8mm Forum: Rare Super 8 Releases.

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Posted by Paul Spinks (Member # 573) on April 18, 2006, 11:54 PM:

Hi,
I noticed that a 4 X 400ft feature of "Plan 9 From Outer Space" sold on ebay for under £30 with the Universal 8 400 footer of "The Incredible Shrinking Man" thrown in for good measure. Now that has to be the bargain of the year as feature length "Plan 9's" on Super 8 do not come around that often. Perhaps all the collectors were away for Easter. I waited years to get that film and obviously paid a little bit more than the lucky winner of this auction, but it made me wonder why some films are so elusive. For example, I've never seen feature length prints of "Rebecca" listed on ebay or through the dealers, and yet many copies were sold to collectors when Ken Films released it. The full scope feature of "El Cid" is never seen and yet 50 or so prints were made, quite stunning quality by the way. Are these prints so good that collectors cannot bear to part with them? Very few prints of the "Close Encounters" feature were made and some lucky collectors got them. I sold a full length "Once upon a time in the West" from Marketing Films and regret it now. Rumours abound that Marketing Films released full length prints of "The Ten Commandments" as well as the 3X 400 footer but I have never seen them. I know that there are tons of Italian bootlegs but officially released rare items are the Holy Grail for film collectors. What other rare releases exist and where do they lurk? I've often wondered if there is an old house somewhere and hidden in the basement or loft is the motherlode of rare Super 8 films waiting to be rediscovered and projected.
Best wishes,
Paul.

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on April 19, 2006, 12:00 AM:

Paul,

I often have the same questions, especially regarding
The Ten Commandments in full length.

However from what I understand, Close Encounters
of the Third Kind was an extremely limited run.
Approximately 10-20 copies were made, and then
the negative was pulled by Columbia from Derann.

It is a sad story. But at least there are
several copies lurking around in collections.

Michael

Posted by Scott G. Bruce (Member # 384) on April 19, 2006, 12:45 AM:

Good question, Paul. Rarity is such an odd phenomenon. Some films are truly rare (few copies exist); others are much more common in theory, but popular with collectors, so they don't circulate nearly as often as one would think; others still are so common as to be worthless (either because everyone already owns them or nobody wants to). I figure that everything that I want will come up sooner or later if I wait long enough and get lucky enough. Half of the fun for me is the joyous anticipation that accompanies the hunt.

By the way, does anyone out there happen to have a spare copy of PLAN 9 on super 8? That's one film I would love to own.

SGB

Posted by Jonathan Sanders (Member # 478) on April 19, 2006, 02:21 AM:

Perhaps PLAN 9 is a rarity because it was released before the film and its director acquired cult status. The Super 8 Collector (No.13, 1977) review of the Mountain print certainly doesn't view the film in the ironic way that soon became the norm: "An appallingly made film which looks like a collection of different plots... The acting is truly terrible... don't waste your money!"

Mountain - notorious for poor quality and butchering of features - appear to have released it in a good print (according to the review) and virtually complete (77 minutes)!

Its rarity is still rather surprising as Mountain features were usually heavily discounted and I would have thought some unsuspecting customers would have bought it on the strength of Lugosi's name, hoping for another DRACULA. But perhaps it's one of those films collectors don't want to part with...

Posted by Barry Attwood (Member # 100) on April 19, 2006, 04:03 AM:

Paul,

I can definately tell you Marketing brought out "Under The Counter" F/L prints of "The Ten Commandments" as I have had 3 copies over the years, 2 used and 1 brand new, and more importantly, in Marketing packaging. I have also had a couple of prints of "Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan" in a nice 3x400' cut, whether these were test prints or not, I don't know, but they definately exsist.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on April 19, 2006, 01:12 PM:

I'm not sure if this is just extremely rare, or never released- but "Cheech and Chong's Next Movie" 2 x 400 was supposedly released in the same bach as "Blues Brothers" and "Xanadu". These were U-8's final releases, around '81. I saw the box pictured in a catalog at the time, but I have NEVER seen it on a used list, or know of anyone who has actually seen this digest.

Nick.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on April 19, 2006, 01:29 PM:

In a similar vein to the above, I've always wondered if Canterbury Films released a promo to the original THE OUTER LIMITS TV series. I recall seeing somewhere in the 1980s that this was lined up for release but I've never come across a copy. Anyone who has their Boris Karloff THRILLER promo would probably love the idea of having a similar item for The Outer Limits.

Posted by Barry Attwood (Member # 100) on April 19, 2006, 03:44 PM:

"Cheech And Chong's Next Movie" was released in the U.S. (as far as I know) but it was for the U.S. market only, as "The Hulk" was for the European market only.

Posted by Joerg Polzfusz (Member # 602) on April 20, 2006, 04:34 AM:

I've got a complete version of the "Ten commandments" on Super8. Unfortunately it's in Italian (since it's made by an Italian company - "Technofilm" if I recall correctly). The seller told me that this was a "test print" that didn't made it into "normal production" due to video.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on April 20, 2006, 12:13 PM:

Fantastic Planet-

This animated feature was available from several distributors in the U.S. during the 70's, but I have not seen a used one for sale.

Nick.

Posted by Scott G. Bruce (Member # 384) on April 20, 2006, 01:31 PM:

I saw a used copy of FP on ebay around Christmas, Nick, but stopped following the auction when the bidding went over $50. I'll let you know if/when I see it again.

SGB

Posted by Brian Hendel (Member # 61) on April 20, 2006, 09:59 PM:

Back to Plan 9: I have the Mountain feature and it is indeed a good print... however be warned: I was mortified that in the couple of minutes they decided to trim was the ultimate scene of Bela Lugosi smelling flowers in front of his home and then getting hit by a car. What editor would ever think of cutting the piece of film that inspired Ed Wood to make the movie in the first place. I guess whoever was doing the cutting had no idea of the history of what he was dealing with...

So now my mission is to find the totally uncut version that I believe was put out by Red Fox Films... Until the I will never part with my Mountain Feature even with it's flaws! It's one of the most entertaining films in my collection...

Posted by Paul Spinks (Member # 573) on April 20, 2006, 11:55 PM:

I do agree about the missing scene of poor old Bela smelling the flower. I missed it as well. However we must remember that Mountain produced this feature before Ed Wood had achieved his cult status and this was just another bad horror film that they were selling. It was an easy scene to cut as it did not affect the narrative and they could focus more on the horror scenes. At least they kept Criswell's scenes intact. I recently bought a 16mm feature of "The Thing from another World". It was an ex TV print and the whole "keep watching the skies" speech is missing. James Arness gets fried "The End" is superimposed over the smouldering remains and that's it. I was gutted! I wonder what other edits in features have mortified us collectors?
Best wishes,
Paul.

Posted by Joerg Polzfusz (Member # 602) on April 21, 2006, 04:58 AM:

This page lists some strange super8-releases, too, e.g. "100 ragazze per un play boy":
http://www.superotto.it/super8.htm

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on April 21, 2006, 12:50 PM:

Sorry to hear about the Lugosi scene missing from 'Plan 9'. I guess that only leaves a few seconds where he's actually on screen?

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on April 22, 2006, 11:00 AM:

I recently aquired a copy of the 1932 classic "Vampyr", full feature, and the print is excellent, which is saying a lot, as therare very few good master prints, (judging by the video releases of it. It's on Gevart stock, standard 8mm, which I don't think was around in the 70's (I could be wrong) so this may have been one of the early standard 8mm releases on standard 8.

Which, by the way, I'll be doing a review of in the near future on the forum.

All the best!

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on May 03, 2006, 06:04 AM:

Along the lines of "Plan 9", Roger Corman's original "Little Shop Of Horrors", with a cameo by Jack Nicholson. This was released at one time in full length black and white. I never see this on used lists.

And from Derann-

Police Academy 2- this was one of Derann's last actual digests, released in the early 90's. It was either one or two 600 foot reels. Never see this one used either.

Nick.

Posted by Rob Young. (Member # 131) on May 03, 2006, 03:04 PM:

I remember going to Derann's Blackpool convention in the early '90's when "Police Academy 2" had just gone on sale. It was definately 2x600ft and the funny thing was it was showing on UK television that very night, but I would still have willingly payed the £100 or so for that Super 8 version if I'd had the money at the time.

I would love a copy of that now as an hour long version would make the perfect second feature.

Derek certainly took some risks back then. Another Derann "classic" you don't see very often is "Q-The Winged Serpent"; a 600ft version from about 1986 of one of the most awful horror movies of the '80's. It is soooo bad it is often hilarious and I was lucky enough to pick up an immaculate copy recently which has enjoyed many screenings to raucous laughter (maybe not what the film makers intended [Smile]

)

Barry, I would love to own a copy of that 3x400ft "Wrath of Khan". How did I miss that one [Confused]

Posted by Mal Brake (Member # 14) on May 03, 2006, 05:27 PM:

I had a copy of Police Academy 2 for £60 from CEC in the early 90's. It's a very sharp print with good colour/sound and well edited.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on May 04, 2006, 06:14 AM:

Yes, Rob, I had totally forgotten about "Q", with Micheal Mority and Richard "SHAFT" Roundtree. This is certainly a great digest to have on super 8. One thing I really liked about the digest was that it contained almost all of the stop-motion and special effects scenes from the movie. It eliminated all of the dead wood while keeping the story intact at a perfect 30 minutes. Wish I hadnt traded mine for credit about 15 years ago [Frown]

.

Nick.

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on May 05, 2006, 03:28 AM:

Rob,

Police Academy was on Ebay a few months ago and was sold for US$82

Here is the link Police Academy 2 on Ebay

You are correct about the quality it was very sharp and good color.

If the above link was inactive due to the time, here is the screen shot that was made by the seller (aalzar0):

cheers,

Posted by Barry Attwood (Member # 100) on May 05, 2006, 08:57 AM:

Rob,

I have only ever seen one copy of "The Wrath Of Khan", but it follows that at least another one exsists, but as this originated with Marketing leaders, I'm surprised there isn't more copies about, I suppose they could have been test prints that were made just before the International side went under, but it was well edited, and had good colour and sound.

Posted by Ricky Daniels (Member # 95) on May 13, 2006, 12:22 PM:

POLICE ACADEMY 2 is back for anyone who wants it and missed it?

http://cgi.ebay.de/S8-Police-Academy-2_W0QQitemZ9135093047QQcategoryZ1476QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on May 13, 2006, 12:34 PM:

Thanks Ricky for the link,

But the problem with sellers from German, despite their 8mm titles are so various, mostly they don't take paypal and deliver only to local or Europe.

I was told that due to the paypal fees. For my self I don't mind to absorb that fees to the final price as long as they inform this.

cheers

Posted by Ricky Daniels (Member # 95) on May 14, 2006, 02:18 AM:

Yeah,

Why is it that the majority of German Ebayers don't take PayPal... anyone? [Confused]

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on May 14, 2006, 02:35 AM:

Beats me. [Frown]

I do know that Germans enjoy free and easy bank transfers between each other whereas PayPal charges the seller fees. Internationally that's another story, but it seems to go hand in hand with many German sellers' unwillingness to ship outside of Germany, or even Europe.

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on May 14, 2006, 07:42 AM:

It is quite possible that the German Banking system would charge a considerable fee for the transfer of money from a paypal account to a bank account in germany. I believe that international transfers into the country can technically incurr a "lifting" fee which is uncapped and runs at quite a high percentage.

It may also be that paypal cannot get the necessary banking approvals at the low rates they enjoy elsewhere in the world.

You may also notice the lack of credit card options as well when buying from German companies.

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on May 14, 2006, 08:46 AM:

Hi Tony did you get the L+H, if you don`t want it no worries.
best mark.

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on May 14, 2006, 01:23 PM:

Hi Mark,

Ahh that's what has turned up at work! I was told there was a package for me but I couldn't think what it was!
I am sure I will. Will em you later

Posted by Craig Hamilton (Member # 258) on May 14, 2006, 02:03 PM:

Tony

Packages delivered to work.............

Chicken [Big Grin]

Craig

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on May 14, 2006, 02:57 PM:

Top Secret filmy doings etc

Posted by Tony Milman (Member # 7) on May 14, 2006, 03:44 PM:

Cluck
Cluck
Cluck [Big Grin]

Posted by David Skillern (Member # 607) on May 25, 2006, 03:24 AM:

on the subject of rare prints can anyone let me know how rare the following prints are - Horror Express - full length and Legend of the Werewolf - full length both starring the late, great Peter Cushing.
cheers
Dave Skillern

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