8mm Forum: Some nice prints on eBay Italy but...

This is topic Some nice prints on eBay Italy but... in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=010548

Posted by Stuart Reid (Member # 1460) on March 08, 2016, 09:23 AM:

... seems the seller knows nothing about them. Could all be faded to heck. http://www.ebay.it/sch/libera_71/m.html?item=111924842961&hash=item1a0f3d91d1%3Ag%3ArXEAAOSwP~tW2Hjq&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 08, 2016, 11:31 AM:

sadly, in most cases, they are faded, as almost all of these Italian features (especially the Disney's) were printed on fadey Eastman stock.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 08, 2016, 02:19 PM:

It's not just the fading stock issue either with many of these prints, they are also very dupey in many cases.
Nothing like the quality Derann put out from the actual Disney negatives.
Soft focus issues and very grainy in many examples I've seen.

Posted by Kevin Hassall (Member # 2352) on March 08, 2016, 03:15 PM:

I have the pinnichio one terrible quality can't wait to get my hands on a derann copy but I can dream ha ha

Posted by Jason Schmidt (Member # 4526) on March 08, 2016, 04:34 PM:

Are these italian releases of american films typically dubbed in italian or still in english?

I know I have a merry melodies from techno film that is all in english except the opening credits have some italian titles mixed in.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 08, 2016, 04:34 PM:

The Derann print is on par with any other of the best Kevin.
A very nice print indeed!

I have had a dupe print of Sleeping Beauty for around 36hrs once, before finally managing to find a "real" one by Derann.
It was appalling in every which way possible. Print quality, image stability, film stock, sharpness.

You name it, it suffered from it!.
If this was all that was out there, no one would remain a collector, it really was THAT bad!

It did have an English track though. One plus among a catalogue of minuses.

Accept no compromise with prints that are available in a better "official release", that's my advice.
Anything else is just too big a compromise in any example I've seen.

Posted by Evan Samaras (Member # 5070) on March 08, 2016, 05:36 PM:

One film I would love to own is Suspiria- However I heard similar issues with the Italian Super 8 film release. Poor quality: soft focus for one thing. =( So now I'm just on the look out for a 16mm version

I guess this is the issue with most prints from Italy?

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 08, 2016, 05:43 PM:

On the whole, I'd say yes, although, as with everything in life, there are always exceptions. Screenshots tell you everything with our prints.

Insist always for as many as possible nowadays before forming an opinion or parting with any money.

Posted by Mark L Barton (Member # 1512) on March 10, 2016, 10:11 AM:

Hello, regarding the quality of Italian super 8 feature prints, heres my pennys worth.
I have several Italian features, Live and Let Die, Octopussy and The Towering Inferno. Firstly they are quite substandard in sharpness and colour, with Italian magnetic sound and Italian titles etc. I bought them because I wanted those titles on celluloid regardless of print quality and they were stupidly cheap. The spools alone were worth the purchase price. From what I understand historically about these old super 8 prints of titles we could only dream about owning is this. When Italian TV was open to any broadcaster they soon realised that they did not have anything to show, so what could be easier than pirating a new film at the cinema and making a super 8 copy of it, all the title changes and language is already there for Italian consumption. So super 8 piracy? Only buy if you want that title on what ever quality of film, if you want pristine then avoid. And yes I will be dubbing mine into

Posted by Mark L Barton (Member # 1512) on March 10, 2016, 10:11 AM:

Always happy to offer a screen shot or two etc

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on March 10, 2016, 11:34 AM:

Please no Mark!! [Big Grin]

We want members to come into the hobby, not remove themselves
from it!

As said on a few occasions recently, avoid at all cost, that's my advice.

They potentially, would turn even the most avid Super 8mm fan completely off this wonderful hobby of ours when we screen the best prints ever made.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 10, 2016, 11:47 AM:

This story I actually got from a fellow Italian film collector ...

Back in the day, (in the days of "bootleg" prints), a person would go to the movie theater and before the print would be sent back to the distributor, they would go and make a negative of the print, no matter how bad it looked, and then make a print run on super 8. This is why you would find so many printings of, especially, Disney titles, with wildly varying levels of quality.

Gee, too bad that those same people didn't think of, before it was even projected the first time, running it over for a printing of a negative or perhaps after the first day (with little or no wear on the source), oh well ...

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2