8mm Forum: Greetings!

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Posted by Thomas Murin, Jr. (Member # 1745) on October 05, 2009, 06:59 PM:

Hello, everyone!

My name is Tom and I am a lifelong film buff who has decided to add Super 8 to his extensive collection of DVDs and Blu-Rays. I should mention that I have worked for the last 8 years as a projectionist and used to play with Super 8 when I was a teen.

My projector, which just arrived last week, is a Bell & Howell DCM. As for films, I have purchased the following from ebay:

Brer Rabbit & The Tar Baby
Superman The Movie (200')
Ben-Hur (400')
Mickey Mouse: The First 50 Years (400')
Carrie (Derann 2 x 400'): Has beginnings of vinegar syndrome. [Frown]

Jaws (600'): Isn't here yet.

I also have a splicer on the way and will get a bottle of film cleaner when I can. I'd "borrow" the Film Guard from work but we only have one bottle of it so I think they'd notice . [Smile]

I have a question.

Right now, I have Carrie seperated from the other films in a hallway closet. Both reels are in film cans with the tops off for ventilation. This has reduced the vinegar odor almost to nothing. I am going to get some ventilated film cans soon. Anything elese I can do? The film projects fine and has no other symptons other than the smell.

Guess that covers it for now. I hope to have many happy years with my new hobby and hope to make new friends here. [Smile]

Oh, I also have a 35mm print of the Mickey Mouse short Runaway Brain that I got when it was discovered hidden in a theater that was scheduled to be torn down. The print made it's way to where I work and I asked to take it home. End of story!

Later!

Tom

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on October 05, 2009, 07:53 PM:

Greetings Tom, Welcome to the Forum!

A few years ago I bought a used print from Derann and it was mighty pungent. Immediately I suspected VS and I asked Gary Brocklehurst at Derann about it and he said that he'd never seen a Super-8 print with VS.

I started to think about it and realized the bulk of commercial Super-8 prints are on polyester stock, not acetate. No acetate=no acetic acid=no VS!

So I did a little test. I snipped off about a foot at the end of one reel and I did about 5 cement splices in it. Not a single one of them held, so this was not an acetate print. (I'm a lot better with cement splicing than that!) Years later it hasn't broken down at all and doesn't stink anymore either. I have no idea what that was all about.

Maybe your situation is similar.

Did you know there is a film collectors convention in New Jersey in December?

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on October 05, 2009, 08:23 PM:

Tom,

Nice to have you here on the Forum and welcome back to Super 8mm.
Here's a link to a previous thread about VS.

Doug

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 05, 2009, 09:34 PM:

Greetings and welcome from Osi!

I have the 600ft JAWS, and you'll love it. It is a very good digest!

Sometimes a frilm will develop what smewlls like VS but it can be that it was stored in a tright sealed can and once opened up, it'll be fine. Lets hope your carrie is so.

Good find on Brer Rabbit. It is one of the more sought after titles on Super 8. Harder to come by.

Posted by Thomas Murin, Jr. (Member # 1745) on October 05, 2009, 10:51 PM:

Thanks everyone for the info and warm greetings!

Steve, that's very interesting. I checked the reels earlier this evening and neither has ANY smell! So, hopefully they will be OK.

Yes, I was reading about the convention earlier. Can't attend though. Maybe another time.

Doug, it's good to be back in the world of Super 8, thanks! I've learned more about VS in the past few days than all my years as a projectionist! Thanks for the link and now I'll have to check my parents old regular 8mm films though I think they're OK as they are in cardboard boxes and at least one has no smell. I'll check the others tomorrow.

Osi, great to know about the Jaws digest! I'm looking forward to it!

Carrie came in a plastic, two reel container. Don't know how it was stored prior to my getting it though. Hopefully it's what you said. I'll still get the ventilated cans for future storage. Don't like that plastic container as the film kept getting caught in the opposite reel.

Did not know Brer Rabbit was hard to come buy! I got it for $5.99 as I was the only bidder! It's in very good condition with some of the original color still intact.

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on October 06, 2009, 07:58 AM:

Tom, there's a great film show in December down in Wildwood Crest, love to see you

Posted by Gian Luca Mario Loncrini (Member # 1417) on October 06, 2009, 08:02 AM:

Welcome to the Forum, Thomas!

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 06, 2009, 08:26 AM:

I forgot to ad about the Jaws digest, it is in letterbox, (black bars on the top and bottom, to give you most of the original widescreen appearance that it had in it's original theatrical run). It is also a very sharp print. I should hope that the color is fine. Some of these Universal Digests are notorious for color fade. My copy, the first half is spot on, color wise.
The second half, (as this digest was sold as a two parter and most collectors spliced them together on one 600ft reel), has some fade. Fingers crossed.

I bet "Carrie" is better as a digest than the original film. That is the case at times and the people who did the cutdowns for Super 8 knew how to keep a story together, in large part!

Sorry about the ton of mistakes on my first post to say hello.

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on October 06, 2009, 09:04 AM:

Better as a digest than the original film???

I guess I'll never understand you digest collectors!!

[Razz]

Welcome to the forum, Thomas.

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on October 06, 2009, 10:51 AM:

There are two KEN 400' editions I need; BANDOLERO & THERE'S NO BIX LIKE SHOW BIZ - Shorty

Posted by peter booth (Member # 242) on October 06, 2009, 11:49 AM:

Welcome to the Forum Thomas.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 06, 2009, 01:25 PM:

Micheal ...

Though I would agree with you in most cases, there are some cases ("Carrie" was one of them, personal opinion), where films that may have just one knockout scene, have an enormous padding in the film just to make a feature length film. You get rid of that, and the film is just as good.

A good case of that is in the seldom seen "Ruckus" (Dirk Benedict, 1980 or 81), where a Vietnam Veteran, traveling through a small town, is bullied by a redneck sherriff and the local townspeople, (gee, sound familiar? It came out a few years before "First Blood").

It has a scene, out of nowhere, where the vet and a local girl go off road motor biking, and its a rediculous "love ballet" that I have been so tempted to splice out. The film would be even bvetter without it, as it is a terrible cornball scene that makes you take the whole rest of the film not as seriously. I just can't bear to cut the film though.

Sorry about getting off track here. Once again, welcome!

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on October 06, 2009, 01:38 PM:

OK, Osi...I was just yanking yer chain!!

As far as I'm concerned it's to each his own!
[Smile]

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on October 06, 2009, 05:46 PM:

Osi,

Being a big fan of 'Carrie' I have to say in its defense that it is a finely crafted film full length with great character build up.(My personal opinion)

Padded?

Sorry for going off topic but I had to say something!

Also, welcome to the forum Thomas, its a great place.

Bill

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on October 06, 2009, 06:50 PM:

I'm with Bill on this...the novel and film made me a devoted fan of both Stephen King and Brian DePalma,and it's unfair to refer to this film as "enormous padding" with one "knockout" scene. Sorry, but I had to speak up about this too! Welcome to the Forum Thomas! See what kind of fun we have here! [Big Grin]

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 07, 2009, 08:21 AM:

OK, "Carrie" is not the worst "padding" incident, and certianly not the best example, but I'm sure that we could all mention terribly padded films.

and yet, once again ...

WELCOME TO THE FORUM!

I'm sure that you'll be surprised at just how many films, features cartoons and shorts there are out there on Super 8!

Posted by Thomas Murin, Jr. (Member # 1745) on October 07, 2009, 10:03 AM:

A quick one before work. First, thanks again everyone for the welcome!

I watched the Jaws digest last night and loved it! More on that and my thoughts on digests in general later.

I just won a Disney Robin Hood 200'. RH is my favorite Disney animated film and I've been trying to get the 200' ones for a few weeks. I hope to get a print of the entire movie someday.

Guess that's it for now. Off to work!

Posted by Thomas Murin, Jr. (Member # 1745) on October 07, 2009, 11:15 PM:

Osi, the color on my Jaws was consistant throughout. Faded and on the warm side but mostly intact. I was very pleased. The seller had also cleaned and lubricated the print before mailing it to me which was very nice of him!

I had some issues with the letterboxing which was 1.85:1 not the full 2.35:1 and they just let it sit in the center of the frame which meant the sides were still cut off. Still, better than full pan & scan!

The digest itself was masterfully editied. This was pretty much the perfect 30 minutes of Jaws. I enjoyed it almost as much as the full film!

Now, as for my thoughts on these digests, I wasn't sure at first but am growing to love them. They are a great way to see a movie if you don't have time for the full thing. Ben-Hur is a great example. I love the film but don't always have time for the full 212 mins. it runs. Although Ben-Hur needed a second digest to cover the rest of the film.

And yes, Osi! I am STUNNED at how much is available on Super 8! I've been out of touch with the format for so long that I never knew that full features were made available. I look forward to collecting many of my favorites on S8!

Oh, Carrie is fine as a digest despite a choppy first half of reel 1. I'll post a complete review soon.

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