8mm Forum: The King & I

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Posted by Joe Balitzki (Member # 438) on April 20, 2012, 05:24 PM:

I have 2 prints of the Ken Films/20th Century-Fox 400' digest. Both have very little color left. Has anyone ever seen a digest print with good color? By the time LPP stock came into use I am thinking the film was no longer being printed. Its probably the same situation with the digests of "Alien". Which I am looking for as well...

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on April 20, 2012, 07:02 PM:

No Joe, all Ken Films were still printed at the end of 8mm era resulting we found some titles are on LPP now.

"Alien" is definitely available on LPP, our member has one.

I just got "Gentlemen Prefer Blonde", not LPP but no fade at all.

"Rose" is on AGFA
"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is on AGFA
"Star Wars" and "Empire strikes Back" are on LPP

and some others... there is always a surprise in this hobby. Just keep hunting!

There is one thread I dedicate specific for this very topic here:

Old prints (e.g. Ken Films, Marketing, U-8, UFA, etc) that have held color

and screen shots of Alien is in there. Check it out!

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on April 20, 2012, 07:55 PM:

Joe, Paul Foster has a full length scope/stereo print for sale on his website.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on April 20, 2012, 07:58 PM:

Joe,

I have a very good color print of King & I along with a number of other Ken releases. There are still some decent prints out there!

Doug

Posted by Joe Balitzki (Member # 438) on April 20, 2012, 08:40 PM:

Doug, I have to say that I'm not surprised that you have one due to the size of your film collection. [Wink]

Posted by Colin Robert Hunt (Member # 433) on April 21, 2012, 01:58 PM:

My 400ft copy has faded and this was rich color in 1979 when bought. I note Paul Foster does have a print, but the price is high. I did have the full feature bought seconhand from Derann for £110. But got rid of it due to the soft print qualitythat I could not put up with. Shame because this is a film that needs top quality prints to show off those fantastic sets. Not sure if all prints are like this.

Posted by Joe Balitzki (Member # 438) on April 21, 2012, 06:39 PM:

I am surprised that the print had soft focus coming from Derann. Especially since 20th Century-Fox photographed it in CinemaScope 55. The larger size of the negative was for increased sharpness, less grain, and more depth of field upon widescreen projection. The negative was printed down in size like Paramount's VistaVision. The Ken prints that I have are a tad soft focus in spots. I suspect the negative supplied is to blame. With its expensive production values, it really is a shame to view the film with almost no color left!

A bit of technical information:
The improved process was only trade shown in 55mm; general release was in 35mm. In its roadshow presentation, a separate film carried the six-track improved stereophonic sound whereas 35mm CinemaScope had 3 front and 1 rear tracks. Sound and image were run double system in several first-run theaters. The process was abandoned when Zanuck campaigned for 20th Century-Fox to use Todd-AO.

Perhaps a bit too much information, but what can I say? 20th Century-Fox is one of my top two favorite studios. [Smile]

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