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Topic: The Universal 8 digests (2X400ft versions)
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted February 17, 2012 01:38 PM
I know this tpoic has been talked about much, but it still entertains ...
I have found that the Universal 8 2X400ft digests can be reel hit or miss. Some are among the best (JAWS, High Plains Drifter), while others can be reel bad, for instance, Universal 8 thought so little of it's 2X400ft release of "Galactica: Conquest of earth" (a digest of the galactica 1980 movie, released overseas) that they didn't even release it in the US. The 2X400ft release was only done overseas, and it is deplorably bad. It's like sitting through "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (OK, that films SO BAD that it's good) ...
The "1941" digest pared it's storyline down to just the conquest of the woman who gets off on airplanes! That digest would have been much better if they had included the subplot of Slim Pickens "hick" character being caught and placed in the Japanese sub!
another bad example is "Xanadu"
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted March 04, 2012 10:33 PM
Well, to thier great credit, Blackhawk released most of the titles in thier original running time whenever possible and in thier most complete form. I daresay that some silent titles may not have survived to this day i not for the archival work of Blackhawk.
The sad thing is that, to my knowledge, Universal 8 didn't survive into the LPP era of super 8.
Some of thier titles, released on Kodak SP are still spot on color without the least bit of fade, (like my Battlestar Galactica), but most have either the hint or a good deal of fade, sadly. Even sadder still, some of the worst faded titles are the last titles released, as they were released on quick fade Eastman.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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James N. Savage 3
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1375
From: Washington, DC
Registered: Jul 2003
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posted March 06, 2012 02:20 PM
I think the longest U8 400 footer that I remember was AIRPORT 1975 , which is listed at over 19 minutes!!
As far as Blackhawk Films goes, they were very generous on their 400 foot releases like Little Rascals and Laurel & Hardy, some lasting up to 22 minutes ![[Smile]](smile.gif) . And they did list their own titles very acurately.
But, when it came to Blackhawk's sales of films from other distributors, they usually werent very acurate. Such as listing some of the Ken Films digests as "20 minutes", when they were actually only 15-16 minutes ![[Frown]](frown.gif) .
Of course, I'm nit-picking now. Blackhawk was a wonderful company with countless rare releases, so they certainly get a "free-pass" on this minor inacuracy ![[Wink]](wink.gif) .
James.
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Douglas Meltzer
Moderator
Posts: 4554
From: New York, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted May 08, 2012 11:18 AM
Chris,
Dracula was part of that 1979 group of films released after U-8 first took care of their 400' b&w horror/comedy titles (mid 1977) and the first batch of 400' "Hollywood Hits" (late 1977-1978).
Also in that group were 400' versions of The Sting, Jaws 2, Slap Shot, Animal House, Smokey and the Bandit, Rooster Cogburn, Battlestar Galactica, Airport 77 and of course, Disco Beaver From Outer Space. The 2x400's had not come out yet.
I don't remember the timing, however it's possible that the Dracula promo may have been released by U-8 while the film was in the theaters.
Universal advertised it as "...chilling highlights, hosted by producer Walter Mirisch." Running a bit over 13 minutes, it was surprisingly sold at the same price as the 17 minute films. Another surprise was that it was also released by Cineavision in scope!
Doug
[ May 08, 2012, 12:20 PM: Message edited by: Douglas Meltzer ]
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I think there's room for just one more film.....
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