8mm Forum: Buster Keaton Seven Chances

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Posted by Zechariah Sporre (Member # 2358) on October 13, 2011, 07:28 PM:

Does anyone know if Buster Keaton's film Seven Chances ever got released on 8mm and if so is it rare? Thanks

Posted by Jonathan Sanders (Member # 478) on October 14, 2011, 04:45 AM:

Yes, it was released by Collectors Club (UK) in January 1976 in both Standard and Super 8mm. It was an above-average print, at least for CC. It seemed to disappear from their lists about 12-18 months later (pressure from Rohauer?), while THE GENERAL and COLLEGE continued to be available for years, so perhaps scarce - though I doubt it's especially rare, at least in the UK.

Posted by Joseph Banfield (Member # 2082) on October 15, 2011, 03:46 AM:

I bought that title last year from a seller in the UK. My copy is regular 8mm. It was originally put out on 200 foot reels. My copy is spliced together on 3, 400 foot reels.

But be careful with the standard 8mm version because the frame line is not the same throughout the entire film and must be re-adjusted accordingly between the various reels, which is really boring! Also the first 3 minutes of the film has been cut from this release, presumably because it was highly damaged as the DVD version clearly shows. Other than this slight cut, the film is complete and runs about an hour.

Bottom line: a sure crowd pleaser everytime and a highly underrated Keaton film!

Posted by Zechariah Sporre (Member # 2358) on October 16, 2011, 04:21 PM:

Thanks guys. That gives me hope that maybe someday I could find one that I could afford :-)One more question, were these releases all silent?

Posted by Jonathan Sanders (Member # 478) on October 17, 2011, 10:58 AM:

Yes, the Collectors Club print was silent only, and as far as I know it was the only release on 8mm.

It's a while since I watched my print but if the opening scene was omitted, it's probably because it was shot in two-color Techicolor (perhaps more prone to deterioration?) and may not even have been in the black & white masters when CC made their copies. The frame-line variation is a problem I found in many CC features, Standard and Super 8, and to be fair in releases from other distributors too. I remember it when editing together some of the Derann Warner Bros. digests, for example.

Another UK Keaton rarity, by the way, is the complete SHERLOCK JR., released on Standard 8 by Watsofilms.

Posted by Joseph Banfield (Member # 2082) on October 17, 2011, 11:44 AM:

It's great to know that my copy is not unique regarding the frame line problem between reels when spliced together on larger reels. My copy is also standard 8mm and the quality is good but certainly nothing to write home about and there are a few washed out scenes too since I just looked at this the other night after reading the original post. But certainly an entertaining film though!

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