8mm Forum: Super 8 Comes to Blu-ray (but not for all tastes)

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Topic: Super 8 Comes to Blu-ray (but not for all tastes)

Timothy Ramzyk
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 220
From: Milwaukee,WI,USA
Registered: Nov 2006

posted September 03, 2014 12:52 AM

I looks like Jorg Buttgeret's notorious 1987 underground offender of the senses NEKROMANTIK is going to get a Blu-ray release in October. Originally filmed on Super 8 and blown up to 35mm for theatrical release, I think it's got to be about the first Super 8 feature to get a Blu-ray release (?)

Cult Epics release is going to have two transfers from the sound of things, one an HD transfer form the Super 8 neg, and another HD transfer from a blown-up 35mm print.

It's a pretty off-color film that seeks to shock and offend, but never really offended me because it tries too hard to take seriously. Still, I don't recommend it to anyone who doesn't already know what they're getting into, but I'm curious to see what a 1080p scan of an 8mm feature looks like.

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Larry Arpin
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 953
From: Sunland, CA, USA
Registered: Dec 2006

posted September 03, 2014 01:07 AM

Back when I was doing opticals there was a film that had super 8mm blow-ups to 35mm that looked pretty darn good but this was all done optically and not digitally. I forget what the film was called. I would think the super 8mm transfer to HD would look the best.

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Timothy Ramzyk
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 220
From: Milwaukee,WI,USA
Registered: Nov 2006

posted September 03, 2014 03:29 PM

I'd think so too, you'd avoid presenting two grain-structures, the original 8mm and the 35mm. I'm guessing the 35mm print in question was struck pre-digital.

That is if the 8mm neg isn't compromised by age.

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Brian Fretwell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1785
From: London, UK
Registered: Jun 2014

posted September 04, 2014 10:13 AM

I watched "Natural Born Killer" on HD TV and that had a credit for Super8 blow ups in the technical section, I could see it wasn't all 35mm but imagined that it had been 16mm until I saw that.

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Timothy Ramzyk
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 220
From: Milwaukee,WI,USA
Registered: Nov 2006

posted September 04, 2014 01:55 PM

As with most narrow-gauge fast stocks, the more light, the better.

As I recall with NEKROMANTIK, the exterior work is amazingly vibrant and clear for 8mm, with the night scenes and interiors producing significantly more grain.

For a Super 8 "underground" film, it actually looks technically better than your average Andy Warhol/Factory film.

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