What are the best Derann full length feature prints?

[Julian Baquero]

What are the best Derann's full length feature prints? I know this most have been ask many times, but I don't seem to find the answer. I would love to get the forum member opinion. Is there an official list of all the feature prints Derann made?

[Osi Osgood]

It would be good to differentiate between actual Derann prints and those they "inherited", that is, those that they actually released.

[Burton Sundquist]

DERANN did have many fine releases of their own before acquiring the print materials from Ken Films And Red Fox for feature films.B&W and color. Impossible to say which ones are the best but I would say that Early Derann Goldfinger prints would be on the list.

[Dominique De Bast]

Julian, the Derann catalogue remained online a long time after the company-sadly-ended its business. The site is now down but it seems that it's possible to find its content by using some motor engine. I cannot do that but I remember having seen a working link on the forum. By the way, the original address was : http://derannlists.co.uk/ Hope you're better than I regarding computers and you can use it.

[Greg Perry]

Julian,
You can find a large list of Derann features on Eivind Mork's Super8database. This is a free online database of Super 8 films from 100 different distributors, including Derann. Here is the frontpage link: https://super8database.com/ You can search this database in many different ways.

Or to find a list of the 279 Derann features which are currently cataloged (not yet a complete list though), use this link:
https://super8database.com/?q=Derann+feature&page=1

There will be many different opinions on which is the best quality Derann print, but I would agree with Burton on early 'Goldfinger' prints and would also add "Who Frame Roger Rabbit" as a really fine print.

Finally, there is a FB group called "The Derann Vaults" which is run by Ged Jones and is a great source for info too....

[Osi Osgood]

I would say any number of the Disney prints, they really do look like a GOOD 16mm!

[Oliver Feld]

„Close Encounters of the Third Kind“ should definitely be on the list...!

[Mike Newell]

Derann’s Disney prints . the only dodgy one was Little Mermaid. Terminator Aliens Predator really anything issued from 1990s until they had striping issues. Super 8 prints far exceeded anything that was available on 16mm in terms of quality and choice.

[Paul Adsett]

The best Derann print I have ever seen is the full feature of Grease in Cinemascope. Stunning print quality and, with re-recorded stereo sound, an absolute knockout.

[Lee Mannering]

Julian

Really depends what you enjoy watching perhaps but for what its worth..

Return if the Jedi is excellent quality and full of colour as is Show Boat.
Terminator 2 is another good one.
Gone with the wind and Hunchback of Notre Dame.

All the above would be a good example of the quality that was available.

[Osi Osgood]

Though they are not looked on as highly, I was truly stunned by the quality of some of those Warner Brother cartoons. Granted, they were, in large part, from Red Fox negatives, but this was a case of Derann's reprints being a good deal better than the original Red Fox prints, and I have both for references in some of the cases.

[Brian Fretwell]

The Techno ones were much better as well.

However on the feature side I'd put up. The Three Musketeers (Gene Kelly), Die Hard, Die Hard 3, and The Sound of Music. The later Hammer releases were very high print quality too.

[Julian Baquero]

Thanks to everyone that answered this post. Independently from my movie taste, I think it's important to anyone in the hobby to get clear idea of what are the best prints out there available. I asked for Derann, because it is accepted as the company that made the best work and it's what usually pops out on Ebay. This is a pretty expensive hobby when you are into full feature prints and when you are looking for something that will survive into the future. If your are going to invest your hard earn money, it's good to have a good idea that you are on the right track.

[Osi Osgood]

Another factor to take into hand, is the vintage of the print
For instance, I have seen outstanding agfa prints of Mary Poppins, but the final prints of it on that terrible bluish cast l.p.p. are total loss, in my opinion. Return of the Jedi also looks very good on the earlier prints, but some later prints are so bluish that the Endor scenes are almost unwatchable.

[Adrian Winchester]

To be honest, when it comes to full length features, it might be easier to ask what definitely will NOT be great quality! One such example I have is GORGO - a Derann print from a Red Fox negative, but I certainly don't regret buying it because although it looks like the master was a brownish 16mm print with significant wear, it's still perfectly watchable and it's an entertaining film. But on the other hand, if you (e.g.) manage to get one of the best prints of PREDATOR or BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, you could have that rare experience where someone asks "was that 16mm?"