8mm Forum: Superman 400 footer

This is topic Superman 400 footer in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on July 10, 2006, 07:52 AM:

My little five year old daughter ( almost six) asked about Superman the other night, having seen the previews on TV...so I pulled out my old 400 foot digest of Superman-the Movie which I had not screened for maybe 25 years. It was remarkable for several reasons. First....it was one of the best edited 400 foot digests I've even seen. Just a remarkable job.... even had part of the charming Can You Read My Mind song. Secondly the color had held fairly well...the opening credits ( which they give you almost all of) were the deep blue I remembered. The print originally was just a tad toward the tan or brown side when I bought it brand new...., but today it looks the same. Superman's costume....bright blue, not greenish brown..... . In short my daughter got a short lesson on the origin and power of Superman and I brought back into my "active" file, this very nice digest. Given all the interest in the new Superman picture, I'll trot this one out again soon for summer gatherings.

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on July 10, 2006, 07:12 PM:

I just finished watching this little 200fter version of Superman. I love the sequences but my print is RED! With just a hint of blue and the sound is very trebly. Uggh!
After seeing it though, as much as I liked the new Superman, Christopher Reeve is just so much more charismatic IMHO. He actually seems angry when he talks to Lex Luthor while the new Superman seems at a loss for words.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on July 11, 2006, 07:22 AM:

Yes..I forgot to note that watching that digest of the first film really brought home to me how perfect a job Reeve did , in both parts. It really made him a star....and deservedly, I think. I guess I was lucky that my print has all its original color...proving that processing of the print ...and , I think, storage really are the difference on how long those old prints hold up . Mine was one of the first off the line.....still in the cardboard box ...not the later shell case affair.

Posted by Andrew Wilson (Member # 538) on July 11, 2006, 11:56 AM:

mine has gone red too gary.andy.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on July 11, 2006, 12:58 PM:

Just saw this digest listed on ebay....claims to have most of its color.

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on January 20, 2010, 05:59 PM:

Gary,

Just watched my copy last night. I was reading your review thought I would tell you about mine. I bought it used about 2 years ago. It's in beatiful condition in its original cardboard box. Inside, the original owner stamped the date Jan 21,1980.

The colors have held up well on my print and the sound is a bit to much on the high end especially the music; not so much the dialog.

I find it to be very entertaining.

Bill

Posted by David Kilderry (Member # 549) on March 29, 2010, 05:36 AM:

My kids like this more than any other digest I have, and that is plenty! It is just behind the Tweety and Sylvester cartoons for number of times run here.

Mine has faded but there are still blues on his suit and in the opening credits. I remember hiring it back in 1979 for my sisters birthday party from a local dept store.

David

Posted by Gerald Santana (Member # 2362) on September 08, 2011, 11:43 PM:

I found some screen-shots of my copy of Superman that I got from a Forum member a while back. It is fair but strong color, the blues and reds are still there in the opening sequence, the sound is very loud. I have the version in a Columbia clam shell and run it often to avoid VS and because it's a very good digest for the family.

Posted by Laksmi Breathwaite (Member # 2320) on September 11, 2011, 12:57 PM:

WHAT IS VS ? Why should I run all my films often? Just in case fans don't know about this? I ran my Supe a few days ago and it looks just like it did years ago nice color and nice digest. It is in the original box with my collection right in the picture. I did clean it with my mighty FILMGUARD 6 months ago. I have cleaned all my films and it took awhile I have many films.

Posted by Gerald Santana (Member # 2362) on September 11, 2011, 01:25 PM:

Hi Laksmi,

Love your collection and run those films like you do, which is often. VS is an acronym for Vinegar Syndrome (or "Smell") which occurs on acetate film when left in storage for too long. It also seems to occur on prints which are in clam shell cases such as MGM or Columbia and some U8 cases too.

Superman would not like to smell a bad salad dressing but, yours is okay since it is in a nice original cardboard box. Long live Super 8 and, keep those films running!

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on September 12, 2011, 08:11 AM:

You can also edit parts of the 200ftr into the 400ftr to make a longer 400ftr I seem to remember, or was that into the 3X400.. Now I'm confused'r!

Just a had a peep at my own 200ft Superman and the colour is still quite nice.

Posted by Mal Brake (Member # 14) on September 13, 2011, 12:45 PM:

Lee,
Don't know about the 200ft edited into the 400ft version, but as you say there were a few scenes from the 400ft that could be added to the 3X400, which did make a difference. Shame the print quality didn't match though.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on September 13, 2011, 01:55 PM:

For proper edit, follow this thread.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on September 14, 2011, 03:41 AM:

Thanks for clearing that one up Jean.It used to be quite exciting once we had popped in extra scenes to see our sometimes long labours up on the screen for the first time.

My 200ftr.

Another one worth having a go at was Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein with some of the 200 editing into the 400. Also Son of Frankenstein made for a nice longer reel with plenty of the 200 edited in it.

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on September 14, 2011, 10:35 AM:

Funny Gerald would mention VS being more likely with clamshell cases, but that's probably just because cardboard boxes let the film breathe more. Sealed cans would even be worse.

The idea being, keep your films from significant heat and humidity, and don't let them stay sealed indefinitely so that accumulated moisture can dry out. The acetate base breaks down into acetic acid and water, and the water molecules act as a catalyst to further the slow process.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on September 30, 2017, 10:17 AM:

I had the 3x400' in my collection for years, but only got this version the other day (from Barry Atwood). The color is very nice, a bit warm for flesh tones but otherwise I'm thrilled that it looks so good. It is a brilliant edit and in my opinion one of the top digests ever.

The sound (like Bill's print) is missing the low end. This is a definite re-recording project.

Doug

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on September 30, 2017, 11:19 AM:

Has anyone has vs on super 8 print yet? Cant say ive encountered any

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on September 30, 2017, 11:54 AM:

There have been several reports of such already but thats only to be expected since the acetate material is indiscriminate as to what the guage is.

Thank God then, so many of the prints of choice on eight, are printed on polyester. [Wink]

Posted by Bernard C. G. Pritchard (Member # 631) on October 14, 2017, 04:43 PM:

Yes, a film that has lost none of its entertainment value! (And I agree, Gary, with your now-historic post that dear Christopher Reeve was the definitive actor.)
I was knocked out on seeing the original release at the cinema, and our two lads grew up enjoying the Super-8 version - as well as the Fleischer versions - over their proceeding years of childhood and still in adulthood (along with a good measure of Superman memorabilia).
It's been a good while, but today we watched the 1200' version again. This has the extras from the 400' spliced in, and I was most relieved to find that the print colours have survived really well, much like Gerald's shown above.
I bought the complete film second-hand at least twenty years ago, with the extras added and, as a bonus, a trailer for Superman 2, to which I then added a Superman 3 trailer.
I agree, Douglas, that the 400' is a perfectly edited cutdown, as is the 1200'.
One thing that occurred to me for the first time (and I don't know why not earlier) was the interesting comparison - and resemblance - between Brando and Trevor Howard's exchanges in this and their conflict as Bligh and Christian in Mutiny on the Bounty. Bounty is another good 3x400 edit, but, alas, the colours have not fared as well as Superman.

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