Has anyone pictures of stores selling/displaying Super 8 digests?

[Joachim Schmidt]

Hello to all,

does anyone has „antique“ pictures of stores or warehouses displaying and selling Super 8 digests? Between 1970‘s and early 80‘s? I would highly appreciate the opportunity to have a „look back“

Best, Joachim 👋😀

[Lee Mannering]

Super 8 200ft sound film documentary CINEMA IN MINIATURE gave a broad view of the hobby filmed on Super 8 capturing moments of film formats,the people, events and business who made the film prints worth looking for.
I should know I produced the film

I'm looking into making a new 21st century S8 print run of my film and will update if it proves possible.

[Joachim Schmidt]

Hallo Lee, I really would like to see it. But your documentary is not well known here in Germany, and impossible to get...

[Joachim Schmidt]

It would be cool if new copies would be available. I am very interested in the history of the format.

[Steve Klare]

The picture I have is only in my mind. Back when I wasn't even 10, we often went to a department store near us. In those days department stores weren't what they are today. These days they are mostly clothing, back then they were all sorts of things: clothes, records, home electronics, photography (not the same thing just yet), hobbies, toys, hardware, automotive, home furnishing, jewelry......

My Dad loved still photography. Quite often when we went to that store (-and you could spend HOURS there!), he'd stop in to the photo shop and pick up a couple of rolls of 126 or later 35mm. There were these wire racks full of Castle shorts. Now, bear in mind that I am maybe 8 years old: the fact that these weren't the whole movie and they didn't have sound was completely beyond my understanding!

I greatly wanted these! The fact that my family didn't have movies wasn't helping: maybe even made me want them more!

I loved the idea that you could show movies at your house: you could set up your own little movie theater and invite your friends over to enjoy a show.

Of course when I was a teenager, VCRs came and the wire racks full of Castle Films went away. The good news is I've done my best to make up for all this in the years since!

[Lee Mannering]

Traditionally in the UK we have had a steady stream of Film Fairs or Film Collectors events. This was the first one I organised in our Church which eventually grew into two big rooms and a working Cinema.

[Joachim Schmidt]

Lee, thank you for your image. Well, we do have film fairs here in Germany, too, and they look very similar And about your documentary, a digital version might be an option, too?

Sadly it seems to be difficult to find images of displays from the 70‘s, isn’t it?

Steve, I do remember displays, too. E.g. when I visited my grandparents in Kaiserslautern, Germany (there was/still is a very huge Army base located), in the city center there has been a small store for cameras and film and stuff, called Photo Phorst (an important store chain during the 1970/80s). And they displayed e.g. “Alien”, 400ft version, and as a child, I was always always a bit frightened about the cover art 🙃 - at that time I didn’t know anything about the movie. My grandpa bought children radio plays on Vinyl for me there. Few years later I bought my first Super 8 movies with my pocket money (something I still do, somehow - ask my wife, hahaha)

[Ali Hipperson]

Maybe Ian at Perry's or Jed at Derrann have some of the displays in their shops from that period that could be uploaded?? 🤔

[Nick Vermeirsch]

On 1:57 in this add, there are some film people browsing through films in a sort of improvised film store! 😋

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVc_sb2gILE

[Dominique De Bast]

Not exactly what you asked but… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GM3HDsO83dY

The place still exists !

[Joachim Schmidt]

Dominique, hahaha, I know Fred, the owner of this lovely shop. And made an interview with him in February.

[Dominique De Bast]

Nice, Joachim. I know Fred personnally as well and went several times in his shop. Fred does has a table that always attracts attention, at the cine fair in Argenteuil every year.