8mm Forum: Mako Jaws of Death

This is topic Mako Jaws of Death in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003344

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on December 31, 2007, 02:12 PM:

OK, I have to admit the Ken Films 400'er MAKO JAWS OF DEATH has become my latest guilty pleasure. I used to have it back in the 70's and was feeling nostalgic for it, so I won it on Ebay a couple weeks ago and was shocked that the print has great color. I have to admit I've watched it a dozen times while on vacation this past week. It's making me want to see the whole film (I know, I'll probably regret it), so does anyone know if it's available anywhere on DVD. I now have all three of the Florida produced Jaws ripoff movies on super 8 (MAKO, Barracuda, and Stanley) - now that's a film festival that would clear the room!

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on December 31, 2007, 02:33 PM:

Brian,

I'll have to dig my print out of the closet and watch it again. The DVD of "Mako" can be found here. I believe they'll pay you to take it off their hands!

Doug

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on December 31, 2007, 02:41 PM:

A few years ago, a friend gave me a big box of 16mm films...there were features and parts of features...shorts of all types..mostly junk, but I'm pretty sure that Mako was in there....at least one reel, maybe all of them. I never even put it in the projector...so I'll try to check it tomorrow and let you know. I'm sure I'd be willing to part with it.

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on December 31, 2007, 02:56 PM:

Thanks Doug! I just ordered the DVD. Wow, what a shock - it was on sale. Maybe they ordered too many copies for the Xmas rush! I just realized the lead actress in MAKO (Jennifer Bishop) is the star of one of my other super 8 guilty pleasures BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE. She was using a different name in the 60's (BARBARA BISHOP) so I didn't realize it. I hope she married well if she's living off residuals from those turkeys!

Oh I realize I called STANLEY a Jaws ripoff but it was made a couple years earlier - that was really a WILLARD ripoff to be more accurate.

(And Gary if you do have an odd reel I may take it off your hands if it's cheap even though I'm sort of fazing out of 16mm. There's an odd reel #2 on Ebay so I'm very curious if yours is #1 or #3.)

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on January 02, 2008, 04:10 AM:

Interesting, my own copy of Mako still has very good colour. Evidence perhaps that this was pretty much how they looked when originally printed.

But what a crap film!

Posted by Mark Williams (Member # 794) on January 02, 2008, 08:46 AM:

LOL!!!

I have had a sealed DVD copy of this "classic" sitting on my shelf for the past 3 years and I still havent been brave enough to watch it!!!

Maybe I should watch it asap now.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on January 02, 2008, 02:45 PM:

O.K. guys, this is getting wierd. I just checked my print of "Mako...", and, PERFECT COLORS!!

And even though I do have many Ken digests with only little fade, this is by far the most colorful print.

Who would have thought??

James.

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on January 02, 2008, 07:01 PM:

Ken Films obviously put a lot of care into making sure their prints of MAKO would stand the test of time - so future generations could watch it the way the filmmakers intended. While less time and effort was put into other less notable films in their roster like STAR WARS or SOUND OF MUSIC. [Wink]

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on January 02, 2008, 07:30 PM:

About a year ago I had one with nice print quality and great colour too !!!!!! shame about everything else.
Best Mark.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on January 03, 2008, 04:33 PM:

I bought a new print for a low price in the early 1980s in the Portland Films shop. Watched it once and for some reason immediately decided to sell it. Judging from the above posts, perhaps I made a big mistake!

Posted by Eric Baucher (Member # 809) on January 04, 2008, 08:53 PM:

I have the 200/ and mine also has good color, why couldnt THIS film fade! it is awful, but I did buy it also just for the heck of it. It goes cheap on ebay, and anyone who has senn it can tell you why [Smile]

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on January 09, 2008, 07:33 PM:

Just got my DVD of MAKO JAWS OF DEATH and turned it off after five minutes. It's the worst quality DVD I've ever seen. Obviously duped from a bad VHS copy with hits all over it. Needless to say, I returned it for a refund. The Ken digest looked gorgeous in comparison. Netflix has it from a different distributor so that's coming tomorrow so I can see if there's a better DVD version. Can you believe I'm going through all this trouble to see such an awful movie. Surely there must be something better to than this!

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on January 10, 2008, 12:51 AM:

Yeah, of course, there's something far better out there, made with care by people who didn't want to put out yet another hack job ...

Orca! (HAHA)

Of Course, in a pinch, you could watch Tintorerra!!

(Gawd! I owned a 2X400 ft. version of it! How could anyone screw up nudity in a non porn film?!)

(though, Tintorerra comes pretty darn close!)

Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on January 10, 2008, 09:40 AM:

Yes i had this title too.Great colours,crap editing and weak story to put it mildly.The lab that done this title was Martiz labs.Andy.

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on January 10, 2008, 04:15 PM:

I've seen the film Tintorerra listed a few times and never knew what it was. Is it a horror film or worth seeing at all? Remember I like MAKO so you can see where my standards are.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on January 10, 2008, 06:49 PM:

Brian,

I've never seen Tintorera (I know the 2x400' is an Ivers release), but if you're in the mood for bad films featuring nasty cold-blooded aquatic vertebrates, there's always:

"The ocean floor lays calm...suddenly it explodes in a meat-tearing nightmare of blood and bones." The trailer seems better in french.

Doug

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on January 10, 2008, 07:16 PM:

Doug - Of course I love BARRACUDA. It fascinates me how that ended up being released by Marketing Films when all their other titles were big budget Paramount releases. If anyone knows how that ended up being released on super 8 I'd love to hear it. Perhaps Marketing was looking into distributing indie films before they went under.

Oh, and here's a useless piece of trivia. The Ken Films version of MAKO JAWS OF DEATH has a different music score than the one on the DVD version. I'm watching the DVD copy from Netflix right now and it too is horrible quality... so the search goes on for a good transfer of this horrible movie.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on January 10, 2008, 07:42 PM:

Brian,

Very interesting about the change in scores....another mystery!

Speaking of mysteries, I remember a post a few years back from Andreas that explained the Barracuda conundrum. It seems that Marketing International was one of three production companies involved in making the feature so basically they released their own film on 8mm.

Doug

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on January 11, 2008, 03:50 AM:

Doug, you've just given the game away!!! Andreas explains all in the next edition of 'smallformat'!

My brother has the 2x400ft of Tintorera and it really is bad. It's another of those releases that's so bad, it's brilliant. He only purchased it at a 1990's Film Fair at the Westminster Central Hall because he remembered Bill Davison's review from Movie Maker ("Beddy time again" was Mr. Davison's immortal description of the on-screen antics as a couple got down to it for the umpteenth time). My brother was hoping he'd get to see Susan George in the raw but he was sadly disappointed as she's the only one who doesn't get her kit off.

Posted by Mark Williams (Member # 794) on January 11, 2008, 05:19 AM:

LOL!! Barracuda now thats another fishy stinker!!,Andreas was quite right as it was the first major theatrical release for Marketing Film in Germany,I remember they were trying to sell it at the Cannes Film festival when I was there in 1977.

I also recall buying the 3 x 400ft version from Perrys for 85 quid,luckily the copy was faulty so I got a full refund,blimey that was a hell of a lot of money in those days,probably a months salary!!!

I dont think it was ever released theatrically in the UK,though it was availiable on video when Marketing released it here.

Cheers Mark W

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on January 11, 2008, 05:27 AM:

I remember watching Barracuda at the pictures when it came out. Can we still say came out these days?
I rather liked it and it made me jump out of my seat anyway. Perhaps it was the big screen that did it eigh or the fact that Denise Taylor was in it.

My friends and I left the cinema calling it Barra cu cu da da. Dear oh dear, and it had even nearly more nude women in it! Can I stand more. Golden days and a nice box set Doug.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on January 11, 2008, 09:00 AM:

Brian, if you value your sanity ... if you put value into Super 8mm , RUN RUN FAR AWAY ...

from tintorerra.

Now if you like films where your constantly asking, "How did this ever get made in the first place?"

Go ahead and get it.

At least, the underwater photography is passable!

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on January 11, 2008, 11:25 AM:

So I still don't know what Tintorrera is about - is it a killer shark plotline?

Posted by Mark Williams (Member # 794) on January 11, 2008, 01:49 PM:

Yes TINTORREA is a low,low budget rip-off of Jaws with added sex and nudity!!!

It was directed by the legendary Mexican hack Rene Cardona jnr,who was previously responsible for SURVIVE! and NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES (Remember the muddy derann 4 x 400ft Super 8mm prints of this one)

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on January 11, 2008, 04:41 PM:

Night of the Bloody Apes?!

That sounds like one of my family reunions!

Posted by Mark Williams (Member # 794) on January 16, 2008, 09:43 AM:

Well I finally plucked up enough courage to watch my dvd of MAKO last night,the quality of the dvd was appalling complete with lines on the picture and VHS tape roll!!!

However the film was quite good fun and at least had some good underwater scenes for the time,the movie also featured Harold Sakata who played 007's nemesis in GOLDFINGER!!

I may have to track down the Ken 400ft now!!!

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2