CA Jones, Hingston Films, Bernco Films & a couple of others. Couldn't afford to buy features so it was a great way to get features on the big screen at home, used to get friends over for regular film nights. I've still got a couple of the catalogues (just dug them out!).

Think some of the big 16mm libraries also had some Super 8, definately Rank & FDA had a selection.

I suppose it's understandable that libraries no longer exist with the rarity of prints and the risk of loss & damage, most would be impossible to replace.

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Lee Mannering
Film God

Posts: 3216
From: The Projection Box
Registered: Nov 2006

posted February 19, 2007 10:23 AM

Yup. Hingston Films was purchased by Buckingham Films and we visited shortly after and got some features off Buckingham when on holiday camping. The films were in very good condish surprisingly for lib prints.

Ron. It would be worth going to the Derann Open Day on the 1st April as you are sure to find some good buys, learn from others and see what its all about. For more details give Derann a quick ring. They are very helpful.

Regards

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Simon McConway
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1085
From: Doncaster, UK
Registered: Jun 2004

posted February 19, 2007 11:08 AM

I bought quite a few titles when Hingston closed in 2001. This library was run by a Mr Greenslade who sadly died in around 2004/5. It appeared he ran the library from the back of his garage. The prints I had were in good condition for a library. The remainder are still being sold by Tony Reypert at Buckingham.

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 19, 2007 11:18 AM

Ron,
One thing about Super 8 film collecting is that the films are NOT watched just once and never watched again. If you are selective about your purchases and restrict yourself to the films that you really like, you will be replaying them for as long as you own them. There are many classic films out there, such as Casablanca, King Kong, MGM musicals etc which never loose their magic no matter how often they are viewed. If you are only interested in seeing a film once, then rent a DVD and save yourself a lot of money.
As far as libraries go, there are none left in the USA. Here in Orlando, the Orlando Public Library operated a fairly extensive 8mm and S8 library up until about 1986, when they sold off their entire collection (I bought it!) and went to VHS tapes. The films were loaned free of cost for 7 days, so it was really nice. Now they offer a free DVD loan service of up to 10 DVD's for 7 days.

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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
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Joe Caruso
Film God

Posts: 4105
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 19, 2007 12:39 PM

Still it doesn't hurt to ask around at your local and some surrounding libraries, some of which may not as yet have downsized their old inventory and just maybe will have old films tucked neatly away in some dark, forgotten corner of a dusty basement

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Mike Peckham
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1461
From: West Sussex, UK.
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 19, 2007 12:59 PM

Joe

Very true; just such an enquiry at an independant photographic store in Brighton a few years ago led me to buy my "back up" Sankyo Stereo 800 that had been languishing , unused, in the store room of the shop since it was new in about 1982. I paid £115 for it which I thought was very reasonable [Smile]

.

Paul, very impressed to hear you were able to buy the whole library stock out, what sort of films were they? Features, Documentries, Digests? And what sort of condition were they in? And how many?? What a great haul!

Mike [Cool]

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

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Ron Seagold
Junior
Posts: 5
From: GB
Registered: Dec 2006

posted February 19, 2007 10:39 PM

[QUOTE]
Ron,
One thing about Super 8 film collecting is that the films are NOT watched just once and never watched again. If you are selective about your purchases and restrict yourself to the films that you really like, you will be replaying them for as long as you own them [QUOTE]

Paul,
Yes of course,its a matter of selecting the right films.
Thanks to all of you replying to my post

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Lee Mannering
Film God

Posts: 3216
From: The Projection Box
Registered: Nov 2006

posted February 20, 2007 08:51 AM

One thing I do is try to get to cine events and meet people. So many time over we hear of collectors who whut off from the world and watch films solo. Its good to meet people and share the cine experience I find. The Blackpool Film Collectors convention has always been a great & friendly bash, and certainly last time I met some new faces as well who since then kept in contact, and I have also been invited out for some great evenings watching films.

There is so little trust left in the world today it is good to know that cine still has some magic and can bring people together to socialise. Going to a good event such as Blackpool 2007 in November here in the UK would be a good start for anyone wanting to expand the hobby of REAL HOME CINEMA.

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 20, 2007 09:15 AM

Hi Mike,
There were about 500 titles, mostly digests and a few features. Blackhawk film documenteries were heavily represented and there were lots of Laurel and Hardy's and Warner Bros cartoons. I picked out the ones I really liked, and sold the rest to Derann Films.
Kind of wish I had kept them all now, but I made a good profit on the deal, and so did Derann when they subsequently sold them.
So everyone was happy! [Smile]

--------------------
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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Joe Caruso
Film God

Posts: 4105
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted February 20, 2007 09:51 AM

Paul, if you're of a mind, I need twelve L&H shorts, let me know if any from my list might be for sale - Shorty

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David Kilderry
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 963
From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Registered: Feb 2006

posted February 20, 2007 04:42 PM

Those were the days! Sorry I can't assist you today Ron, but I remember when even large department stores here had Super 8 hire sections.

I also hired from a record store, that had the weirdest left of field selection. It had all these family cartoon selections, Star Wars, Superman, Ali etc then early docos on drugs and things like Smut Peddlers thena large sex film section. Most 400 footers were only $4.00 a week to hire.

Twentieth Century Fox also had Super 8 in their hire section at one time. What a distributor; 70mm, 35mm, 16mm and Super 8 all in the one place.

Luckily we still have a state government library that for an annual fee gives you access to thousands of 16mm films (mostly docos) and a federal government library of around 10,000 titles too.

David

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Adrian Winchester
Film God

Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004

posted February 20, 2007 05:08 PM

I'd certainly endorse Lee's suggestion to go to Blackpool. You can buy films in the auction for the sort of prices that libraries would have charged to hire them - and then sell the ones you don't want to keep!

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Adrian Winchester

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Steve Carter
Master Film Handler

Posts: 282
From: Bristol, UK
Registered: Apr 2015

posted May 04, 2015 05:13 AM

Ah..Bernco Bloomfield Road Brislington,I used to hire features from there, all in brown cardboard boxes, mostly 4 x 400ft, although he did have the full version of King Kong.I used to hire mostly Hammer films, but my other love is silent films, and he did have some Youngson comps, Days of Thrills and Laughter. I like Harry Langdon silents, and there are always some Langdon clips included with-in the Youngson comps.I remember the hire prices were quite steep for the late 70's early 80's. I believe he went over to video rental as that caught on, I did hire some VHS in the early days, but found some of them to be poor copies, as features on VHS in the early days could cost £29, I remember my Wife buying me A Star is Born (Streisand) and paying that, unthinkable now.....

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