8mm Forum: Pathe Magic

This is topic Pathe Magic in forum 9.5mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on November 09, 2008, 12:49 PM:

Last night, at my grandsons insistence, I got the Pathe Baby down off the shelf, and we set it up to run a few reels of Popeye's and Disney's. I have not run 9.5mm in a few months, and my first reaction was just how good that dim little 24 ins picture looked.
The 9.5mm Popeye prints, with their incredible sharpness and contrast certainly put the 8mm ones to shame. The flickering picture was pretty dim, and the Baby is of course primitive by Elmo GS standards, but the mysterious Pathe magic was in full force, with the Baby chattering happily along with its break arm fluttering up and down, and we recaptured exactly what home cinema was like in the 1920's. Our little show was nothing like a super 8 show, or a projected DVD, but it had something very nostalgic and special That's the attraction that 9.5mm has. I think it is the only film guage that can do that to you.
Yes much of Pathe's equipment was very poorly engineered, but I don't think I would include the Baby in that category - anything that can still perform that well, and give that much enjoyment, after 90 years must be a pretty good design job.
Thank you Mr. Pathe! [Smile]

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on November 12, 2008, 04:45 AM:

Love the sound of the machine Paul! [Wink]

Think I'll make a cd of a mechanical machine running so I can play it whilst using the video projector [Roll Eyes]

I was down at Graham's place over the weekend(Film Buff Mtg)He showed me the dvd you are featured on.Great stuff and I'm much impressed by your theatre conversion.
At this meeting,super 8mm features,like West Side Story and Hello Dolly,fetched $NZ20 each!.regards,Trev

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