8mm Forum: True Grit. 1 x 800ft Marketing Colour Sound

This is topic True Grit. 1 x 800ft Marketing Colour Sound in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 19, 2017, 03:30 PM:

I wasn't going to do a full review of this film but i do have to say that along side a few of my other marketting films, namely, War of the Worlds, Warriors, Escape from Alcatraz and the Hunter, this one has to be on Agfa stock. Plus i cant see one has been done for this title yet.
The print is superb in every way, rich colours and excellent sound, hardly a mark worth mentioning. Like all the second faze releases this one has letraset titles with a simple The End title to finish it up. Supplied on this reel when we bought it so unfortunately dont have the original boxes. The classic John Wayne Western with a great cast including Robert Duvall this one is edited "OK" as it starts off in the court room so if you have never seen it before it sort of takes you by surprise but we all know how crap the marketing editors were, however, aside the beginning it is actually OK. Defiantly one for the big home screen, if only they did this one in scope. Just look at these screenshots which really do not do it any justice.

Here is the plot edited to this 800 ft version.
Frank Ross's young daughter, Mattie (Kim Darby), travels to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where she hires ageing U.S. Marshal Reuben "Rooster" J. Cogburn (John Wayne) to bring Chaney in, (for the murder of her Father not shown in this abridged version),). Mattie has heard that Cogburn has "true grit." She gives him a payment to track and capture Chaney, who has taken up with outlaw "Lucky" Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall) in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).
A young Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), is also pursuing Chaney and joins forces with Cogburn, After several days, the three discover horse thieves Emmett Quincy (Jeremy Slate) and Moon (Dennis Hopper), who are waiting for Ned Pepper at a remote dugout cabin. Cogburn captures and interrogates the two men. Moon's leg is injured and Cogburn uses the injury as leverage to get information about Lucky Ned. In terrible pain and about to talk, Moon is stabbed by Quincy, who is then killed by Cogburn. In the remaining minute before Moon dies, he reveals that Pepper and his gang are due at the cabin that night to get fresh mounts.
Rooster and La Boeuf lay a trap. But as soon as Pepper and his men arrive, La Boeuf blows their cover by firing too soon. A firefight ensues, during which Cogburn and La Boeuf kill two of the gang, but Pepper and the rest of his men escape. Cogburn, La Boeuf, and Mattie make their way to McAlester's store with the dead bodies. Cogburn tries to persuade Mattie to stay at McAlester's, but she refuses.
The three resume their pursuit. Fetching water one morning, Mattie finds herself face-to-face with Chaney in a stream. When he comes toward her menacingly, she shoots Chaney with her father's Colt Dragoon, injuring him and calling out to her partners. Pepper and his gang get there first, capturing her. Lucky Ned then forces Cogburn and La Boeuf to abandon the girl and ride away. Pepper decides to leave Mattie in the care of Chaney, who has lost his horse. He promises he will send a horse back for Chaney, vowing to kill him if any harm comes to the girl.
Cogburn doubles back and attacks Pepper and his gang single-handedly. La Boeuf, meantime, finds Mattie. They watch from a high bluff as a mounted Cogburn confronts Pepper's gang in a classic sequence. Cogburn gives Pepper a choice between being killed right there or surrendering and being hanged in Fort Smith. Calling this "bold talk from a one-eyed fat man," Pepper enrages Cogburn, who charges the four outlaws, guns blazing. He kills two of the gang and mortally wounds Pepper. In the fight, Ned shoots Rooster's horse, trapping Rooster's leg under him as he goes down. As a last act, the wounded Pepper prepares to kill Rooster, until La Boeuf makes a long shot with his Sharps Rifle, doing away with Pepper once and for all.
As La Boeuf and Mattie return to Pepper's camp, Chaney comes out from behind a tree and strikes La Boeuf in the head with a rock, fracturing his skull and knocking him unconscious. Mattie is able to shoot Chaney and wound him, but, driven back by the recoil, falls into a snake pit and breaks her arm. Chaney begins to taunt Mattie about the snakes, whereupon Cogburn appears and shoots Chaney. With great difficulty, Cogburn descends into the pit on a rope to retrieve Mattie, who is bitten by a rattlesnake before Cogburn can kill it. The mortally injured La Boeuf helps them out of the pit, saving their lives. La Boeuf dies from the effort.
Cogburn is forced to leave La Boeuf's body behind as they race to get help for Mattie at McAlester's on Mattie's pony. After stealing a buckboard, they arrive at their destination.
In the epilogue Mattie, her arm in a sling, is back at home recovering from her injuries. She promises Cogburn he will be buried next to her in the Ross family plot after his death. Cogburn reluctantly accepts her offer and leaves, jumping over a fence on his new horse to disprove her good-natured jab that he was too old and fat to clear a four-rail fence, and rides off into the valley below.

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on June 20, 2017, 12:03 AM:

That is a nice looking print. I had one that was brown and pinky!

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 20, 2017, 12:15 PM:

I agree. This print is holding up well. I'll have to reread you're review, but i wonder if this "flat' super 8 print, is actually the original aspect ratio that the film was shot on, and the theatricals were "masked" down to letterboxed, which could be easily be done by comparing to the letterboxed version.

I wonder how the feature has held up, color wise, as i believe that this was a full feature as well.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 20, 2017, 03:49 PM:

I have never been able to find the full feature Osi. I have an idea, as Barry @ Indi 8 said, that it may never have actually been released for whatever reason. Also if it was it were only available in the US.
Be interesting if any can tell if they have a full version. [Wink]

Posted by Larry Arpin (Member # 744) on June 20, 2017, 11:07 PM:

It is a 1:85 film. It might be pushed in and not open matte. Haven't seen it in years.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on June 21, 2017, 07:04 PM:

Nice print [Cool]

I bought it new when it first came out. The color looked great, an excellent 3/400footer from Marketing, plus the boxes looked really good as well. Then I did a silly thing in the 80s..sold it [Frown]

I have never come across another copy since. Your screen shots look great and its just as I remembered it...Tom that was a good find [Smile]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 22, 2017, 01:28 AM:

Thanks Graham, i am pleased to see that the film stock is good with no fade.
It was a shame that there wasnt a 3 x 400 version of rooster cogburnrn. I personally thought that is was a very good sequel. We do now have a very rare scope trailer for it that we recently purchased from mr Osborne.

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on June 22, 2017, 02:56 AM:

Marketing Film catalogue included in some film packs states that this was available in 400ft (no 414-4), 3 x 400ft (Nos 1052, 1053, 1054) and 128min full feature (No 4144). There is no mention that this was USA/Canada only as with others shown there.

My 400ft extract is on thin base SP and still has very good colour (when bought it was the best print I had for colour), though maximum density is a little brownish now.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 22, 2017, 06:39 AM:

Thats interesting Brian, we will continue to hunt for the full feature then.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 22, 2017, 11:32 AM:

... and hope and pray that it's on low fade film stock. The truly un-nerving thing about this issue, is that, as a general rule, while the 3X400ft digests of marketing films tended to be low fade, the features have tended to be printed on non-low fade.

War of the Worlds is an example of that. the 3X400ft can be found on agfa, but the features that i heard tell of, were printed on quick fadey eastman. GRRRR!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 22, 2017, 01:11 PM:

Very true osi, we were very lucky with our Mean Machine, (the longest yard), full feature, previewed on here. When we viewed it last year we really were expecting it to had faded but it's actually still a great print, here,

http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=000567

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on June 23, 2017, 10:50 AM:

My 3-reel copy (1052/1053/1054) is on SP and still with excellent colour. As usual, the Marketing boxes are superb.

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on June 23, 2017, 04:38 PM:

Screen shots from my 400ft extract.

Only the last one shows the same shot as any of those from the 3 x400ft, unfortunately.

Regarding film stock for 400ft extract prints - 2 of my Marketing prints are on SP, 2 are on SP variant EKC32 and 2 are on Fuji

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 24, 2017, 03:36 PM:

excellent looking print there Brian.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on June 26, 2017, 10:50 PM:

I bet Tom's are on AGFA (lucky one). Those on SP will be brownish eventually. It is just about the time.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 27, 2017, 12:24 PM:

Hey Tom, I forgot to ask, does the 3X400ft digest have the full theme song at the beginning? I remember the song only being about a minute and a half or so, and it would be great if it had that full song.

By the way, it sounds like the marketing folks did a very good job of editing out much of the "filler" of the story (though, to be honest, i cherish every moment of this film), and concentrated mostly on the second half of the film, with only as much as was needed to introduce Cogburn, "La-Beef", and then, we are immediately out at the cabin, and then, it sounds like the rest of the digest is most of the last half of the feature. If so, then very well done!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 27, 2017, 04:12 PM:

Winbert / Osi,
I am sure this one is Agfa stock, there isn't a drop of fade on this print.
Oddly enough Osi i cant remember how much of thee song is on here.
I know its not the full version of the song but its quite long for a cut down. i am sure if this was a Derann release they would have had full title sequence, i like that as it makes you feel you have seen the feature. [Wink]

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