8mm Forum: The long and winding road to get (good) Bruce Lee reels in 8mm

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Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on September 06, 2016, 03:09 AM:

Just like a Beatles' song "The Long and winding road"... buying Bruce Lee reels from UFA is hit and miss.

Some UFA are on Eastman or Kodak SP, which is now reddish. Some lucky prints will be on Fuji which will be good color but purplish, and the perfect ones will be on AGFA.

I like Bruce Lee, and only want the AGFA ones, so I kept buying, and I end up with this now... [Razz]

I have now:

3 sets of "Todesgrüße aus Shanghai" (the Fist of Fury) where 1 set is AGFA, reel 1+2+3 from 2nd set is AGFA and reel 2 from the 3rd set is AGFA

2 Sets of "Die Todesfaust des Cheng Li" (the Big Boss) where 1 set is AGFA, reel 4 of the 2nd set is AGFA

1 set "Die Todeskralle schlägt wieder zu" (The Way of the Dragon) is in Kodak SP...need to be replaced one day.

2 copies "Der Mann mit der Todeskralle" (Enter the Dragon) is in Kodak SP

1 incomplete set "Mein Letzer Kampf" (Game of Death) reel 1+3+4 in Kodak SP, need reel 2...but getting a full set of AGFA is preferable.

So now I have to do some trade ,,, [Big Grin]

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on September 06, 2016, 11:50 AM:

It's been frustrating, but fun, eh Winbert? [Smile]

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on September 06, 2016, 09:09 PM:

Ok Winbert! I'll trade you a few of my faded reels for your good reels so that you will have a complete set! [Smile]

Deal?
I have "Game of Death" and all reels are nice with no fade. On the other hand I have "Way of the Dragon" with a few reels good but the majority faded! And my "Fist of Fury" is all faded.
My "Enter the Dragon" US 3 x 400 still has good color.
Oh and I have a great "Big Boss" Scope Trailer with no fade. Mr. Lee should be seen in Cinemascope in my opinion.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on September 06, 2016, 09:36 PM:

quote:
...but fun, eh Winbert?

It is more thrilling, Osi.

When you receive one set.... you are thrilled which part is AGFA? When my First Fury has reel 1,2 and 3 were already in AGFA, I once again bought another set of Fist of Fury. When receiving it (in a hope reel 4 at least is AGFA) I found reel 2 was AGFA, .... whereas the other reels were Kodak SP.

So instead of making the complete set of AGFA, I ended up with 2 set of First of Fury and still need to locate reel 4 (AGFA).

ps: I believe the mixed stock in one set happened because during that time people could buy reel per reel, not necessary had to be a complete set. While on the other hand, lab used different stocks depending on the availability from the supplier. So it is really a hit and miss

@Alan...can you list what multiple copies and odd reels you now have with the state of condition.

For Enter the Dragon, I knew Warner Bros in English market released it as 3 parter...what about in Germany, did they have it as 4 parter? My Enter the Dragon (German edition) is a 400' digest.

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on September 06, 2016, 10:04 PM:

I will go through and check it when I can-it will be nice to see them again. (As he blows dust off the clamshell cases!)
I had heard that the 4 x 400 Enter the Dragon has certain scenes that are repeated so that if you take all the repeated scenes you are left with the 3 x 400 that Warner released. I'm not really sure but I think I read that here as someone was auctioning an "Enter the Dragon" 4 x 400 and I thought it was very rare but if you read the description you find that was the case.
Hopefully someone can chime in that would know more about Mr. Lee and "Why you no wear uniform?" [Smile]

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on September 06, 2016, 11:11 PM:

Thanks Alan. As your "Enter of Dragon" is from WB, I bet they are on Kodak SP. I have never seen WB printed on AGFA.

Posted by Jason Smith (Member # 5055) on September 07, 2016, 07:15 PM:

I have the last part of the UFA cutdown of The Big Boss but sadly its red. I guess mine was printed on Kodak film.

There are at least two digests of Bruce Lee films that came out in Japan that I know of. One is a 400ft digest of Enter the Dragon and a 200ft digest of Way of the Dragon. Both were released by Fujifilm in Japan in the 1970s.

I have the 200ft Fujifilm digest of Way of the Dragon. This was a print made in 1977 so it should have had a purple tint but the colors are almost perfect except in the shadows.

Posted by Tom Dee (Member # 4468) on September 08, 2016, 02:10 AM:

I have a few reels myself of the Lee movies, this may sound stupid... how do I check to see if it is an Agfa print.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on September 10, 2016, 05:30 AM:

Tom...the easiest one is checking the codes written between the sprockets. AGFA will be written AG 1 or sort of. Kodak will be "Eastman", " Kodak SP" or "safety film". Fuji will be written " Fuji Film".

But the more you get use...by seeing to the screen you will know. Kodak will be reddish with only pink color or brownish, with some color left if they are stored in cool and dry. Fuji will be purplish like Jason's pictures above. AGFA you will find it is having perfect color like you have on video.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Posted by Tom Dee (Member # 4468) on September 14, 2016, 02:05 AM:

Thanks Winbert next time they are out I will certainly check for that.

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