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Author
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Topic: Derrann Films
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Robert Crewdson
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1031
From: UK
Registered: Jun 2013
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posted June 26, 2013 04:34 AM
My purchasing of films from Derann and others ceased around 1982 when Movie Maker mag closed down and it was obvious that VHS had won the day. I don't know how Derann's later releases were, but I had a few problems in the early days. One of the problems was that quality was not consistent unlike DCR films, you never knew what you were getting for your hard earned cash. I bought a 4x400 feature of Hopalong Cassidy 'Heart of the West', this was acceptable; when they brought out another Hoppy feature I wanted to add that, when it arrived it was almost transparent (Bleached), I returned the film, but instead of a replacement I was given a refund and the title was withdrawn, so they must have been all the same. Then I bought their Errol Flynn Trailers, same problem, looking at the leader I could see this was a dupe of a Canterbury films release. Then I bought a 4x400 feature of Western actor Johnny Mack Brown; the sound is way out of sync on large parts of the film. I wanted to keep the film so said nothing to them about it. Did anyone else here encounter similar problems.
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Adrian Winchester
Film God
Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004
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posted June 27, 2013 01:49 PM
You're raising a big subject because soon after you stopped buying, Derann kick-started the big Super 8 revival and went on to be 'world leader in Super 8' for about 20 years, releasing a staggering amount of product that makes them unique in 8mm history!
I think the video boom you mention has some significance here. Beforehand, I'd agree that their quality was highly variable, with some releases being (e.g.) from 16mm dupes that would have been almost unwatchable if you were watching the source print, let alone the 8mm copy. Some of the older releases were OK, though.
But things changed enormously in the revival era, partly because of improvements at the labs they were using but also because Super 8 quality needed to justify the added cost of projecting film on the 'big screen'. Some people switched to the relatively primitive video projection available then but it was clearly inferior to good Super 8 prints. So in this era, with maybe only one or two exceptions, Derann avoided releasing anything that was comparable to their worst releases in the old days, and instead put great emphasis on their deals with companies like 20th Century Fox and later Disney, which meant that they generally has access to excellent master material. That doesn't mean that there were no longer quality control issues and faulty prints - there were plenty - but as long as you got a fault-free copy of a particular film, the quality was likely to range from good to outstanding.
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Adrian Winchester
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted June 27, 2013 02:41 PM
Adrian has put it in a nutshell there.If you take a particularly good
release from their late 70's period,such as "Plague of the Zombies"
or "The Creeping Flesh", both are pretty decent prints regarding
colour, but put against later product like "The Mummy" or
"Fearless Vampire Killers", and the difference is obvious, all are
examples of good super 8, but with the later prints resembling 16mm.
I think that Derann achieved the highest possible quality that
could be squeezed out of the tiny 8mm frame,and so far I don't
think that can be taken away from them, coupled of course by
the excellent lab work.
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted June 27, 2013 05:53 PM
Hi Robert, I take your point on the main retailers bowing out, but
I myself had decided that I had invested a lot of money in film
stock,and there were plenty of secondhand retailers out there
if new product had ceased altogether.You only have to take note on this forum, and see that there is a huge following of silent
classic film,or LaureL & Hardy, Stooges, A&C, the list goes on.If
there were no more new releases , ever again, the hobby would
still continue.Thankfully there are folks that test the waters and
put out new material for the collectors that want it, long may
it continue.
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 28, 2013 10:36 AM
I would take issue with you Hugh, but only in one regard ...
I think that absolute best super 8 prints scope or otherwise, were released by Kempski, (many of his later re-released by Derann and marginally weaker prints) ...
However, for sheer number and great quality, I must agree that of the officially released versions (legal, that is), Derann was certianly on top and as stated earlier, the Disney prints, shorts and features, were absolutely amazing. It's still hard to believe as to just how good they are, (this is ignoring the very late prints struck by a slightly lesser film lab for Derann, which were a bluish mess!)
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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Hugh Thompson Scott
Film God
Posts: 3063
From: Gt. Clifton,Cumbria,England
Registered: Jan 2012
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posted June 28, 2013 01:39 PM
Well,I've just sold one of the most stunning prints from Derann
in 'scope, "Supergirl",which has the most natural colour and
"sharp as a tack" print, which I would put against anything that came from Kempski Osi. Indeed, the best 'scope prints must be
"El Cid" & "Fall of The Roman Empire", which were better by far
than even Kempski's "Ben Hur", they were first done by Lone Wolf,then DFS.
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Osi Osgood
Film God
Posts: 10204
From: Mountian Home, ID.
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted June 29, 2013 11:45 AM
I do0n't think it was as much the negatives, as the Disney Derann connection brought forth better negative material than one could dream, especially for super 8.
Nope, in my opinion, it was the lab. Take that horrible "Fantasia 2000" print, a film I absolutely loved, but I was aghast by on super 8. I can't believe for a minute that Disney would have given Derann that bluish of a negative for Derann to use. The print was deplorable.
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"All these moments will be lost in time, just like ... tears, in the rain. "
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