8mm Forum: Attn:Steve Klare / When Steam Was King...print quality

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Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on March 16, 2010, 05:14 PM:

Steve Klare...I remember you had mentioned this film as being bad quality and I agree. I have the B&W super 8 version and it is bad.

But, I just picked up another copy in a lot very reasonable and to my suprise it was a color print and it is sharp as a tack. Normally the B&W prints are superior but in this case it's the color print.

Have you ever seen the color print of this? If not you should look for one because you will be happy with it [Smile]

Bill

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 16, 2010, 05:33 PM:

Hey Bill,

Thanks for the heads-up. I wasn't even aware this was available in color. I'm glad you got a better image.

My print is the only one I've ever seen, although I have eyewitness testimony of at least one other collector. Based on the image quality of it whenever I've seen the title mentioned since then I've felt this spasm throughout my entire body like I found an eye in my soup! (Yes, it's that bad...)

In all seriousness, I have a friend who became that way while she was selling most of her father's railroad film collection to me. I warned her if she found this title among his acres of stuff and she wanted to keep her feedback good it would be better if she used it to tie up newspapers on recycling day!

Either her Dad never had it, or it went out with his newspapers years ago!

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on March 16, 2010, 05:37 PM:

Bill is this on 8mm or 16?
Blackhawk sold it on 16mm too.

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on March 16, 2010, 05:49 PM:

It's a super 8 print. I thought it was just another B&W print. It was in the same black box and I figured I would sell it at the upcoming train show I'm doing in a couple weeks. The prefix numbers were different...one is 860 and one is 870.

I was pleasantly suprised when I screened it and it looked very good.

Bill

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on March 16, 2010, 10:33 PM:

Hi Bill,

Is the 870 prefix on the film box noted as sound or silent?

You came across a winner.

Two years ago, Blackhawk Films - Film Preservation Associates announced
the closing of the 16mm film line. People scrambled to find titles that
were available for the last hurrah. I placed an order for Steam was King,
but they were unable to print, because a color lab was not available.

[Frown]

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 16, 2010, 10:37 PM:

Hi Michael,

Blackhawk Super-8 sound prints are "880", whether Black and White or Color.

"870" would be color and silent.

"860" would be B&W and silent

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on March 16, 2010, 10:42 PM:

Steve,

Thank you.
Do you remember that Blackhawk sold color slides of
trains?

Check out this company:
Train videos

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 16, 2010, 10:48 PM:

I have seen them for sale here and there. I do have a small set of Blackhawk slides, but they are not railroad slides.

The set is titled "Please Don't Spit on the Floor!"(seriously...), they are all vintage cinema slides.

Sunday River Productions used to be the premier producer of railroad films on Super-8 and actually made the first print I ever owned. They are the favorite group of films in my collection.

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on March 17, 2010, 05:08 PM:

I have one Sunday River Production called "The Complete Silverton" 400' color/silent in its original box.

The print is very nice. It is a little faded though. I'm always on the lookout for train films...I have about 30 titles now.

Steve...I think I remember seeing your list of SRP train films on one of these threads and it was impressive!

Michael...I need to write down all the different Blackhawk prefixes and learn them so I can better indentify the films by looking at the boxes. My only 16mm train film I have is Blackhawk's "Hudsons of the N.Y.C." B&W 400' silent in it's original box. Very nice print.

Bill

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 17, 2010, 08:10 PM:

I listed my Sunday Rivers about 7 years ago. I have about 4 times as many now.

"The Complete Silverton" may be the most expensive film ever made exclusively for Super-8 distribution. It had a professional film crew shooting from helicopters.

Sunday River was such a going concern back in those days they were going all over the world filming original films for sale, and eventually branched out into railfan tourism as well.

Fast Forward a few years into the Golden Age of VHS, they came close to going under entirely! Seems lower prices came with lower profits too, but the sales volume didn't come up enough to make up the difference.

Seems like centuries ago, when SRP was still printing Super-8 and I was a teenage kid. I wanted "The Complete Silverton" and I had the choice of sound or silent. I thought "I don't have a sound projector: why should I pay more?!"

Too soon we grow old, too late we grow smart!

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